Shift has been using this last week of the year to prepare readers for the debates coming in 2017, by pointing out what we can expect after seeing the lumps of coal that Jay Inslee put in our collective stockings for Christmas. Today’s lump of coal, ironically enough, is the carbon tax that our “green” governor just will not let die.
This comes on the heels of our review of Inslee’s proposed budget – his desired 20% increase in state spending to pay off his campaign’s special interest donors – and a look at his plans for creating a state income tax.
Inslee’s big-tax, big-spending plans might be a big hit with his liberal base. However, a rational person might assume that Inslee would have looked at the results from the November election – when more than 59% of Washington voters said “NO” to a carbon tax – before deciding which taxes he wants to raise.
Alas, such reality escaped Jay.
The lesson that the laziest governor (see today’s Shift review of Jay’s most recent “work” schedule) in the United States learned from that election outcome is that voters, evidently, do not want a carbon tax that is sort of revenue neutral and reduces the state’s share of the sales tax in return for a jump in the cost in the cost of gasoline. What Jay learned is that voters want a multi-billion-dollar tax increase, with all the money going to make government bigger.
At least, that’s the plan that Inslee’s big campaign donors have been pushing. According to the Seattle Times, “Unlike the ballot measure turned down by voters, much of this tax money would be invested in clean-energy projects, according to a five-page draft of the plan released in the past week. ‘We will push it as hard and as far as we can,’ said Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO.”
You can always count on Inslee to push “as hard and as far” as he can when the state labor council is pushing him to do so. Unfortunately for the union bosses and environmental extremists pushing Inslee on this carbon tax, taxpayers have already spoken loud and clear.
Guess we’ll see who legislators are listening to when they come back into session next month.
Now there is an incredible thing! A Democrat governor asking for more taxes that are supported by the AFL-CIO: same old stuff just a different day. It just never changes for the socialist progressives. No political back scratching going on here!!!