Inslee's carbon tax proposal filled with holes

In a time when drivers in the state of Washington are finally enjoying gasoline prices under $3 a gallon, and still falling, Gov. Jay Inslee thinks adding up to $1 to that price is a good idea.

Why when it’s the most affordable time to fill our tanks would the governor want to add more to what is already the fifth highest gas tax in the nation?

It is all part of an effort to reduce carbon emissions in order to fight climate change. Also included is cutting electricity from coal-fired power plants and encouraging increased use of electric vehicles and mass transit.

There’s plenty of reasons to have a spirited debate when it comes to the governor’s proposal, which appears to be full of moving targets and unintended consequences.

First and foremost, when the price of fuel goes up, or fuel economy falls — which it will when gasoline has biofuels added to it — the hurt is really felt by the many of us who must commute to their work in private vehicles. The inconvenience of public transportation is simply not an option for all of the masses.

But the bigger hit comes when transportation costs rise, so do consumer goods. The gas pains we feel are very widespread, but our wallets and purses hurt the most when grocery prices rise.

The cost of Inslee’s proposal has as many changeable numbers as does this week’s weather forecast. What you read or heard Monday, and will feel Saturday at Eastern Washington’s football playoff game at Roos Field against Montana will likely not be the same.

Neither are the projections of the ultimate cost.

The organization Crosscut suggests in a Sept. 25, story that the increase would only amount to 44 cents a gallon by the end of the decade. Inslee’s executive director for policy, Matt Steuerwalt, backed this claim made by state economists.

But a Nov. 18 Seattle Times story quotes an Office of Financial Management analysis, saying that placing “a price on carbon emissions would add $1.47 to the cost of a gallon of gasoline by 2035, plus substantially increase the price of natural gas, too.”

Todd Myers, Environmental Director of the Washington Policy Center, a conservative think-tank, provided another set of numbers.

They also come out of the Office of Financial Management which estimates gas prices would rise only 2-10 cents per gallon between now and 2025.

That, however, is based on reducing the mix of biofuels to just 5 percent — it’s now at 10 percent — and such a move would meet just 10 percent of the carbon reduction goal.

To meet 100 percent of the goal would require a bump of $1 per gallon the OFM calculates.

How about the seemingly counterproductive effect of blending biofuels into gasoline in the name of better air quality? Adding E10, a 10 percent shot of ethanol or grain-based alcohol into each gallon of gas, reduces fuel economy.

The Environmental Protection Agency suggests there’s a 3 percent loss in mileage with E10. Road and Track Magazine, however, cites testimonials of drivers who see a 6-10 percent decline in fuel economy.

Then there’s the dangerous territory Inslee enters with use of the executive order.

Nationally, President Barack Obama most recently used his pen on an executive order pertaining to immigration. That has people either cheering or screaming. But there were forms of immigration legislation already written, just not finalized by Congress.

Washington state has nothing on the books related to low carbon fuels so Inslee might just use his legal interpretation with the measure. The governor is a graduate of the Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Ore.

Finally, there’s the notion of man-made climate change or global warming, which is at the heart of the governor’s proposal. Climate change happens, but the science behind it, and how man plays into it is hardly settled. We just don’t read or hear much about other views in today’s mainstream media.

Some might say that with the divisive political climate, and all the financial challenges facing the state, moving ahead on this effort could be political suicide with the fallout being whether Inslee becomes a two-term governor or not.

One has to wonder how deeply the governor has weighed all the consequences associated with this proposal. We certainly suggest that Inslee bring this game-changing plan out from behind the curtain and place it on the legislative and public stage for serious discussion.

We don’t need an April Fools Day surprise around Christmas time.