The problem in general with capitalism is that it is incomplete: unfettered. The opposite of unfettered capitalism is not socialism; it’s sales taxes. In capitalism, all major influence comes from consumer choices. As long as the consumer isn’t cognizant of the actual costs of a purchase at the decision point, then they will continue to make poor choices. Those poor choices are transmitted via spreadsheets to CEOs, investors and yes, politicians to provide even more of those ‘profitable’ choices to consumers.

Carbon taxes are simply a minor inconvenience to consumptionism. Massive sales taxes on all purchases puts the onus on the money (currently fossil fuel-derived money) as our communication medium of the day.

The economic state of the world is one where humans are only consumers of resources, not providers and caretakers of future resources. That makes nearly every economic effort exactly backward. Liberals want to tax the rich, but that demands that we allow the rich to get rich in the first place; by taking resources away from the soil and the lowest levels of people and creating jobs to do more of the same. Conservatives want to let the rich be ‘free’ to find Money’s most efficient path (“Efficiency is the straightest road to Hell.”-James Howard Kunstler).

Nature has already found most of the useful paths for living organizms. They involve symbiosis and generosity to the soil (humans don’t even put their own manure back into the land).

Income taxes and the complicated ‘progressive’ schemes involved are rewarding debt and waste while discouraging frugality and personal resource husbandry. We give tax deductions to corporations who brainwash us to buy stuff we don’t need with money we don’t have (debt is a promise to extract resources in the future).

Sales taxes are a lot less regressive than a dead planet, and everyone can take part without cheating or being tracked to death.