6 Reasons to Vote No on 1-732

Photo Credit: Front and Centered

#DontBeNeutral l www.dontbeneutral.org

1.     It Won’t Work
A slowly rising carbon price may have worked in 1986 -- but in 2016 now need we need massive investments in clean energy and strong communities. In British Columbia, the model for I-732, a ‘revenue-neutral’ carbon tax has been around for eight years, and greenhouse gas emissions have gone up.

2.     It Squanders Resources Needed to Fight Climate Change
Clean energy investments are essential to transitioning away from fossil fuels, but I-732 is ‘revenue-neutral’ opting for tax cuts over climate infrastructure. Our legislature is already failing to fund basic education, we won’t get another shot.

3.     It is a Corporate Giveaway
Instead of climate investments, I-732 gives tax cuts to big corporations, Boeing alone could get $50 million a year in tax giveaways. In British Columbia, two thirds of carbon revenues go to corporate pockets.

4.     It Robs the State Budget, Hurting People Most in Need.
The Initiative was poorly drafted and would result in a $797 million budget hole in the first six fiscal years -- despite proponents attempts to downplay the bad news -- which would impact people with lower incomes and communities of color the hardest.

5.     Environmentalists, Progressives, Workers, and Communities of Color Say Vote No
Washington Conservation Voters, the Progressive Voters Guide, Washington State Labor Council, and Front and Centered, among many others committed to climate action, urge you to vote no.

6.     There is a Better Way
Right now in California more than one billion dollars of polluter pays money each year is invested in transit, solar power, and affordable housing near jobs -- and California is on track to meet its its climate targets unlike British Columbia where the revenue-neutral model is in place. A broad coalition is moving forward on an approach that centers investment.