Progressives against regressive carbon taxes that hit the poor

Increased energy costs from carbon taxes hit the poor the hardest, and some environmental groups are hitting back at the schemes. They’re using terms like “inequitable, discriminatory, ineffective and ultimately regressive” to describe carbon taxes.

16 unpaid interns working for Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s campaign threatened to strike, demanding they be paid. After some negative attention, Jayapal conceded. Last week, her campaign agreed it would begin a program to pay 12 interns an average of $18 an hour and provide them with ORCA cards. A national study found that Republicans are far more likely to pay their interns than Democrats. (Crosscut)

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife budget director says the Naches fish hatchery will close because it costs millions to operate, but the hatchery manager calls those figures “bogus.” “The facility does not need $2.3 million worth of capital to operate,” longtime hatchery manager Matt Mathes said. “All we need is the $250,000 per year of operational funding.” (Yakima Herald-Republic)

Amazon announced plans to contribute $1.5 million to help increase public transit capacity this fall. “We are excited to see the increased capacity, and will continue to work with Metro and the City of Seattle to find innovative solutions that provide long-term transit options for the region,” said a statement by John Schoettler, Amazon vice president of real estate and facilities. You can see why Sawant would think Amazon is so evil. (Seattle Times)

A University of Washington study on Seattle rental housing found that 40 percent of landlords have sold or are planning to sell their properties. That’s a lot of market churn, but landlords are blaming the city’s new rental rules. “So congratulations city council, you’re getting what you want, which is driving landlords out. But what you didn’t intend for was to have the rents go up, which is what’s going to happen,” said KIRO 97.3’s John Curley. (My Northwest)

Yakima’s Parks and Recreation Department will see increased costs of $30,000 to pay minimum wage workers compared to last year. Wages will continue to increase due to an initiative to raise the minimum wage to $13.50. (Yakima Herald-Republic)

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