Yes politics does make for strange bedfellows.
On CKNW today, economic commentator Michael Levy was discussing the BC provincial election and the BC Carbon Tax when he out pointed that an economist for the Center for Policy Alternatives is in favor of the BC government’s carbon tax policy.
Here’s a transcript:
Bill Good: …first and foremost the gas tax, Premier Campbell brought it in, he thought it was the right thing to do, his timing couldn’t have been worse. He brought it in just as the gas was hitting a dollar fifty a litre, prices have subsided considerably since then. But it is still a key platform in the NDP campaign to cut the carbon tax, to get rid of what they call a gas tax.
Sound economics or not?
Michael Levy: You know Bill, I’m taking a look at the gas tax and I think that across the political spectrum and basically except for the NDP politically when you go across the spectrum the gasoline tax, we’ll call it that or the carbon tax, is very well accepted by the left and the right except for political reasons.
But when you take a look at what the NDP usually stands for and you take a look at some of their biggest supporters, Dr. David Suzuki, Tzeporah Berman, the Center for Policy Alternatives and here I’ll give you and anecdotal.
I was on a panel yesterday for Vancouver for economic sustainability and here’s Marc Lee one of the economists saying that they applaud the government, this government, the Campbell government for the steps they have taken to reduce greenhouse gases and emissions. Now they are critical of where that money is going, they don’t think it should come back to the taxpayers in the form of a tax refund. They feel that it should go on and provide more incentives or more greenhouse gas cutting by using that money.
But certainly they are at odds with Carole James and the NDP and that I have to sit back and scratch my head particularly when the Centre for Policy Alternatives which is a left wing think tank and admittedly so is coming out with a pro-government statement because they believe the philosophy is right. I think the NDP and Liberals have the right idea of cutting greenhouse gases, but certainly there’s a division on how they’re going about it Bill.
You can find the audio version by going to the CKNW audio vault and choosing the Thursday, April 16th at 10am segment.
I contacted Lee who provided some helpful links to recent articles he’s written detailing where he stands on the BC carbon tax:
