The budget survey conflated a lot of ideas which made it hard to vote accurately. For example, on “Lowering costs for people”, “cutting the gas tax” was looped in with “freezing Hydro rates, providing relief to renters and homeowners, finding more ways to help families pay the bills at the end of the month.” Although I understand many Manitobans are finding bills too high to pay, and I support the government taking steps to lower those costs as possible, I’m fully convinced that pollution pricing on carbon consumption is not the problem. Costs will keep going up as climate change worsens, causing more disasters and more instability. Hydro rates may be difficult to keep artificially low if water levels are completely unpredictable due to climate change. Food will only become more expensive as extreme weather regularly wipes out crops in entire regions. It is imperative that we do what we can to fight climate change, and research shows that pollution pricing is one of ...
a smattering of brain droppings from a self-styled writer