Environmental and Labor Agendas Reported This Morning

Unsurprisingly, they both think higher taxes are necessary.

In The News Tribune, John Dodge writes of a modest environmental agenda that doesn't look all that modest to me.

Once again, the state environmental coalition of 25 nonprofit groups will push a bill to impose a fee on petroleum products that contribute to stormwater pollution, which is the number one urban pollution problem in Puget Sound, said Dave Peeler, director of programs for People for Puget Sound.

That's a huge cost passed on to consumers and diverting gas tax dollars - calling it a "fee on petroleum products" doesn't change it's character - from highway construction. A bad idea in good times, it's a terrible idea now.

And the Washington State Labor Council released its 2010 agenda, not bothering to pretend that the WSLC ambitions are at all modest. While claiming to be "focused on jobs, jobs, jobs," it's mostly old wine in old bottles.

Some snippets drawn from the agenda, which I urge you to read in full. (BTW, they also like the "petroleum fee.")

    •    Opposing the deregulation of public services, including state liquor stores.
    •    Extending collective bargaining rights to teachers, musicians, interpreters, and child care workers, allowing them a voice in decisions in the workplace.
    •    Codifying rest and meal breaks, protecting the health and safety of workers.
    •    Filling the Washington’s state budget gap by closing tax loopholes and raising revenue, thus protecting critical services and institutions as well as 23,000 state employee jobs and an additional 14,000 private sector jobs.
    •    Repealing I-960 to allow legislators the opportunity to do the jobs they were elected to do: making decisions on how we finance state services and employment.
    •    Paying prevailing wages on all public-private partnership projects and federally funded projects, ensuring our tax dollars create quality jobs that create quality results.
    •    Requiring all corporations that receive state tax breaks to pledge that they are committed to creating jobs and economic prosperity in Washington state.
    •    Capturing $98 million in federal Unemployment Insurance modernization funds by extending unemployment eligibility to part-time workers and to workers facing undue hardship; extending 2009 U.I. stimulus package through 2010 ($45 weekly benefits and higher minimum benefits).
    •    Protecting vulnerable injured workers against unfounded attacks on the workers’ compensation system. 


Labor's "jobs agenda," then, focuses on making it easier to increase taxes, expanding UI benefits, opposing contracting out, battling workers' compensation reforms, pushing for more collective bargaining and workplace regulation, preserving the status quo for state workers and boosting employer costs.

How would an agenda focused on job destruction differ?