9/21/23 Hodgepodge: Paper Straws, Train Privatization, and Italy's Latest Windfall Tax

Sometimes life tires us to the point where we cannot fully do what we expect of ourselves. That is how I feel half-awake after working for 10 hours, but I still wanted to post something. Rather than do a full-on analysis of a single political topic, I decided to go with the hodgepodge option of some articles I came across in recent weeks:

• Italy's windfall tax. A windfall tax is when the government decides to impose a surtax when a certain company or sector has large and unexpected profits. Last month, Italy imposed a one-time 40 percent windfall tax, which is capped at 0.1 percent of the bank's assets. According to an analysis from Tax Foundation, this tax will cost €9.2 billion to affected firms, which is three times of anticipated tax revenue. A windfall tax suppressing economic growth does not surprise me. A report from the International Monetary Fund shows that a windfall tax on the fossil fuel industry would boost the renewable energy sector (Baunsgaard and Vernon, 2022).
• Paper Straws Are Bad for the Environment. Last month, a study from the journal Food Additives and Contaminants was released (Boisacq et al., 2023). The authors found that paper straws contain higher levels of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These "forever chemicals" mean that it takes longer for paper straws to break down in nature than their plastic or steel counterparts. In short, these PFAS could mean that paper straws are worse for the environment. Another reason to add to my list of why plastic straw bans are a bad idea. 
• Florida and Private High-Speed Rail. This week, Florida is unveiling its new high-speed rail from Miami to Orlando. The libertarian Reason Magazine published an article using Florida's high-speed rail as a success story of privatization in high-speed rail, as well as point out that California's high-speed rail is a boondoggle in spite the massive federal subsidies the state has received. You can read the Cato Institute's handbook on Amtrak and how privatization helps with rail here.