Colleagues: We published this short piece today on the politics of carbon tax: http://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/373664-the-key-to-a-successful-carbon-tax-is-how-you-spend-the-money It seems the real issue is not about how high the tax should be. The conflict is over how and where to spend the tax money. To examine the politics of carbon pork, we compare three carbon tax proposals, all from Washington state: the 2018 carbon tax proposed by Governor Jay Inslee, a counter proposal by Washington Land Commissioner Hilary Franz, and I-732. Bottom line: The carbon tax saga reveals a new inconvenient truth: Interest groups are mobilized if the tax can be used to fund their favored projects. To figure out the politics of carbon tax, follow the money. Thanks, Aseem ******************************************************************** Aseem Prakash Professor, Department of Political Science Walker Family Professor for the College of Arts and Sciences Founding Director, UW Center for Environmental Politics 39 Gowen Hall, Box 353530 University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195-3530 http://faculty.washington.edu/aseem/ http://depts.washington.edu/envirpol/
