The grand entry is served by a roundabout driveway. The 5 car garage is located to the right.
Reagan Dunn has a really nice house. Big. Expensive. Showy. (Though judging from the gaudy interior design, not all that gay.) So it’s little wonder a big spender like him opposes a high earners income tax…
LOCAL attorney and income-tax advocate William Gates Sr. is at it again. A few years ago, he led a task force to look into creating an income tax in Washington state. Now he is proposing an initiative to the people to create an income tax this November.
Oh that naughty Gates Sr., he’s “at it again.” Him and his income tax fetish.
Actually, the state Legislature created the bipartisan Washington State Tax Structure Committee back in 2001, composed largely of academics specializing in public finance, tax economics, accounting, and tax law, of which Gates Sr. was elected chair. The committee was charged with reporting back on how well our current tax system worked, and with recommending changes that might better serve the citizens of Washington state in the twenty-first century. The committee was not instructed to look into an income tax, in fact, it was specifically encouraged not to.
The committee determined that our tax structure is “fundamentally inequitable to low- and middle-income people, unfair to many businesses, and subject to sharp fluctuations in revenue.” It further concluded that it was inadequate for the realities of our modern economy, and proposed several major and minor alternatives for addressing these problems, one of which was a flat, broad based income tax.
The Legislature typically did nothing.
That proposal is wrong for Washington because it opens the door to expansion of the tax to all of us in the future, it will kill our economic recovery and it makes our state less competitive to new businesses.
And of course by “all of us,” Dunn is referring to himself, his family and the wealthy in-laws who presumably paid for the “grand entry way” and the rest of Dunn’s shockingly ostentatious McMonstrosity:
Grand entry way features elegant chandelier and custom millwork.
Dunn makes two economic assertions, and one bullshit, rhetorical red herring. Whether a high earners income tax would kill our recovery and make our state less competitive, as Dunn asserts, well, neither he nor I are economists, but many of the members of the Tax Structure Committee were, so I urge you to read their findings on such issues. As to the bullshit slippery slope argument that has become a mainstay of the anti-1077 camp, even Dunn can’t manage to keep that one straight:
The Legislature recently went through a long, torturous special session to debate increased taxes and to pass a state budget. Their final budget proposal made modest cuts and made up the difference with increased taxes. Legislators in Olympia didn’t have the guts to raise general taxes. They realized the people of this state have limits on what they are willing to pay to government.
So, um, the fact that the Legislature didn’t “have the guts” to raise general taxes… doesn’t that somewhat rebut Dunn’s argument that the slope to taxing “all of us” is as slippery as the granite countertops in his gourmet kitchen?
Kitchen features heated floor, and two Islands, as well as breakfast bar and pass thru to informal dining area.
Last year, when I spent the session endlessly editorializing on the virtues of a high earners income tax, I heard from several legislators who lectured me on my arrogance. The “people” rejected an income tax by a two to one margin back in 1973, I was told, so who was I to think I know better than the people?
The result of such forward thinking in 2009, Dunn fails to remind you, was an all-cuts budget.
Since the Legislature has maxed out every other tax source, those who want to endlessly increase the size of government need a new one. Gates has now stepped in with his proposal to “tax the rich.” Proponents will argue that it’s just a few thousand rich people. They hope you won’t notice that they have opened the door to a general income tax in the future.
Once Pandora’s box has been opened, how long will it take the Legislature to expand the income tax to you? With the Legislature’s proven appetite for taxes and spending, I would say not very long.
I’ll agree with Dunn that our current tax sources are pretty damn close to being “maxed out,” yet ironically, state and local government spending has been steadily shrinking as a percentage of the state economy for the past couple decades, as has per capita state spending adjusted for inflation according to the IPD for State and Local Governments. In other words, demand for government services is growing faster than the government itself.
Oh, and speaking of appetites:
Formal dining room has coved ceilings and wainscoting will enhance any dining experience.
The fact is, the experience of the past two Legislative sessions, in which budgets have been slashed, is that our elected officials have little appetite for tax hikes, even when that would be the economically responsible policy. Again, as Dunn himself points out, our legislators don’t “have the guts” to impose a general tax increase, and I hardly see how a high earners income tax changes that.
There has never been a tax that legislators have voluntarily cut. The only things we see year after year are incremental increases in the sales tax, property tax, sin taxes and a multitude of fees. Is there any doubt that the $200,000 income-tax cap will slowly creep down to the middle class?
