A couple of months ago, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee famously said that oil companies alone are to blame for skyrocketing gasoline and diesel fuel prices in his state.
“We want to give drivers relief. We want to go to the heart of this problem, which is the greed and avarice of oil companies, who are still not telling the truth,” he said. …
The Energy Information Administration predicts the average price of diesel fuel across the U.S. will be $4.31 a gallon this fall. In Washington, the average price of diesel fuel is $5.67 a gallon, according to the AAA auto club. …
The state’s cap-and-trade program is swimming in money. More than $1 billion has flowed into state coffers since the auctions of carbon allowances began earlier this year.
Last week, even Inslee acknowledged the state was overcharging in its cap-and-trade auctions. …
He should remember that most of that money comes out of the pockets of Washington truckers, farmers, ranchers and automobile drivers. The most recent cap-and-trade auction is expected to add 63 cents a gallon to the price of diesel fuel and 50 cents to the price of gasoline.
Anyone who has taken even a remedial course in economics knows that companies don’t pay taxes, their customers do. When oil companies are forced to buy cap-and-trade allowances to stay in business, their customers will foot the bill.
It’s not greed; it’s business. …
If Inslee is serious about using cap-and-trade to pay for his climate change agenda, he needs to be honest with Washingtonians. He needs to tell them straight up that it will cost billions of dollars, and that money will come out of their pockets in the form of higher fuel and utility prices and higher taxes.
Mr. Inslee, if you want to see who is causing high fuel prices in Washington, look in the mirror.
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