My Irish mother used to say, “Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.” This year, Washingtonians have an opportunity to prove her right on our ballots.
Initiative 2109 repeals an excise tax on capital assets of more than $250,000. In Washington, 99.8 percent of citizens will never pay this tax, only the ultra-wealthy. Revenue generated will go to education and child care.
Initiative 2117 ends protections for Washington’s environment, while gutting transportation and infrastructure programs. To save a few cents per gallon, proponents would abandon a carbon cap-and-invest program that protects our health and the environment. It would improve roads and other infrastructure projects.
Initiative 2066 promotes natural gas heating. It is a gift to gas utilities, and an insult to our children’s and grandchildren’s health. It sustains a profitable industry that increases greenhouse gasses and increases climate change. People will pay for less efficient heating systems.
