Michael J. Costa

Environment / Energy

Climate Change is a result of a warming Globe. Clear language produces useful action. Global emissions is the cause. US action alone will be inadequate. Developing countries have massively increased carbon emissions. They will not reduce emissions at the expense of their quality of life. Only an engineering solution can adequately address global carbon emissions. Another engineering problem, the Manhattan Project, went from inception to completion in just 4 years. Global Warming requires similar urgency and perseverance. Learn more

Government Reform

Private citizens who trade on insider information are subject to serious penalties. Shouldn’t Congress be held to at least the same standard? We might hope that congresspeople would exercise enough discretion to not trade on privileged information. We might; we’d be wrong. Why hasn’t Congress banned stock trading yet? Learn more

Nobody should squat in high office for decades. Trust in government derives from openness. 12 years for Congress and 18 years for federal judges is plenty. Learn more

Immigration

Fair for Americans, who embrace immigrants. They want peace of mind — secure borders, equal treatment, stable and sensible policy, and following a process. Fair for past immigrants. They sacrificed to come to this country. They want opportunities for others to do the same; they simply want everyone to do it the right way. Fair for recent immigrants. They need recognition and clear paths to legal status. Fair for future immigrants. They deserve clear rules, equal consideration, and opportunity. Learn more

Social Services

People rely on Social Security income; a reduction in benefits would be painful. Reducing or eliminating benefits to high earners would help, but barely moves the needle. Fully funding social security requires higher taxes. Learn more

Taxes / Budget

The purpose of a tax system should be to provide necessary revenue to the government. Instead, it’s become a way of allocating preferences and penalties. Much tax evasion stems not from greed but from envy: Nobody wants to pay more than someone else, similarly situated. Complexity fuels these fears. Tax code complexity also imposes enormous time and expense on Americans. Let’s make taxes simpler and fairer. We can begin by eliminating reduced rates for carried interest and dividends. Learn more