Need an income tax

A Feb. 24 letter entitled “Energy taxes the worst” claims that energy taxes damage our quality of life. I would instead note that carbon energy is the root cause of all the very damaging weather the country is having.

Abnormal drought, abnormal high and low temperatures, abnormal rainfall and snowfall; it’s all under the headline of climate change, which is radically lowering our country’s quality of life and our standard of living.

Carbon taxes encourage efficiency and promote alternative energy sources. Rather than burning all the carbon we can get our hands on, we might think of leaving some for our grandchildren. Leaving behind some decent highways and bridges from an increased fuel tax would be kind of sweet as well.

Author Dave Baker then claims we should increase our Washington sales tax instead. Increasing sales taxes disproportionately increases taxes on the poor, already the most heavily taxed in the country. Most rich folks just don’t spend that much in proportion to their earnings, which is why this state needs an income tax with some fairly high rates on the top 10 percent. A lowered sales tax rate would leave the total collected tax exactly the same and benefit more than one-half the voters overall.

Leonard Butters

Spokane