Washington is on a path to become the first state in the nation to adopt a carbon tax, if voters approve Initiative 732 this fall. According to the latest report, the initiative would reduce state revenue by $915 million over four years, mainly by giving huge tax breaks to Boeing.
But, that is not the worst aspect of the carbon tax scheme. You see, like so many other extreme “green” measures used by the Left, the actual environmental savings of a carbon tax are negligible.
The reality is, as Shift has pointed out in the past, our state is responsible for one-tenth of one percent of worldwide climate emissions. And, “business people and those who make a living on the roads will continue to pay.”
As KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson points out, “Statistically, we do not matter when it comes to climate emissions… If you do something statistically, absolutely irrelevant — which this would be — and in the process end up costing people hundreds of dollars per year, per family, then what you’ve done is instead of helped, you have hurt.”
Sponsors of I-732 have pushed their plan as a revenue-neutral option. The average family would pay a few hundred dollars more each year mostly due to the inevitable higher gasoline prices. However, according to supporters, families can also expect to save a few hundred dollars a year in sales taxes.
Of course, the promises made by I-732 (as we have already seen) are questionable. As with most promises made by “greenies,” the rosy picture painted does not often match up with reality. As Monson puts it, “green” policies are all too often about “just feeling good” rather than reality and the economic wellbeing of Washingtonians.
