A Carbon Tax Would Kill Coal and Harm the Middle Class
“A decade ago, coal generated almost half of America’s electricity while natural gas produced about one-fifth of the total. With the onset of the Obama years, coal groaned under the sustained weight of federal regulatory pressure, a public campaign to vilify coal, low natural gas prices, and a reluctance of capital to invest in what was largely seen as a source of energy under official government assault. Thus in 2017, after 10 years of decline, coal provided 30.1 percent of America’s electricity —second to natural gas at 31.7 percent. “