Don’t vote to fund Lyft, auto industry: No on Proposition 30

Why is Lyft bankrolling this California ballot measure on electric cars (San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 8, 2022)? Following on the heels of Proposition 22, which precludes its drivers from receiving benefits, Proposition 30 will allow Lyft to continue to externalize its costs, this time to the rest of us. 

Will a subsidy for electric cars help the environment? EVs definitely reduce the carbon emissions created by gas powered vehicles. But the proliferation of single occupancy vehicles of any kind creates a host of problems, from habitat destruction caused by highway expansion to particulate pollution caused by tire wear. A much better use of public money would be to expand, improve, and electrify public transportation, and have fewer cars on the road.

Taxing high incomes at a higher rate is progressive taxation, a fair way to fund the things we need: public projects like transit systems, environmental restoration, universal health care, free child care and higher education. We should not use it to ensure profits for Lyft and the auto industry by subsidizing private cars. Vote NO on Proposition 30.