The Obama permits plan won

A straightforward tax would produce results much quicker

IF Barack Obama gets his way, America will have its own version of Europe


In short, the volatility of the price of permits is a serious deterrent to investment in greener sources of energy, although a bonanza for traders. Which is one reason that complicated systems of subsidies for such sources are necessary.

The solution, of course, would be a tax on carbon, offset by lower payroll taxes. But unlike the hidden tax of cap-and-trade