Hillary Clinton Tax Policy

Hillary Clinton is the only presidential candidate who is ready to combat climate change, but it is imperative that she advocates a carbon tax if she becomes president, in order to pave the path for a future Democratic president to implement. Hillary Clinton’s campaign website discusses her plans on climate change. “We can tackle [climate change] by making America the world’s clean energy superpower and creating millions of good-paying jobs, taking bold steps to slash carbon pollution at home and around the world, and ensuring no Americans are left out or left behind as we rapidly build a clean energy economy.” Clinton’s climate goals are high. She plans to cut energy waste and American oil consumption by one-third, and have half a billion solar panels installed by the end of her first term.1 These goals will be achieved through the implementation of efficiency standards, investment of clean energy, regulation of energy production, cutting oil and gas companies’ tax subsidies, and promotion for conservation of natural and cultural resources.1 Many economists would argue: It’s not enough. Clinton’s climate policy may be extensive; nonetheless it, unfortunately, does not include a carbon tax. In order to prevent reaching any tipping points of irrevocably increasing the global temperature, anthropogenic carbon
emissions require a significant reduction. Accordingly, carbon taxes would help us reach this goal. A carbon tax is a tax on carbon emission. Whenever a person or business burns fossil fuels (like by driving or using electricity), they would be taxed proportionally to the quantity of CO2 they have emitted.3
A carbon tax would: (1) generate revenue that could reduce the federal budget deficit by an estimated $200 billion within a decade, (2) incentivize businesses to change their production processes to more sustainable, low-carbon or no-carbon models, (3) inspire businesses to invest in geoengineering projects, and (4) be easier to implement than a cap-and-trade system because Americans are well-versed on tax systems. I understand why a carbon tax is nonexistent on Clinton’s political platform.
A carbon tax would be incredibly damaging to her campaign. The public recoils from new taxes, and many would never imagine that their personal carbon footprint could be taxed. A unique challenge also presents itself when trying to establish a process of accurately measuring those carbon emissions for taxing. Furthermore, introducing new taxes is a difficult process, however even more concerning is that taxes are easier to cut.3 For example, if Clinton fought to implement a carbon tax and was eventually successful, the next president could, with added ease, cut that the
tax. Hillary Clinton needs to pave the path of the carbon tax. During her presidency, she should form a task force to address the most pressing concerns of the carbon tax. The task force would examine ways of swaying the public opinion on carbon tax, and determine the best ways of measuring the taxable carbon emissions.
The presidential race is volatile enough without adding a carbon tax promise to the mix and creating further discontent among the general public. That being said, “carbon tax” can longer be a taboo phrase for the Clinton campaign. A future president could successfully implement a carbon tax if Hillary Clinton could at least advocate the tax while in office.