Jerry Taylor
Jerry Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jerome Cogburn Taylor August 2, 1962 |
| Nationality | American |
Jerome Cogburn "Jerry" Taylor (born August 2, 1962) is an American environmental activist and policy analyst. Taylor is the president of the Niskanen Center, a Washington, D.C. based think tank that advocates for market environmentalism and the adoption of a carbon tax system to combat global warming.
Early life and education
Taylor attended the University of Iowa as a political science major.[citation needed] As a student, Taylor became an editor of the Hawkeye Review, a conservative student newspaper that served as an alternative to the Daily Iowan. Taylor's activism stirred several controversies including the alleged plagiarism of a Joseph Sobran column from National Review in the Daily Iowan, and his involvement in a harassment campaign against LGBT patrons at a local gay bar. When asked about the controversy, Taylor responded "I was a version of the campus conservatives who invite Milo [Yiannopoulos] to campus" and indicated he had since changed his views.[1]
Career
During the 1990s and 2000s Taylor made regular media appearances as a global warming skeptic, including on Penn and Teller's show Bullshit as well as a special edition of the John Stossel show devoted to attacking climate science. After being challenged by Joe Romm to fact-check sources, Taylor changed his prior beliefs because "the scientific evidence became stronger and stronger over time."[2][3][4] In 2015, Taylor published a recantation entitled the "Conservative Case for a Carbon Tax" in which he espoused a global carbon taxation system, enforced by tariffs and implemented as a revenue neutral tax swap.[5]
On June 29, 2020, Taylor faced backlash after tweeting about two St. Louis homeowners who pointed firearms at Black Lives Matter protestors, calling them "racist lunatics" and further stating: "I’d like to think I’d rush them and beat their brains in. And I wouldn’t apologize for it for one goddam second...Yeah, excuse me if I root for #antifa to punch these idiots out. Guilty as charged. I know who’s side I’m on.”[6]
He is also a board game designer who has released three wargames, Hammer of the Scots, Crusader Rex, and Richard III.[7]
Personal life
He resides in Arlington, Virginia with his wife and their children.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Libertarian think tank chief was accused of harassing gay people in the Eighties", The Spectator, October 15, 2018
- ^ Roberts, David (2015-05-12). "The arguments that convinced a libertarian to support aggressive action on climate". Vox. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
- ^ Lerner, Sharon (28 April 2017). "How a Professional Climate Change Denier Discovered the Lies and Decided to Fight for Science". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020.
- ^ Johnston, Ian (2 May 2017). "How climate change deniers' lies made a leading sceptic change sides". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019.
- ^ Taylor, Jerry. "The Conservative Case for a Carbon Tax" Archived 2017-02-19 at the Wayback Machine, Niskanen Center, March 23, 2015
- ^ "President Of Leftist DC Think Tank Attacks St Louis Homeowners: I Would 'Beat Their Brains In'". The Federalist. 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ^ Jerry Taylor, BoardGameGeek, accessed April 30, 2017