Inslee's Carbon Tax Pt 1

Inslee's Carbon Tax Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. Governor Inslee claims, after a recent trip to Eastern Washington, he's never heard so much support from farmers for taxing fossil fuels to fight climate change.

But, while it's unclear who that farmer is, it is safe to say farmers are always looking to be better stewards of the land.

However, Washington Farm Bureau's Evan Sheffels says the governor's proposed carbon tax and the low carbon fuel standard would hit agriculture hard ...

SHEFFELS ... "Both of them look like they would raise the price of gas around 10 cents as they're currently constructed and the price of fuel, 7 cents, 6 cents, something like that."

Sheffels says it's not just about the price of fuel on the farm ...

SHEFFELS ... "It's that everyone who serves the farm industry, whether it's your fertilizer dealer or your implement dealer or the guy that's going to drive the truck that brings things to the farm that you need, the guy or the gal that's going to drive the truck away from the farm, or a train or a barge, all of those things are very fuel-intensive."

He says while commodity prices are set by the market, everyone else can pass that tax increase along ...

SHEFFELS ... "They are all going to raise the price that they charge to the farmer so that they don't have to eat it in their bottom line. And, the problem is, the farm is the most vulnerable because the farmer can't pass that cost on. He's stuck with it."

Tune in tomorrow for more on why these added carbon taxes are just bad ideas.

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