I am Native, a homeowner and retiree. For me, Initiative 1631 (“What Killed Washington’s Carbon Tax?” HCN, 1/21/19) came down to a couple of points for voting no. Foremost: yet another tax. Taxpayers in Washington are weary from all the taxes. Every time a new idea crops up in government, the taxpayer is leaned on to fund it, be it the homeless, teacher salaries or streetcars — just throw money at it. After reading the proposal front to back, I was struck by the idea that limitless tax money was going to be assigned to an unelected governing body, yet no plans were set out as to what was going to be funded. Does that make sense? I am all for smart environmental policies, but let’s use some common sense.
Ricardo Rosales
Shoreline, Washington
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Taxes vs. common sense.
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