Seven years ago, I joined a politically diverse group of national leaders urging Congress to develop a bipartisan plan to address the climate-change crisis [“Reject carbon-tax idea,” Opinion, Oct. 24]. In this election, Washington voters can lead the country to a solution that has broad bipartisan support. By applying a price on carbon emissions, Initiative 732 would provide incentives to accelerate the switch to affordable clean energy. Its revenue-neutral approach would offer a sound solution to reduce the impact on our wallets. It would lower the sales tax a full percentage point, provide an annual rebate of up to $1,500 to 460,000 low-income working families and cut taxes for manufacturers to keep them competitive and to protect jobs.
Passing I-732 would lead the way to a bipartisan solution for climate change and marks the beginning of a journey toward a national and, ultimately, a global climate policy. It is a very important first step that, I believe, would inspire other states to follow.
We have a responsibility to our children and grandchildren to tackle climate change now. The longer we wait to act, the harder and more costly it will be to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
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Slade Gorton, Clyde Hill, former U.S. senator