A Bipartisan Solution to Climate Change
In his 1/9 Washington Post oped, “Raise the gas tax. A lot,” conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer argues for a hike in the gas tax of a dollar a gallon. After double-checking I wasn’t reading The Onion, I wrote a note praising his leadership. I agree with Krauthammer’s policy, with a twist.
Krauthammer would recycle all the proceeds of a gas tax back to you and me through a dip in our Social Security taxes. People who drive less will be left with more money in their pockets. Those who work more will catch a break from the Tax Man. This is the kind of smart tax policy America needs. But why not levy a carbon tax so that this incentive shift is economy-wide?
We need to shift energy choices across the board – from the cars we drive to the electricity we consume — so that we can rein in climate change while there’s still time. A carbon tax would provide this incentive. The “carbon fee and dividend” proposal of groups like Citizens Climate Lobby — whereby all money collected would be returned to consumers – looks a lot like Krauthammer’s proposal. Americans who reduce their carbon footprint would be left with more money in their pockets, while encouraging more sustainable choices across every sector of the economy.
#bipartisanship #taxreform #climatechange