Carbon tax is centrist

Thanks for The Spokesman-Review’s praise of Initiative 732, the proposal to put a Washington carbon tax on the ballot next year. This is indeed the most centrist way to address the climate mess because the carbon tax revenue goes toward cuts in the state sales tax and business-and-occupation tax, without enlarging government. It’s similar to British Columbia’s popular revenue-neutral carbon tax, which has enjoyed success since 2008.

We all know that we cannot leave our children and grandchildren a ruined world, and we risk doing exactly that through continued inaction on climate. This law, combined with California’s robust cap-and-trade regulations and British Columbia’s carbon tax, would once again make North America’s West Coast a leader for innovative policies that can roll outward, changing the nation and the world for the better.

Readers may also like to know that I-732 sponsor Carbon Washington is beginning to approach the 330,000 petition signatures it needs to bring this to a vote, and anyone who would like to learn more can do so at www.carbonwa.org.

David Camp

Spokane