In the first of a series we are calling “What Next,” we explore where there is potential action on climate change. Our friend Alex Flint from the Alliance for Market Solutions gives the bad news— we have very little time to save Social Security. But he also has some good news — a carbon tax can be part of that solution.

"Resolving the coming Social Security crisis will require confronting a taboo that has shaped American politics for decades: new federal revenue. Lawmakers will debate raising the retirement age, cutting benefits, increasing the payroll tax rate, eliminating the cap on taxable wages and other possible remedies. Every option will be fiercely contested, politically treacherous and deeply unpopular. Millions of Americans will pay more, receive less or both," Alex writes. "In that context, a carbon tax — dismissed as politically impossible since the 1990s — may represent something different: not an ideal solution, but a viable contributor." 

To check out the work on the Alliance for Market Solutions, visit their website. You can find the full text of Alex’s recent op-ed on this topic in The Invading Sea.