Todd Myers, environmental policy expert at the Washington Policy Center, recently listed politics, politics and politics as Gov. Inslee’s three main reasons for imposing cap-and-trade standards in Washington State.
Myers did not have to dig deep for his accurate analysis. When asked why he advocated a cap on carbon emissions, Inslee freely delivered three political answers. First, Inslee explained a cap would make Washington “consistent with nearby states.” Second, after urging listeners to trust him, Inslee issued general assurances that his plan to cap carbon emission would work despite the world-wide fail record of cap-and-trade policies. Third, Inslee explained cap-and-trade is “politically palatable for the people of Washington to accept” and, therefore, good policy.
Just so we are all clear, let’s re-cap Inslee’s three reasons for favoring cap-and-trade:
1. Washington State would fit in with California and Oregon.
2. Because Inslee has the one cap-and-trade plan that will not fail when all other cap-and-trade plans have failed.
3. Washington State residents are more inclined to support a cap-and-trade policy at this time.
Ladies and gentlemen, the insightful leadership of our nation’s greenest governor: Jay Inslee.
