SUSTAINABLE TAX POLICY THROUGH THE LENS OF INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE.

• Author: Buchanan, Neil H.

Professor Lind's summary of the papers in this issue ably captures the range of topics addressed by the scholars who gathered for our conference at the University of Gavle last year. More importantly she points out how well the various articles translate into the era of COVID-19. Even though no one could possibly have imagined the changes that we have experienced just since February of 2020, the issues of inequality environmental degradation, international tax coordination, gender- and race-based unfairness, and so on have become even more important as the world explores how to move forward from this global tragedy.

One of my long-term research projects has involved exploring the obligations between generations, in particular the "downward" obligations from older generations to younger generations that determine whether new members of society will thrive in the future. (1) It is a source of inspiration but also some frustration that nearly every policy issue can be viewed from an intergenerational perspective--inspiration because it reminds us that all policy decisions have effects (direct and indirect) that carry into the future, but frustration because merely "having an impact in the future" does not necessarily make a policy question ripe for an intergenerational analysis and is thus too broad.

Consider, for example, financial regulation. While it is true that smart regulatory design will have positive effects both today and in the future, there is little to be added to the analysis by asking, "What kind of financial system do we owe future generations?" Similarly, as important as civil rights issues are, and as much as the fight against discriminatory policies can unfortunately persist across generations, the imperative for justice in civil rights is neither stronger nor weaker when future generations are taken into account. Racism is wrong today; sexism is wrong today; and LGBTQ discrimination is wrong today. If they last into the future, they will still be wrong, and the generations that inherit the moral rot from previous generations will need to try their hands at improving matters. Even so, the ethical urgency of these issues is neither enhanced nor diminished by intergenerational concerns (other than the numbers of people involved, which is simply a consequence of looking further into the future).

By contrast, other policy issues become more important--or once unimportant issues suddenly become important--when the interests of...