SEATTLE — In Washington D.C., on Thursday, presidential candidate and Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee toured a plant that uses wastewater to create electricity.
Then he announced his $9 trillion Evergreen Economy Plan that he will try to implement if elected president.
“We need a full complete 100 percent mobilization of the United States' economy to defeat the climate crisis and put 8 million people to work,” Inslee said.
Inslee's plan calls for a massive transformation of the economy to clean energy, a transformation to transportation that uses electricity, not fossil fuels. Inslee says it will take huge infrastructure projects. And they will be built by well-paid union workers like those he appeared with Thursday. So, he wants to abolish right to work laws.
“We got to restore the ability of people to be in a union.”
Inslee is trying to make his mark in a field crowded with now 24 Democratic candidates. Only 20 will be invited to the first debate now six weeks away.
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He remains at 1 percent in the polls, behind Joe Biden and Sens. Sanders, Warren and Harris. And is still working to get the 65,000 donors needed to qualify for the first debate.
“I think he needs to be on that stage in Miami, I think that's his race and I think he knows that,” said Seattle University political science professor Marco Lowe.
Inslee recently toured Iowa and today took a dig a front runner Joe Biden's talk of a middle ground climate change plan.
“While people of Iowa are seeking high ground from the floods, we cannot have a middle ground proposal to build a clean energy future,” Inslee said.
Lowe said, “His votes have to come from somewhere and right now, the biggest bank to go rob is Vice President Biden. Also, Vice President Biden gives him a contrast because his climate change plan has been very much middle of the road and for most people who watch this issue (is) considered unimpressive."
According to Inslee’s plan, the $9 trillion would be spread over 10 years. About a third would come from federal sources, the rest from matching private funds.
Asked about how to pay for it, Inslee responded, “How are you going to pay for Paradise, California (destroyed by wildfire)? How are you going to pay for the billion and a half dollars in losses to our farm community (Iowa flooding)? How are you going to pay Miami Beach for having to raise up Main Street a foot and a half? That's the question we ought to be asking.”