Patently untrue. When Tim Eyman’s I-695 and its massive tax cut was thrown out as unconstitutional, state lawmakers quickly reenacted it legislatively. And when Eyman’s I-747 was recently thrown out after years of starving local budgets, Gov. Chris Gregoire called a special session to reenact that.
Dunn says that “we see year after year” of incremental tax increases, yet the state sales tax rate was last raised in 1983, and the state property tax levy rate has shrunk by a third over the past decade due largely to the limits imposed by the legislatively approved I-747. Meanwhile the state B&O tax on manufacturing has actually been cut twice over the past 15 years.
Yes, sin taxes routinely go up, but that is the nature of volume based excise taxes if they’re to keep up with inflation, and the same holds true for the gas tax, which despite recent (voter approved) increases now sits well below the historical average as a percentage of the cost of a gallon of gas. As for recent local sales and property tax hikes, these have all been approved by voters, often by overwhelming margins, to pay for services and public infrastructure investments we obviously want.
Informal dining area with fireplace and access to patio.
So there’s as little to support Dunn’s fears of middle class tax creep as there is to support his need for a second dining room.
The people passed Initiative 601, limiting state spending to the rate of inflation. When the Legislature found that inconvenient, they changed it. The people passed Initiative 960 requiring a two-thirds vote by the Legislature on new taxes. This past session, the Legislature found that inconvenient and changed it.
And the people elected the legislators who suspended I-601 and I-960, so what exactly is Dunn’s point? That’s how a democratic republic works, and if the people are unhappy with their lawmakers’ actions, they can always vote them out of office. Which perhaps explains why, as Dunn points out, our legislators lack “the guts” to pass a general tax increase like, you know, this one:
Is there any reason to believe state lawmakers will honor the $200,000 income-tax threshold in future sessions?
Yes! Because they don’t “have the guts to raise general taxes!” Those are Dunn’s words, not mine, though I agree with him 100%. And because, as they have proven with I-695 and I-747, our lawmakers don’t just tend to honor the will of the people, they fear it.
Whether the Legislature will be all that quick to adjust the income thresholds upwards with inflation, well that might be a stronger line of attack from critics like Dunn, although regardless, it would take an awfully long time for personal income to rise to the level where the proposed tax would fall on folks without “butler pantries.”
Butler's pantry features dual wine refrigerators and sink. It connects with formal dining room on right.
I guess even Dunn understands that defending the middle class against a high earners income tax is a bit of a challenge, so now it’s time to defend the virtues of the butler pantry crowd:
Gates will mask this income tax in the class-warfare mantra of “tax the rich” that we have heard far too much of in recent years.
Yes, in advocating for a slightly less regressive tax structure, Gates, the billionaire father of America’s richest man is engaging in “class warfare.” Gimme fucking break.
What he doesn’t tell you is that most small-business owners report their business income on their personal tax returns. They include money that they plan to put back into their business.
And what Dunn doesn’t tell you is that I-1077 eliminates the B&O tax on 80% of businesses, and lowers it on another 10%. This will be a particularly welcome relief to startups that have yet to turn a profit, but must now pay taxes on their gross revenue.
The income tax will prevent businesses from hiring new workers and expanding their operations. It will effectively stymie our economic recovery and continue the misery of the Great Recession.
He says it, but he provides no evidence to back it up, unlike 300-page Tax Structure Committee report that he so glibly dismisses. What is this… some sort of game?
Game room with wet bar, TV, and entry to home theater. Note the box beam ceiling!
People must ask themselves how this initiative will attract business to this state and put people back to work?
Um, by making it easier and more affordable to start up a small business because you’ll only have to start paying taxes on it once you’re drawing big profits out of it?
Clearly it will be a drag on our economy and add one more reason why businesses will not relocate here.
Clearly, Dunn doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about, as Washington consistently ranks as having one of the best business climates in the nation. And clearly, Dunn would make a lousy spokesman for our region’s economic development efforts.
We have already seen Boeing move its headquarters to Chicago and open a new assembly line in South Carolina. Will creating an income tax attract the jobs that we have already lost to other states?
I dunno. Both Illinois and South Carolina have income taxes, yet Boeing had no qualms about moving there. So will creating a high earners income tax drive jobs away from Washington when we’ll still have one of the most wealthy-friendly tax structures in the nation? Huh? Will it, Reagan? Do you have any answers, or just rhetorical questions? Or is this all just political theater to you?
