224
reducing green house gas emissions through slower economic growth in Canada
over a hypothetical projected 30-year period from 2005 to 2035.
7.1 Policies
• Reduce the work week by 15% for more leisure and less consumption.
• Ensure that increased labor productivity is taken up with leisure time rather than
output and consumption.
• Eliminate poverty through tax changes to redistribute after-tax income.
• Increase the capital tax rate to favor investment in people over structures and
machinery.
• Invest more in public infrastructure to reduce crowding.
• Invest less in the production of private status goods.
• Apply differential tax rates on status goods which otherwise spur more
consumption.
• Invest more in wasteful deferred maintenance.
• Tax economic rent of big monopolistic businesses.
• Introduce a tax on carbon and regulate carbon emissions.
• Limit immigration of economic migrants to lower the rate of population growth.
7.2 Projected Results
Victor employs an econometric model to project what would happen as a result of
his proposed policies. The results presented below are for the sixth of his six scenario projections over a 30 year projection period from 2005 to 2035 (Victor 2008,
p. 177, Table 10.1). The first of his six projections is a “business as usual” scenario
based on the assumption that the Canadian economy would perform, on average,
much the same way as it did over the period from 1979 to 2006.
• The average annual increase in per capita GDP is reduced from 2.6% to 1.3%.
• Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by 60% compared with the business as
usual model and by 31% from the base year of 2005.
• The UN Human Poverty Index is reduced by 54% from a rate of 10.7% to a rate
of 4.9%.
• The unemployment rate is reduced by 45% from a 2005 rate of 7.2% to a rate
of 4.0%.
• Government sector expenditures are increased from 21.7% of GDP to 24.4%
thereby reversing the decline since the 1990s.
• The ratio of government sector debt to annual GDP is reduced from 62% in the
base year 2005 to 30% in 2035.
P. Venton
reducing green house gas emissions through slower economic growth in Canada
over a hypothetical projected 30-year period from 2005 to 2035.
7.1 Policies
• Reduce the work week by 15% for more leisure and less consumption.
• Ensure that increased labor productivity is taken up with leisure time rather than
output and consumption.
• Eliminate poverty through tax changes to redistribute after-tax income.
• Increase the capital tax rate to favor investment in people over structures and
machinery.
• Invest more in public infrastructure to reduce crowding.
• Invest less in the production of private status goods.
• Apply differential tax rates on status goods which otherwise spur more
consumption.
• Invest more in wasteful deferred maintenance.
• Tax economic rent of big monopolistic businesses.
• Introduce a tax on carbon and regulate carbon emissions.
• Limit immigration of economic migrants to lower the rate of population growth.
7.2 Projected Results
Victor employs an econometric model to project what would happen as a result of
his proposed policies. The results presented below are for the sixth of his six scenario projections over a 30 year projection period from 2005 to 2035 (Victor 2008,
p. 177, Table 10.1). The first of his six projections is a “business as usual” scenario
based on the assumption that the Canadian economy would perform, on average,
much the same way as it did over the period from 1979 to 2006.
• The average annual increase in per capita GDP is reduced from 2.6% to 1.3%.
• Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by 60% compared with the business as
usual model and by 31% from the base year of 2005.
• The UN Human Poverty Index is reduced by 54% from a rate of 10.7% to a rate
of 4.9%.
• The unemployment rate is reduced by 45% from a 2005 rate of 7.2% to a rate
of 4.0%.
• Government sector expenditures are increased from 21.7% of GDP to 24.4%
thereby reversing the decline since the 1990s.
• The ratio of government sector debt to annual GDP is reduced from 62% in the
base year 2005 to 30% in 2035.
P. Venton