Center for Policy Alternatives Economist sees BC Carbon Tax as good first step

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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 governmentโ€™s carbon tax policy.

Hereโ€™s a transcript:

Bill Good: โ€ฆfirst and foremost the gas tax, Premier Campbell brought it in, he thought it was the right thing to do, his timing couldnโ€™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, Iโ€™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, weโ€™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 Iโ€™ll give you and anecdotal.

I was on a panel yesterday for Vancouver for economic sustainability and hereโ€™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 donโ€™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 thereโ€™s a division on how theyโ€™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 heโ€™s written detailing where he stands on the BC carbon tax:

How green are BCโ€™s climate policies?

BCโ€™s Carbon Tax Clash

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Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmog. He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a โ€œGreen Heroโ€ by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the โ€œTop 50 Tweetersโ€ on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning. Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevinโ€™s research into the โ€œclimate denial industryโ€ and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Kochโ€™s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks. Kevin is the first person to be designated a โ€œCertified Expertโ€ on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder. Prior to DeSmog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health. In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the worldโ€™s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications. Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

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