Washington State forcing taxpayers to subsidize electric cars for 'low-income' residents

OLYMPIA, WA - A recent report by ZeroHedge reveals that Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has proposed a policy that would see state taxpayers footing the bill for $45 million worth of electric cars. The aim? To enable 'low-income' families to purchase or lease these vehicles, a move that could potentially burden the middle class even further.

Under Inslee’s plan, families would receive financial assistance from Washington State taxpayers. The amount? A generous $9,000 for leasing an electric car or $5,000 for purchasing one, as reported by Must Read Alaska. However, it’s worth noting that the plan doesn't account for the potential financial risks of buying a used electric vehicle, especially considering the high cost of replacing batteries, which can range from $6,500 to $20,000. 

“Washingtonians really get it when it comes to electric vehicles,” Inslee said at a Wednesday news conference. 

Under Inslee’s scheme, the funding would be available to residents who make 300% of the federal poverty level or less. The grant will benefit 9,000 people who decide to lease or 5,000 people who take the $9,000 purchase deal.

As a point of information, Kelly Blue Book puts the average cost of an electric car at $53,469 as of July 2023. So, someone buying an electric vehicle under Inslee’s plan would have to finance roughly $48,000. 

The sheer folly of Inslee’s plan is that state taxpayers would subsidize someone in a family of four who earns $97,500 per year, which is 300% of the federal poverty level, according to a chart from the Department of Health and Human Services. 

This is similar to Joe Biden’s unconstitutional student loan forgiveness program, which will relieve couples earning up to $250,000 annually from paying back their agreed-upon loans. While these programs are touted for “low-income” recipients, they rarely are, as evidenced by Inslee’s plan. 

Inslee touted his scheme by describing it as a way to “democratize EVs. We’re not stopping here. We want to help the entire ecosystem, if you will, of electrifying our transportation fleet. We expect there are going to be a lot of folks that are going to be enjoying this benefit.” 

Not everyone supports Inslee’s plan to redistribute wealth. For example, Washington Policy Center Environmental Director Todd Myers slammed the plan as a waste of taxpayer money that could be better spent on other environmental priorities, such as salmon recovery. 

“This is one more example of how wasteful and ineffective Washington’s climate policy is,” he wrote in a blog post. “It also reveals the disingenuousness of claiming that climate change is an ‘existential crisis’ while wasting tens of millions of dollars on projects that do nothing to address that crisis.”