State House Democrats have proposed a bill that would “restructure the current solar subsidies, encouraging utilities to increase the number of customers with solar panels while reducing the amount of the per-user subsidy.” Ultimately, the bill would cost taxpayers a whopping $24.7 million a year in 2020 for what amounts to a mere 0.1 percent of the state’s total energy production.
As the Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers points out, the proposal about our state’s “already-expensive subsidies law for solar panels would require taxpayers to spend 100 times as much to reduce carbon emissions as the same amount elsewhere in the United States.” For quite obvious reasons, Western Washington is one of the worst places in the nation for solar energy production. Yet, Democrats want to pump more and more of taxpayers’ hard earned dollars into this more-money-for-less-energy scheme.
This is just another example of Jay Inslee’s Democrat party pushing a “green” agenda that does everything – such as wasting money and time — but curb carbon emissions. As they have demonstrated time and time again, Democrats have an extreme ideological commitment to their extreme “green policies,” even when the science shows their policies will have no impact on the intended goal.
When it comes to pushing ideology over reality, Inslee is the “leader” among Democrats in our state. He is determined to pursue his extreme “green” agenda regardless of the burden placed on working families. He regularly ignores scientific evidence which debunks the claims he bases his arguments on. And, Inslee regularly refuses to recognize not only the state Legislature’s rejections of his positions, but also the voters’ message of rejection. He has made it clear that he considers an executive order a valid means to achieve his ends— going around the elected lawmakers to jam through his latest carbon rule.
As Shift has reported, Inslee’s carbon rule is just another example of him risking our state’s economic well-being for his extreme “green” agenda. It rewards companies for suspending operations in our state and selling their carbon credits. Insanely, Inslee’s plan essentially pays companies for taking jobs out-of-state or overseas, but punishes them for keeping jobs here.
In the end, it’s more of the same—Democrats risking people’s livelihoods if it means they can pass their highly flawed “green” agenda. It’s what rich campaign donors like Tom Steyer demand, and it’s what Democrats are prepared to give them.
From what I understand, Tom Steyer is a Californian so what are his ties to the State of Washington? I immigrated to Washington from California back in 1976 and I really resent those people telling us in Warshington how to conduct our affairs.