A bill has been proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives to eliminate or reduce many tax breaks and exemptions currently offered to fossil fuel companies, including oil, gas, and coal. The Ford School's Catherine Hausman was recently featured in an episode of Stateside, where she broke down the bill and explained how it could benefit the average American.
To Hausman's main argument, the profits that are generated from the bill would originate from an already unpopular business sector, fossil fuels. Hausman stated, "The idea is that this is a place where cutting expenditures actually makes sense. Like why prop up fossil fuels, when we could be using that money to fund investments in healthcare, or education, or infrastructure, or in tax breaks for ordinary Americans.”
Hausman went on to explain that the current tax breaks promote the production of fossil fuels. She posed the question: "Do we want more of the carbon emissions in local air pollution and the potential for water pollution that come with propping up that production?”
"The claim is that not only do you save money, but you reduce pollution along the way, which is good for people living in the U.S.," Hausman asserted. She went on to describe why sourcing funding from the fossil fuel sector would be favorable for many Americans. "This is very different from cutting the Medicaid budget, where maybe you save money in the short term, but it’s at the expense of keeping Americans healthy. Or, you cut the budget for the Department of Education and you save money this year but at the expense of a less educated workforce into the future.”
Listen to the entire episode of Stateside here.
