Why (some) Republicans want a national sales tax

[ymetca]

7. We use regressive taxation

on 'vice products', like booze and cigarettes. The purpose is to drive down sales and reduce consumption, and supposedly improve the overall health of the populace. Results are .. mixed?

We could put a targeted national production tax on more 'dirty vice' products, like, say, plastics or fossil fuels in general, then use that revenue to bankroll transitioning to greener energy & materials systems. We need to decentralize energy production (a solar panel on every roof, a windmill in every yard) and build out smart-grids everywhere, putting millions to work in good paying jobs, building a better future for all of us. We picked a 'winner' with the oil industry. Now it's time for them to pay it forward...

But I'd wager that fossil fuels, and their byproducts, would be the very first exemption from this largely hair-brained Republican scheme.