Letters: Readers discuss bipartisan agreement on climate and speedy subtitles

Sensible goals

Seventy percent of Americans want Congress to take aggressive action on climate change, but many across the country — conservatives and liberals alike — are not in favor of the proposed Green New Deal, partly because of its high cost.

If you are in this group — the group that wants Congress to do something but is not sure what — I urge you to support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019. This legislation would impose fees on the carbon content of all produced and imported fuels that emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when burned. The money collected would then be distributed to U.S. citizens and lawful residents in the form of dividends.

This approach is not a handout. It internalizes the true cost of carbon, which we have always considered a market externality. In just 12 years, this policy would reduce America’s emissions by at least 40%. This would inevitably add jobs to the economy.

There are at least 3,558 U.S. economic experts, including 15 former chairs of the Council of Economic Advisers (even those serving conservative presidential administrations) who support a federal carbon fee and dividend approach. If they support it, why don’t we?

- Jacob Miller, Kansas City

Hold up, there

I’ll give my ’99 Ford Ranger to anyone who can invent closed captions that move slowly enough to be read comfortably.

- Stephen A. Sasenick, Olathe