We live in a state where the governor called a special session to restore Tim Eyman’s 1% cap on property taxes, a cap that mindlessly and relentlessly hamstrings local government, no matter the local circumstances. You see, it’s all about local control, except when it’s not.
But college students, most of whom presumably have yet to embark on careers that will make it possible to afford stuff, well, here’s how the governor treats them:
The measure removes the current 7 percent cap on annual tuition increases for Washington state resident undergraduates. The state budget, scheduled to be signed by Gregoire on Tuesday, puts the new tuition cap at 14 percent for each of the next two years.
No special session for you, kids.
Tough choices yadda yadda yadda. Not only was nothing meaningful done about the plethora of special interest tax breaks in this state, they added a 40% tax break for newspapers, apparently so many of them can continue to advocate for the Grover Norquist position of dragging government to the bathtub and drowning it. The only allowable “moderate” position in this state is that things must be destroyed rather than even discuss an income tax or even a temporary measure for education.
Chris Gregoire made a no-taxes pledge, you see, and while it was a foolhardy thing to do, the bidness guys ‘n gals and the newspaper boards are going to make sure that not one red cent is raised to help restore education funding that plummeted due to the Bush Recession.
In the Orwellian world of conservative business lobbying, handouts to corporations are incentives and a very proper use of public resources, while public education, health care and other services that benefit the wider society can be given short shrift. And since the business point of view prevails no matter which party has a majority, or a super-majority, the regular citizen also gets short shrift and comes to have a jaded, cynical view about government not operating in their interest. Hard to imagine why initiative-touting charlatans have done so well here.
We haven’t even seen the full impact on K-12 yet. Should be interesting once parents find out in the fall what’s really happening. You haven’t seen angry until you’ve seen a parent who is expecting certain programs and teachers to be in place, basically because education is virtually the only direct service most of us get from the state government in return for our tax money, and now tuition is soaring out of sight and teachers are going to be laid off.
On the other hand, there’s absolutely no political risk in alienating parents of students. Just ask Terry Bergeson.
The 3-percenters didn’t get that way by caring what happens to the 17-percenters.
Then who’s the better democrat to beat Gregoire in the primary and the republican in the general?
Don’t forget the right for car salesmen to “collect ” an additional voluntary fee from car buyers . Now there’s a progressive value .
A state that keeps loading more taxes on its poorest citizens to maintain essential services has no future. In our state, everything flows from the structural maldistribution of tax burdens — including the creation of demagogues like Eyman. Washington’s last credible Republican governor, Dan Evans, at least tried to fix our broken tax structure. A parade of gutless Democratic governors did nothing. In the end, Gregoire was just another politician whose butt was glued to the status quo. Faced with a crisis, she blinked, and with the swipe of a budget pen wiped out the accomplishments of her first term.
Where will we get someone with the will and political skills to get Washington out of the rut we’re stuck in? To lead the people to a new political consensus for 21st-century policies, instead of following behind yesterday’s public opinion polls? I don’t know. No one stands out.
Sure, any Democrat is better than any Republican, given the current state of the GOP. But “I’m not a Republican” isn’t much of a program for the future. Our party needs to do better than that. Gardner, Locke, and Gregoire all came into office full of bright promise and turned out to be huge disappointments. Our party seems to have an institutional inability to produce leaders — you know, people who can change things. Maybe its problem is that it’s stuck-on-center and should listen to its progressives more. That’s where all the ideas and energy come from. The rest of the party is in a coma.
@3 Cars sell for whatever a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to accept. That’s called a “free market.” If you don’t like the price at one dealership, there’s another dealer down the street. That’s called “competition.” If you don’t like the terms, you don’t have to sign the deal. That’s called “freedom.”
@3 (continued) So now the free market is liberals’ fault, too! Do conservatives accept responsibility for anything at all? Apparently not.
4 – As usual RR you’ve hit it on the head. When a Rossi booster like Evans turns out to be way more progressive than our current Dem Guv, we know we’re in trouble.
Progressives are tired after the ugly Dumbya years and fighting off the Rossi/Will Baker/KVI/KTTH knee-jerk idiots but our work is sadly far from over.
Who are the gutless Dems? They all have to go! Shape up or get the hell out of the way!!
Do you people want to fill-out yet another set of government forms every April 15th? Isn’t it bad enough that we’ve got an arcane and ridiculously complicated tax code at the national level that you want to inflict THAT at the state level as well?
The 1% cap is nothing compared to what is cooking now. Eyman’s latest initiative, 1033, makes that cap look insignificant. It reduces reduced state and local property tax by redirecting any amount of general fund growth over inflation and property growth. That means if your city is a fast growing one, it will soon be bankrupt because it would have to treat non-residential growth as though it never happened.
Anyone else think the idea that new commercial areas require no government services is stupid? Do you think discouraging cities from allowing our economy to grow is a bad idea? Tell your friends to refuse to sign the petition for 1033.
Why do people on this blog constantly rip corporations / big business / big oil / big coal, big big etc….
Do you realize who works in these industries? yes there are corporate fat cats, but there are also people making 30k that work there and there are middle class people employed in these industries. So when you constantly call for the downfall of said industry you are hurting the middle class workers who are the majority of the folks employed at these places.
@10. I want a more level playing field. I want a culture that promotes small and medium sized business, not just focus on the needs of large companies.
Which would you rather have?
2 giant radio conglomerates that control 80% of all the radio stations in the country, defining what music and talk radio they play?
Or
Every radio station in in the country independently owned, so they play music and talk that appeals to the owners and the community, not the corporate accountants 18 states away.
Every radio station now has a sales staff. Every radio station now employs a different advertising firm and law firm and so on.
