Author: yorambauman

Hello carbon tax friends: The legislative session has started and we’re delighted to share an update on that front, plus the latest on revenue-neutrality and more terrific media hits. And if you haven’t already done so please write your legislators… and if you have already written them then don’t hesitate to contact them again to make sure they’re in the loop on recent developments!

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Hello carbon tax friends: It’s going to be a big year for carbon pricing, and we’re excited to have your help pushing forward!

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Hello carbon tax friends: It’s been quite an end to the year! Here’s the scoop on signature turn-in this week, a look ahead to next week, and some thoughts on last week.

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Hello carbon tax friends: Thank you for the hundreds of emails you’ve sent us with comments and questions, and for your comments on the blog and on our conference call last night.

Our Executive Committee met today and discussed an updated (more detailed) version of the alternative proposal. We debated the issues and considered arguments on both sides raised by the Executive Committee and by our grassroots base. After almost 3 hours it became clear that the Executive Committee would not accept the alternative proposal in its current form and that there was no chance of modifying the alternative proposal in the very short time frame remaining that would change the Executive Committee’s decision.

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Here are relevant excerpts (anonymized) from comments I’ve received via email. If your  comments are here and are not sufficiently anonymized then please email [email protected] with details etc.

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Update Dec 23: Here is our decision.

Hello carbon tax friends: This is a personal message from me (Yoram) to each and every one of you. It’s important, so please read the whole thing. But if you don’t have time right now, here’s a quick summary: We are on the fence about whether or not to turn in our 350,000 signatures because of the emergence of an alternative proposal. We welcome your feedback and will make a final decision by December 30. There will be a conference call for all volunteers on Tuesday (12/22) at 6pm. We will go until all questions are answered. To join the call, please RSVP by emailing [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected] to receive the code.

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Hello carbon tax friends: This week I’ve got a double whammy (being sick and having primary childcare responsibilities) so this update will be brief.

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Hello carbon tax friends: If you’re in Seattle please come to our Finish Line Party on F Dec 11, info and RSVP here and/or on Facebook. And no matter where you are check out this quote from Syndey Brownstone’s terrific post “Washington State Is One Step Closer Toward a Revenue-Neutral Carbon Tax” from The Stranger‘s blog last week: “Yesterday, the same day that Carbon Washington announced that it had gathered 330,000 signatures to put a revenue-neutral carbon tax on the 2016 ballot, [Tesla’s] Elon Musk gave a speech at the Sorbonne in Paris advocating for revenue-neutral carbon taxes.“ Now, I know what you’re thinking: that’s just a coincidence! Maybe so… but fortune favors the brave. Or, to quote the Blues Brothers, a movie we also referenced on this blog five years ago, maybe we’re on a mission from God. ?

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Hello carbon tax friends: We’re at 333,370 signatures and counting, so please turn in or mail in every single signature you have as we push towards our stretch goal of 350,000! Our mailing address is PO Box 85565, Seattle WA 98145-1565, or if you want to visit the office in person we’re at 1914 N 34th St, Suite 407, near Gas Works Park in Seattle, office phone 206-632-1805. Thank you! And congratulations all around—to volunteers, donors, chapter leaders, staff, Executive Committee, fellows, interns, and everyone else involved in the campaign—for passing a 330,000 signature target that seemed impossibly daunting just a few months ago!

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As noted in last week’s email blast: “we’ve been working hard to update our fiscal estimates for I-732. We plan to post some updated spreadsheets in the weeks ahead, but for now we are delighted to report that our current analysis is that I-732 will (as intended) be very close to revenue-neutral.”

This post contains the promised spreadsheets and other analysis. Please note that these are still works in progress and that all files referenced in this post can be found in this Dropbox folder.

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