Adding the Environment to the 'Progressive Agenda'

Ben Adler proposes a policy platform to promote economic equality as well as climate change and environmental goals.

The post comes in reaction to the "Progressive Agenda" recently announced at a high profile event in Washington, D.C. headlined by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Adler notes that the agenda, in its attention to the tax code as a way to support working families, neglects any policy recommendations "to do with the fossil fuel economy, suburban sprawl, and the policies that prop them up," which are, according to Adler, "bad for both regular Americans and the climate."

So Adler fills in the gap of a hypothetical progressive agenda to address equity and environment by proposing his own six-point platform, including:

• "Impose a carbon tax and redistribute the revenue to citizens."
• "Eliminate the mortgage interest tax deduction."
• "Raise the gasoline tax to fund mass transit."

Adler argues in support and provides links to additional resources on each of these, and his other, points.