Yes, it’s wildly inefficient, and it’s good for the country and the economy.
How am I wrong?
“Why do people on this blog constantly rip corporations / big business / big oil / big coal, big big etc….”
Because the bigger corporations are, the more abusive they seem to be. 30 years of slavish devotion to the mantra of “let’s-get-government-off-the-backs-of-business” was supposed to lead to competition, excellence and a better deal for everyone. Instead it’s brought monopolies, corruption and dystopia.
@8 What a lame argument! I used to prepare Illinois income tax returns for a relative and it couldn’t have been simpler. You take the adjusted gross income off the taxpayer’s IRS 1040 form, do one simple calculation, and you’re done! State income tax forms and instructions are far simpler than the 1040, and use information you have to calculate for the 1040 anyway. Bottom line, wingnuts like you want to keep screwing the poor 17-percenters so you can be a 3-percenter. Show me a Republican and I’ll show you a self-centered bastard with no conscience.
@9 Developers who think they can profit by restricting local revenues will end up biting themselves in the ass. When municipalities don’t have the money to provide streets, sewers, and police and fire services, they impose building moratoriums. Then, no one is allowed to build anything, and developers have no business and can’t earn a penny.
@10 No one’s calling for the “downfall” of industry, jackass. Your comment is analogous to saying people in favor of speed limits are against cars. We simply want to change certain aspects of corporate behavior.
One can argue, with much more justification, that Republican policies are aimed at bringing about the downfall of workers and the middle class. This recession is evidence that the conservative war against wage earners and consumers is succeeding.
re 10: “Why do people on this blog constantly rip corporations / big business / big oil / big coal, big big etc….”
Because they are monopolistic (or nearly so) enterprises. Are there any job openings in small oil and small coal?
I actually don’t think this is a developer driven thing as it will reduce or eliminate property tax for all property owners. In fact I think most of them would probably agree with you that this would be bad for business. It’s more of the ongoing goal of Eyman and his supporters to destroy local government.
17 Are you kidding? There are plenty of developers who don’t give a flying flipdoodle as long as they can get their crackerbox condos built and sold and blow town before lights go out and the sewers back up.
Sorry, I’m not being clear. I’m just saying it doesn’t really affect developers. The initiative targets any growth in general fund revenue over inflation and population growth and applies it to property tax deduction. The point being that this means any new revenue that comes from commercial development would go towards the elimination of property tax we all pay. Fast growing cities would therefore be hardest hit because they would have to provide services without new revenue.
So it’s not like this is some big boon to them over everyone else. In fact the service cuts would hurt them just as much if not more. I know I’d be inclined to halt development if this thing passed. It’s just another tax cutting initiative by Eyman.
Every post and comment by the troglodyte leftist is just a validation study of the findings of the Pew research study that found that old republicans were happier than any other segment.
Listening to roger rabid get ginned up over republicans being at fault for his overdone eggs is quite laughable. Perhaps ‘progrssives’ are like America’s funniest home videos for the Republicans
#20. Riiiight.
You want to see some very unhappy conservatives, check this out.
Fox News Comments about Steele
Your kindred are some angry bitter upset people.
@ 20:
Glad you’re happy because you’re one of the few Republicans who are happy these days.
Old and Republican go hand in hand, which is why your party has a bleak future.
Not as many “Reagan Republicans” in the under 35 crowd as there was back in the 80’s.
Democrats DOMINATE Republicans in this category 3:1 and that means we’ll be in charge for decades to come.
George W. Bush and the Reagan Republicans did for Democrats of the 21st century what Joseph McCarthy did for Democrats in the 50’s.
It was a painful 8 years but worth the price of extinguishing the ills of Reaganism upon my beloved America.
The Dems have botched the state’s budget but it’s Eyeman’s fault?
The quality of education has been steadily eroding yet we MUST throw even MORE money at it? And this is the fault of corporations?
It’s more like: “Don’t look behind that curtain there’s nothing to see there…”
If we turned all these problems over to the private sector, they would be at least as successfull as the health care industry in containing costs and providing quality service.
@7 Who are the gutless Dems? You voted for them and don’t even know who they are?
Were going to get smaller local government one way or another. I fucking love watching these stupid democrats squirm wondering what happened to “all that money”?
1% cap on property taxes My ass is burning….Try 20% hikes on Camano Island Year after F’n Year and tell me there is a 1% limit.
I hate these democrats. I hate them with a passion. I will work my ass off to make sure we get new Democrats. Screw them and their 1/2 brothers.
Shit every other business in this state is shutting down, while the Queen and her gang are trying to fund the very unions that have failed Chrysler, and GM.
Joe’s, Boaters world, all of the boat dealers along I5 are closing, IGA’s, QFC’s, Thriftways, Magnolia Hi Fi and furniture stores throught South Center going out of business.
Who the hell in Olympia cares, Let every business in this state close and see what the Queens 9 Billion dollar defecit turns into.
There won’t be any taxes coming in after all of these business fail in this state.
@29.
What a maroon. Who is going buy anything at Joe’s, Boaters world, IGA’s, QFC’s, Thriftways, Magnolia Hi Fi and furniture stores in South Center if the only jobs available pay minimum wage.
I don’t see you being able to afford a boat on $1368 a month after rent, gas, utilities, healthcare and food. That’s assuming you can get a full time job. Wallmart only works you 35 hours a week so they don’t have pay benefits.
Why do you hate American workers so much? Why do you want live like the Chinese? Why do you admire their system more?
There should be no property taxes. This is the most evil form of taxation that we use today. No one should have to pay the goverment rent to keep there property. I do not care where the tax money goes. For me the issus is as simple as this. If a tax is unjust then it has to go. I believe that the tax is unjust.