The theater has sound proofing construction, 10 barcolounger theater seats, HD receiver and surround sound. In fact, the whole house is wired with hidden speakers.
The citizens of Washington state have repeatedly told our elected state leaders that they don’t want an income tax.
True, voters rejected a broad based income tax by a two to one margin the last time it was on the ballot… way back in 1973. But they approved an income tax with 70% of the vote back in 1932. And if you find that 78 year-old vote unconvincing, well, it’s instructive to point out that 1932 was about as far removed from 1973, as 1973 is removed from today.
Our state leaders don’t have the guts to pass an income tax through the legislative process.
So let’s see… “our state leaders don’t have the guts to pass an income tax” on rich people who live in 6,900 SQFT houses, but they would have the guts to extend the tax to the rest of us. I still don’t get Dunn’s logic.
They hope that you will take the class-warfare bait and pass it for them. Let’s tell them once again that we don’t want an income tax — now or ever.
I think what Dunn and his fellow travelers are really afraid of is that voters will tell legislators the opposite, and that even if I-1077 loses, it will lose by such a small margin that it will forever reshape the debate on tax structure in Washington state. I think what Dunn is really afraid of is that a strong vote in favor of I-1077 will finally give our state leaders some guts to see to it that people like him finally pay their fair share.
David,
I’ll betcha that Reagan would be willing to host DL on a regular basis if we bought the beer and cleaned up after ourselves!
And this is the dump he’s leaving. Great post, Goldie.
Nice job Goldie – I like how you debunk the arguments of the anti-tax republicans. While claiming to represent the middle class – they really are doing the bidding of the rich.
The “Butler’s Pantry”
Meanwhile Wa K-12 education budget takes a huge hit.
because democrats represent the middle class?
LMFAO…hahahahhahh
“gaze into the light….”
6900 square feet is more than an eighth of an acre under roof. Wonder what his energy bills were per month.
[Deleted — see HA Comment Policy]
@5: Hmm, who supports health care for all?
Who supports a tax on the rich?
Who supports reforms for the banks and investments firms?
Democrats.
who opposes all these? Republicans
Yup, republicans are in the pocket of the health care industry and the banks.
And who is laughing…only a fool like Dre who doesn’t know enough to understand or pay attention to what is going on.
Keep listening to the idiots on Faux news – you will go far……to the far right without a leg to stand on.
Fool.
@6…his energy bills are of no concern to you. why do you care?
Goldy–
This begs the argument…where are pics of the Gates Boys property?
And why is Gates SR. pushing an Initiative that may actually save his boy, the richest dude in the world, money? How is that fair?
All this does is penalizing folks who are striving to be successful. Rich guys like the Gates Boys pay little, possibly nothing and may even save $$ due to the 20% savings on State Property Tax portion. You do realize Gates, Jr. owns $100-200 MILLION of real estate. Not sure what Daddy owns.
All this does is preserve Gates and his cronies as the Elite and penalizes others who strive to be just a tiny % as wealthy as them.
Can’t you see that Goldy?
Gates SR. & his firm made a fortune helping folks avoid taxes. Now he is emboldened to actually write a law that will codify that objective.
Plus…Gates Sr. fumbled & bumbled when someone asked him the key question…
If Initiative 1077 passes, can the Legislature amend it in 2 years & lower the income thresholds.
Gates Sr fumbled & stammered…because the answer is YES!
Who cares about Reagan Dunn.
Focus on the proponent….Gates SR.
You KLOWNS are so easily duped.
Support a Tax Initiative where the Richest Man in the World saves money.
Fools!
@8…keep drinking that kool aid correctbutwrong…..the more you rely on the govt, the more they own your ass.
once again, you are one of those fools who only sees R or D….what a simple mind you have. R and D work together to fuck both you and me(shit, I busted out a rhyme)….
but R and D depends on simpletons like you to vote one way or the other…because lemming see lemming do.
good job robot.
how about an expose’ on Mcdermotts house? or Cantwells house?
oops, I forgot, wrong party.
A gangsta is born @11. And we were there (here) at the inception of the living legend.
Be lookin’ at ya on BET, Dre.
@12
I’ve seen Cantwell’s house, it’s a normal, but nice, house.
