How to privatize welfare

This is an old idea -- maybe from an op-ed piece in the New York Times ten years ago, but I sure wish somebody would revise it for the campaign.

Take the full energy consumption of the United States. Divide that number by the population. Give every citizen in the country an electronic account that allows them to purchase the amount of energy used by an average citizen. Bundle these rights into contracts and trade them on financial exchanges. Reduce the total number every years.

What I love about this idea is that it basically taxes on the rich and wasteful while rewarding people who live energy conscientious lifestyles. A further benefit is that if people recieve money for something they are selling, they will respect that money more than if they get it as a hand-out. In a deep way, it encourages a sense of an ownership society, where the rich people are owned by the poor.