I still have an accountant do my taxes, in order to pay as little as possible. I do not think this is hypocritical.
It doesn't make sense for me to completely upend my life unless society is collectively doing the same. The way to make that happen is sweeping government action, and nothing less.
It is not about one-sidedly upending your life, and also not about waiting until society collectively does the right thing. We need to start acting, and every tiny little bit by every person counts. By doing that tiny bit - and maybe gradually a little more here and there - together with 1,000's of others doing so too, a pressure is created, culture changes and movement in the right direction ensues.
A lobbyist directly influences legislation by advocating for specific policies. Lobbying against climate legislation (or paying people to lobby against climate legislation) while privately voting in favor of it would be like me coming on HN and saying "climate change is a hoax" while privately voting for a carbon tax.
Where is that line crossed though? It's a murky one, that is for sure. There is not exact dollar amount. I'd say there is no line at all, everyone is responsible.
Similarly with CC, there is no line. Any effort is a good effort, even if it 'doesn't matter compared to ... '.
We're all hypocrites in the end, not a single one of us is perfect (depends on your religion, though, I guess). With CC, that means that any effort you can put in is 'worth it'. This is not a 0% or 100% thing. Even 1% is good.
The key here is that collective action is the only way to fix climate change. So, on a personal level, I'd rather donate to environmental activism groups than buy more expensive "green" groceries or some such. And I'd encourage everyone else to do the same!
Well, I know that the answer is going to be "the Democrats", but the reality is, that isn't helping... I mean, sure, the upper middle class (high-skill workers) might be taxed a bit more, but the big money - upper class (non-workers) and multi-national corporations - have continued to avoid taxes. Arguably the Democrats have also caused a lot of lost wealth for the public by encouraging the expansion of financial services - Clinton's administration by repealing the Glass–Steagall Act, and Obama's by not properly acting against Wall Street after the GFC. And for obvious reasons - poor politicians are getting kickbacks if they continue ignoring this issue.
Another solution is to take some of the extra money gathered and spend it on better educating children and adults about tax.