The United Nations Is About to Tax You
Posted3 months agoActive3 months ago
wsj.comOtherstory
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United NationsTaxationClimate Change
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United Nations
Taxation
Climate Change
The UN's proposed shipping tax has sparked concerns among commenters about bureaucratic overreach and the effectiveness of climate policies, with some questioning the UN's authority to impose such a tax.
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- 01Story posted
Oct 15, 2025 at 1:28 PM EDT
3 months ago
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Oct 15, 2025 at 1:32 PM EDT
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Oct 15, 2025 at 3:54 PM EDT
3 months ago
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Those with the most resources—whether nations, corporations, or individuals—have the most to lose when ecosystems collapse. They also have the most capacity to act.
Shipping costs matter. So does having a livable planet. Beyond the obvious priorities: The people framing this as "taxation without representation" are the same ones who've externalized environmental costs onto everyone else for decades.
Is the U.N. fund perfect? No bureaucracy is.
Doing nothing while waiting for perfect solutions is how we got here.
We invented democracy for a reason.
And you likely live in a republic with at best, representational democracy. How's that going, btw? Functioning well and all that?
Since we need to focus on the meaning of words, I also question which part of the "United" or "Nations" doesn't fit into your democratic worldview.