The President’s Inaugural speech
Haven’t had time to post in a week. Trying to be encouraging, someone said to me this week that “eventually you’ll find your voice.”
My problem isn’t finding my voice. My problem is finding the time.
I have been a bit amazed at the reaction to the President’s inaugural speech. Everyone is breathless at the fact that he now says he meant what he said when he was running for President. The idea that this speech represented some kind of departure for him ideologically is just bizarre to me. I really like James Fallows, but I saw nothing startling in the speech. At all.
I was very encouraged that he devoted more time to climate change than to any other policy area. But it’s not like he hasn’t held a consistent position on that issue throughout his Presidency. And there are pretty obvious reasons why the issue was on the back burner during the height of the recession, and why it might, hopefully, return to the front burner in his second term.
My next post will be a speech I gave back in December at the TREIA (Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association) conference suggesting that the coming year may see a renewed focus on carbon taxes, driven not just by environmental considerations but also by the role a carbon tax can play in the larger efforts at tax reform. If ever there were a time to be talking about a federal carbon tax, it is now.
