Cowardice of politicians

Dear Editor,

Before I vent, I want to thank Mr. Myers for reminding us of the cowardice of politicians. (Column, 11/9/23) Politicians/appointees ordered utilities and fuel suppliers to not tell their customers that the fuel price increase is from climate policy. Let’s keep the deceitful nature of the political beast in mind.

The rest of the column is a deception. He raised my hopes with this: “To achieve Washington’s CO2-reduction goals, there are two competing approaches. First, he gives us the government’s approach: raise the price of carbon-based fuel. This is related to the law of supply and demand: if you raise the price, people will buy less. Trouble is, that doesn’t work too well when people are already spending as little as possible for fuel. A price increase just squeezes other things out of the budget.

Here’s Mr. Myers’ deception. He only pretends to have an approach to meeting the CO2-reduction goals. Instead, he tells us of a cost-saving plan. A utility can use smart meters to use energy to pre-heat or cool down a house during the low prices of the afternoon, then, in the high-priced hours, not use energy. That does not reduce fuel consumption. It just shifts its timing. He says, “... save money while cutting CO2 emissions.” I don’t see a reduction. Without showing a reduction, Mr. Myers is damaging the reputation of the Washington Policy Center. Does the Washington Policy Center see a way to reduce CO2 emissions? Please.

Wiley Hollingsworth,

Pullman