Hi Sharon,

I completely agree. I wonder if you are familiar with historian Dr. Mark Roodhouse's study of the history of rationing in the UK and the implications for present policy? It is a fascinating piece of work, in which he argues that advocates of carbon rationing can strengthen their case by revisiting the history of rationing during the 1940s and 1950s.

He highlights (among other things) that in 1939 and 1940 the UK government rejected proposals to rely upon increased taxation to cut consumption because the impact of tax rises would be slow and inequitable, and that they instead looked for the best way to cut consumption quickly and ensure that reduced supplies were shared out equitably - rationing.

While Dr. Roodhouse's focus is on carbon, he considers Dr. Fleming's TEQs proposal, which is designed to simultaneously address both climate change and Peak Oil.

Incidentally, I also recently found this rather nice story looking back from 2021 to the day when TEQs were introduced in the UK in 2011!

All the best,
Shaun

Two things come to mind:
The historical opposition to taxation runs much deeper than any objection to rationing and was a major if not the major driving force in the formation of our country.
We already have a functioning precedent in the way the electrical grid deals with shortages, rationing in the form of rolling blackouts and brownouts.