The Carbon Tax is another name for the “Let me do it just a little and I’ll pay you tax” or the “It will all work out in the end tax”, or “This is all we can do now tax.”

Whatever way you slice it, “it’s still baloney”, as my father would say. The reason the proposed Carbon Tax seems hard to understand, is because when you first hear about it, it doesn’t set right in your gut.

Then they explain it and it seems very simple — I can’t do the right thing, so by you doing the right thing and giving me your right things, we cancel each other out. So see, it all works out.

Of course I pay a tax to be allowed to pollute, and the money goes for research to support a clean environment.

It sort of reminds me of the lottery profits to support education, or the cigarette tax to help educate the public on the dangers of smoking.

What if we had this kind of deferred compliance when it comes to the lead content in toys, or the formaldehyde levels in baby products? Why can’t Manufacturer B pay a tax to buy Manufacturer A’s compliance credits? I’ll tell you why, because it’s not right. It’s wrong.

In all fairness, the Carbon Tax is supposed to be a means to an end, but the message along the way is, if you have enough money, you can buy your right to pollute.

When it comes to our children, the gloves come off. When we think of our children, somehow the conversation changes.

I see it in my store. The parent who buys the organic mattress, or the organic baby shampoo or chooses the organic sheets for their baby’s crib, may not be using these products for themselves, but when it comes to baby, things can change.

We all want the best for our children, and that should include the environment they inherit from us. Let’s stop whining about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and get with the program.

My children deserve it and so do yours.

Here’s hoping you are greening up!

Any comments? mark@lazarsfurniture.com