by Ruth Peterson – April 11, 2021 – It was a terrible week for the citizens of WA State. There were many awful bills that were passed this week, but there were a pair of them that will make it even harder for people to survive economically in this state. Fuel for vehicles and the cost of heating your home are two huge expenditures that people make in their lives – especially those in the rural areas.
The senate passed a cap and tax bill after an hours-long debate. Later that same day, they passed a low carbon fuel standard bill (which we call a High Cost Fuel Standard). Between the two of them, gas prices will increase around 40-60 cents per gallon with NO money that would go to improving infrastructure. But don’t worry – the Democrats are raising the gas tax, as well, and there is a pay-per-mile scheme included in the Transportation Budget.
The worst part about these bills is that people out in the public who think this is a good idea believe themselves to be so well-educated. They believe the hype from the Democrat lawmakers. “Save the earth,” they say. “Reduce Carbon,” they say. No matter what you believe about the validity of the climate change issue in the first place, these policies do little to help reduce carbon except in one specific way. They make it more expensive to use energy.
In a very underhanded way, they are right when they say it will eventually reduce carbon. The truth is that when it costs too much to keep your house at 60, you’ll wear a down jacket and keep it at 55. When it costs too much to go to town, you will stay home. You will be in “high cost fuel quarantine.” They never say that part out loud, but that is what this is. We will use less energy as a result, but it will be because the cost is too great. And the people who will pay will not be the wealthy. It will not be those who sit in Seattle with subsidized public transportation. It will be those who are least able to pay. Both of these taxes/price increases are the most regressive policies that have been enacted this year.
You can still make a difference by writing to your legislators today to tell them you do not want either policy. Please use this link to contact them –> https://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder
Put in your address, and a link will pop up to all three of your legislators. Just write to one of them, because it will be cc’d to the others.
I would really encourage you to listen to some of the Republicans’ remarks on these bills. There were hours and hours of debate, and you can go to TVW to watch all of it. But at the very minimum, please take a few minutes to watch these excerpts. You need to be informed. You need to be able to articulate to your Democrat friends exactly why the gas prices are skyrocketing and their utility bills are so hard to pay. They need to know why goods cost more – because of the increase in shipping costs. You need to be able to explain to people how Democrat policies are personally damaging. That is the way to change votes. A truly informed public will vote Republican every single time.
Senate Republican Caucus