Yuk! What an unsightly mess @10. It looks like the KLOWN’s head must have exploded again.
Perhaps you should post jealous pics and commentary of your buddy Al Gore’s mansion next. You know, the one with all the “green” energy and “conservation”. :)
Wait, doesn’t twice beaten Ditzy Darcy Burnout have a nice big ritzy pad somewhere too? Just asking, as I know Goldy knows; he’s been peeking through the blinds and all.
@5
We live in a Plutocracy where both political parties and the vast majority of the media support the plutocracy. What’s left of the middle class and the working class have little in the way of money, power and representation. That said, the Democratic party still does a way better job supporting the needs of the middle and working classes than the Republicans do.
@16
Al Gore is a well meaning idiot.
Dr. Dre, Easy E, and MC Ren spews:
@6…his energy bills are of no concern to you. why do you care?
The real question is why don’t you give a shit about greedy consumption that is destroying the planet?
Hah – Reagan Dunn has the Hummer of houses
I think it is telling that Councilman Dunn’s home theater seats more guests than his formal dining room.
This strikes me as a home for people who eat either in front of the television or over the sink.
And they call this “gracious” living?
No thank you.
@16…just follow the trail of crumpled up kleenex tissues from Rainier Valley to Darci’s house..
@18 algore is a fucking crook…
@19…LMFAO @ “destroying the planet”….
swing and a miss……….
@21
That house makes no sense. 6,900 SQ FT. A kitchen that looks like it could feed 30 and no where for anyone to sit. Well, except in the home theater where you must sit bolt upright in your theater seat, no where to lay, no where to sprawl out.
@23
He never had to steal anything, he got all he needed and more from daddy. Just like Reagan Dunn!
@25,
it must make sense to somebody.
But I’m afraid that whoever that somebody is, they don’t feel comfortable relaxing and sharing a fine meal in the good company of friends and loved ones.
Perhaps they prefer to find relaxation and the embrace of their community shouting at a video image with a mouthful of food, masturbating in the garage over their choice of “pickup” trucks, or screaming into a cell phone at staffers back at the courthouse.
Virtual tour of Casa la Goldy, ’round about midnight. The gimp in Goldy’s basement will be your tour guide.
It’s really funny that I grew up in a McMansion of sorts in Southern California.
I guess it was a McMansion of the 1920’s.
It had a formal dining room – of sorts. It was attached to a veranda which in turn let out to backyard patio.
It had an informal dining room – actually called a breakfast nook. We converted it into an office and took our “informal meals” in the kitchen.
No home theater but the living room had an impressive domed ceiling way more tasteful than anything you see in Dunn’s place.
And there was even a butler’s pantry. Separate sink. Lots of cabinets. Much smaller than Dunn’s. The refigerator and freezer went in there. We never really used it for the purpose intended.
There was a maid’s bedroom with bath on the lower floor and 4 bedrooms/2 baths on the upper floor. I miss those good sized closets. One bedroom was tandem to the master bedroom – a nice touch if you were raising infants. We were way beyond that when we got there.
And the tandem let out to a cozy balcony overlooking the spacious back yard. Completely walled, again terrific for young kids.
All of this much smaller in scale than anything we see here. The house itself might have been 3800 sq ft tops.
Two car garage. We hardly ever used it for cars. Mostly storage. Cars stayed in the driveway.
The house may have been built by a professional or small business man trying to keep up with the Jones who just a few blocks away lived in homes that dwarfed this one.
Price in 1973 – 52 grand.
Sold in 2003 for almost 800 grand.
19. Troutski spews:
Spoken like the unemployed, addicted to handouts loser you and the other Leftist Pinheaded KLOWNS are.
Jealousy & envy.
How do I TAKE what he has…right?
Pigs.
29. YLB spews:
So your parents success is your excuse for being perpetually unemployed??
You had advantages…and blew it.\
Now you are envious of those who earned their way…or took advantage of their folks.
Pathetic loser.
A little testy today, Cynny? I implore you not to take it out on your goat.
31 – zzzzZZZZZzzzzzz..
Success at finding a bargain..
The seller was motivated and kept us in the dark about something.
That “something” went away as a threat to the value of the property.
Years later we saw him and he said that selling that house to us was the worst mistake he ever made.
Here’s all you need to know about the conservatives and their Teabagger movenment.
