The Case for the Carbon Tax : How to Overcome Politics and Find Our Green Destiny

This Article will argue that implementing a carbon tax in the United States will afford the best protection against climate change. Economists generally consider pollution taxes to be the "gold standard" of market-based instruments. Cap-and-trade systems are less effective and more complex to implement than pollution taxes. The article will first compare a carbon tax with a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions. Then it will explore barriers to implementation of a carbon tax, including the U.S. aversion to taxes. Finally, the article will propose methods for overcoming those barriers, including opportunities posed by expiring tax provisions. The conclusion will introduce the concept of recycling carbon tax revenues