4 ways to leap the 'fiscal cliff' to a better USA

http://www.nationofchange.org/4-ways-leap-fiscal-cliff-better-usa-1354890983

***SNIP

1. Reduce the waste and overspending in the military budget.

We could be cut $440 billion from the military over 10 years without harming our security, according to a report by the Institute of Policy Studies. The Center for American Progress placed that number even higher, at $487 billion.

***SNIP

2. Cut subsidies for climate-polluting energy corporations.

Those companies now receive about $4 billion in subsidies each year, although they are among the largest and most powerful corporations in the world. Taxpayer money should not be spent supporting a form of energy that is destabilizing the climate. CNN developed a list of these subsidies and how they can be cut.

***SNIP

3. Get more tax revenue from those who can afford it.

The best place to start is by recovering some of the billions in tax cuts given to the wealthiest 1 percent and large corporations, and by creating some carefully crafted new taxes.

***SNIP

4. Use these smart revenue ideas to create multiple benefits.

In addition to these familiar cuts and revenues, creative new ways of generating tax income are coming in from around the world and at home. Here are three we should do right away:

We should tax carbon—an idea that is gaining widespread support as a means to address the climate crisis. Doing so would tap market forces to free us from dependence on fossil fuels and make renewable sources of energy and energy-efficiency investments more cost competitive. An equal rebate to every American can offset the immediate burden of the tax, while providing an incentive for each household to shift to climate-friendly energy sources and to get efficient with energy use.