Sarah Palin
From the pictures, the Dunn “house” is fucking UGLY. The color scheme etc. just blows. The “yellow” paint looks like baby shit from a diaper.
Poor Reagan Dunn. If we tax his income he’ll have to downgrade his home to one of those places on Orcas Street in Rainier Valley.
Your Republican Elite Masters have spoken: NO NEW TAXES ON THE RICH!!
Now, go do their bidding, you peons!
Envy is the “dumbest” of the seven sins because, unlike the other seven sins such as gluttony and lust, there is no upside to envy. Envy just makes you feel bad, unlike gluttony and lust where there is an upside.
How could Reagan Dunn, who has been handed everything in his life, ever have the slightest notion what it’s like to be a working class bloke?
Warren at 37
Indeed. Gluttony and lust can produce great pleasure.
Does interest gained on wealth count as income? If not, Dunn wouldn’t be taxed by this initiative. Councilmembers make about 125k/yr, and I don’t believe his wife has a job. Dunn may stand to gain money if this initiative is passed due to the lowering of his property tax.
Heh! Speaking of middle class, what are the Drill, Baby, Drill chanting fools telling the middle class families that are going to be wiped out from the ongoing oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico?
Mmmmmm . . . Gulf shrimp sautéed in crude oil tastes almost as good as crow, huh?
Oysters on the half Shell Oil anyone?
Spring break in Florida, frolic on the beaches and get all the free sun tanning oil you can soak up!
How’s that Drill, Baby, Drill werkin’ out fer ya fellas?
Republicans are going to get their asses handed to them this fall.
This ongoing oil gusher will kill the economy in the remaining red states.
Prompting a voter revolt against those who come up with stupid slogans and ideas like Drill, Baby, Drill.
Morons.
42
Given that Republicans are impervious to facts, I doubt that this disaster has had any impact whatsoever on how any of them think about offshore drilling. I’m sure that Sarah still will chant “drill, baby, drill.”
sounds like BP is planning on having the well capped with a container and will pump the oil out of the container – in essence gaining control….by this Friday from what I saw…
so unfortunately for the democrats, this disaster may be getting contained and for the most part, avoided.
@37….lots of envy going on at HA by the usual crowd…
@29 As a teen I lived for a while in a colonial-style mansion in Kennydale overlooking Lake Washington. Odd arrangement – I was “free” but if I walked out the door there would be an APB out for my arrest. Anyway, in the 1920’s it was a bootlegger’s place and there was an escape tunnel built from the basement out to a ravine about a 150′ away. There was a concrete wall that had a large concealed door. About 12″ thick concrete and steel, the door was so well balanced on its center hinge you could rotate it open it by pushing with a single finger. Inside was a large concrete room with the then sealed tunnel entrance on the far wall from the entry. When the concrete door was closed you could barely tell it was there. It was a drive-though basement, now that I recall, with old carriage-style doors on the one side, swing out on the other, only a few feet from the entrance to the tunnel. Beyond that, it had all the usual colonial mansion stuff you’d expect. Very cool residence. Very strange times.
Oh yeah, the library, a room in itself with the original built-in glass and wood doored cabinetry, contained what looked to be the original owner’s books from the late 19th early 20th centuries. So cool! Let’s see, a sports field big enough for football and softball, as well as a fenced off tennis/full basketball court. I reckon not all mansions have those included. I’ll add that it had a most amazing attic with seemingly every previous owner’s old stuff crammed up there. I’ve had the occasional dream in the years since of rummaging through that attic.
I do like the oriental rugs, and I’m inclined to wonder whether Reagan and his wife found those on their own or inherited them from his Mom. They look like what one would expect to see on the floors in a DC brownstone occupied by a senior member of Congress.
Aside from that, Goldy…you’ve hit the nail on the head. Tax rates in Washington State haven’t risen, but instead are lower than they used to be. Our County Councilman lives in a fancy house, on which he’s no doubt paid considerable taxes in recent years, owing to its increase in value during the real-estate runup, and because the Puget Sound region didn’t get hit all that hard by the collapse. He’s bought a lot of nice things to put in his nice house, and unless he bothered to go looking for everything out of the state he’s no doubt paid some significant sales taxes on it. Betcha he drives some fancy car (a Benz? BMW? Maybe one of those extra-special 500-horsepower Caddie CTS-V’s) and it must cost him a few sheckels to pay for the tabs, not to mention the tax on the fuel it slurps when he drives it the way it seems everyone drives on the Eastside.
Boo. Fucking. Hoo.
@47…Maple Valley is not on the “eastside”….fyi.
Oh, yeah, for sure McMoron. Because the 5 million+ gallons of oil that will have gushed out by Friday won’t have any impact on the economies of Gulf Coast.
And that’s presupposing that this idea will even work.
Saying this disaster is, “for the most part, avoided” is like having a huge banner behind you saying “Mission Accomplished.”
What a complete dumb FUCK!
@49…I never said it wouldnt have any impact pussy boy. I said that if they can get control of it like planned, that the disaster may not be as bad as everyone has been crowing about.
are you gonna park your car? nah, didnt think so
hows that fat lip doing?
44
You ass, nobody wants the leak controlled faster than Democrats do. We give a shit about the environment and the working people who are affected by the leak. Folks from your party only give a shit about the leak because of the likely political fallout. Tell me, do you think a voluntary regulation policy for our nation’s offshore drillers should remain unchanged?
Damn straight you didn’t say it, but you implied it.
Fat lip? What fat lip? The one you “dreamed” about giving me???
Baaa haaa haaa haaa.
The only one around here who has a fat lip is you from all the herpes blisters you got from suckin’ dirty cock.
The GOP is going doooooown for the last count, boys.
Turn out the lights, the GOP party’s over!!
The GOP has managed to piss off the Latino voters and no Southern independent or swing voters will vote GOP this fall. Even moderate Republicans don’t feel like they belong in the GOP any more.
Hell, when there isn’t room in the GOP for a guy like Crist, you know the GOP bus has gone off the cliff.
The Ship of Fools sank in the Gulf of Mexico. Adios Amigos!
@52…learn how to read and comprehend dickwad.
and no, the fat lip you got for mouthing off…and not from me – had it been me, a fat lip would be the least of your worries.
keep talkin that smack big boy….
What a denier!!
It’s already that bad dumb FUCK.
Now the only question is how much worse will it get.
You’re such an ass munch.
A) You couln’t give me a fat lip or do any worse.
B) I will keep talkin’ my smack.
C) There is ZERO you can or will do about it.
Now what?
@56…it is? no, not really…the sky is not falling.
ass munch? feeling 16 today?
poor Lavrentiy GBS Beria…cant decide of he’s coming, going, or blowing….
mr tough buy wants to “take down” anyone he doesnt agree with…LOL
@57…keep mocking you and fucking with you…funny to see you get all bent out of shape for an old dude…what a riot.
“Whether a high earners income tax would kill our recovery and make our state less competitive, as Dunn asserts, well, neither he nor I are economists …”
It doesn’t take an economist to realize that one reason we have so many millionaires living here is because Washington’s tax system is a fabulous deal for the rich. Everyone else? Not so much.
@11 “the more you rely on the govt, the more they own your ass”
It’s better to have your ass owned by rich people and their corporations?
@23 You’re a fucking idiot. No, I take that back, you’re merely an idiot. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to fuck you.
Dr Dre says:
@57…keep mocking you and fucking with you…funny to see you get all bent out of shape for an old dude…what a riot.
That’s what I thought. Your answer to “Now what?” was nothing but yap, yap.
You got a long way to go to make me mad. I’m laughing my ass off at your ignorance.
Goldy: All-time classic post. Hilarious, incisive, awesome.
sorry, had to delete
@60 Actually, there are a lot of millionaires around here because of a number of factors that have contributed to the growth of industries based on technical innovation. Not the least of these, by far, is the presence of a large land-grant university that plays host to a tremendous amount of taxpayer-funded research. This institution is simultaneously turning out large numbers of superbly educated graduates in nearly every imaginable profession. Combine this with a locale that’s blessed with breathtaking scenery and opportunities of all sorts for recreation that strengthens the body, satisfies the soul and stimulates the intellect.
All of this has combined to help a large number of people become wealthy and comfortable here. Nothing wrong with demanding that they pay their share of the freight for keeping this place what it is. Most likely they’ll grumble a little bit, but I’ll betcha they won’t bail out and go to Detroit or Cleveland or Bakersfield just because it’s a little cheaper to live there…because they don’t have to.
Listen, what you guys are truly after is wealth re-distribution. Fuck income tax. Have a simple wealth tax!
That is, every December 31, all those rich folks you hate must pay a 10% tax to the State of WA on their net worth in excess of some number. Suppose we let that number be $5 million. If a guy or gal has a net worth of $100 million on December 31, her or she cuts a check to the DOR for 10% of $95 million or $9.5 million. What his or her income is doens’t mean jack shit – just pay 10% of the amount of the net worth in excess of $5 million.
It’s a hell of a lot simpler than a fucking income tax, morons!
@62…better go talk to your daughter then….
Cynical @10,
What a cynical load of crap.
The state portion of the property tax currently amounts to about a rate of $2 per thousand dollars of assessed value, or roughly 0.2% annually. I-1077 reduces this rate by 20%, producing a savings of about $0.40 per $1000 of value.
So let’s just take the number you pulled out of your ass unchallenged, and assume that Gates Jr. owns $100 million of property in WA state. I-1077 would thus shave about $40,000 off his property tax bill… an amount equal to the tax on about $1.2 million of income.
With a net worth 40 to 50 billion dollars, do you really think Gates doesn’t earn at least a few hundred million a year? Remember, the tax is on AGI… that means salary, interest, dividends, royalties, capital gains… everything.
So this idea that 1077 is a tax break for billionaires is laughable.
What is with plaid couches in the Game (family) room? My parents had one, my friends parents had one what is it with plaid?
KKKynical @10: “Gates SR. & his firm made a fortune helping folks avoid taxes. Now he is emboldened to actually write a law that will codify that objective.”
Since, on principle, you are a lickspittle lackey bootlicker for the rich and powerful, you should be all for this initiative. I’ll send you a sheaf of signature forms. Please provide address.
We welcome your support, however misguided.
@70: There is a certain distinctly American sensibility that is as gloriously unaware of their bad taste as they are blankly unaware of their bedrock assumed unique national exceptionalism.
Ergo: Plaid is a threat to national survival.
Without a doubt one of the ugliest entries I have ever seen anywhere. The inside ain’t that great either.
The only problem I have with the income tax proposal is that it picks a number, and not a reference to a number that actually moves, like the poverty level.
If the tax started at 10x the poverty level family of 4 for single people, 20x for couples.
When you pick a number it becomes a political football later on.
goldy, yawn. ok, so he married well and his house is faux gatsy. So what. Why don’t you show me the Caribbean home of Charlie Rangel; built w/ tax cheating by top Dem.?, or maybe the homes of all the Rich Dems who want to jam more taxes on all of us.
I was hoping you’d then show us the homes of say Andy Stern, or all the graftees getting gov’t largess from the porkuus bill.
Tell you what wrongon. We’ll trade you some mythical stimulus bill graftees for some real Iraq military contract abusers.
I think George Harrison wrote a song called ‘crackerbox palace’ describing such a residence as the Dunn’s.
It sure doesn’t stand up to the residence of Sir Frankie Crisp.
@37
The basis of David’s politics is emotion: envy and resentment and greed. While it’s not a basis for his politics, schadenfreude is a part of David’s essential nature. David likes to feel the black emotions. David is uninterested in women, sex, lust.
That video ruined two good songs.
Per Reagan’s McMansion: Did he inherit his wealth? You don’t get the kind of money needed to buy that house working for King County.
I failed to mention that David is uninterested in gluttony as well.
@10 Taxes aren’t a penalty for success or punishment for trying to make money. They exist to pay for government functions that voters, through their elected representatives, deem essential or desireable. If there were no taxes, and therefore no government services, your property would be worthless. In fact, the concept of private property couldn’t even exist without a government to enact laws defining property rrights, to enforce those rights, to record property titles and maintain property records, etc. Everyone here on this blog is tired of your incessant bitching about property taxes. If you don’t want to pay property taxes, sell your property, then you won’t have to.
78
You are an armchair psychologist who has not the slightest clue what he is talking about.
Goldy – It appears you have to hold the hands (I’d advise wearing gloves, though) of the Righties who simply are unable to comprehend the point of your post on their own–that point being the outrageous hypocrisy of a plutocrat masquerading as a populist. The notion of Dunn giving a moment’s thought to the economic stress of the middle class is as laughable as his taste is lacking. (That plaid couch ought to put to rest any question regarding his sexuality. No self-respecting gay man would own a plaid couch.)
Regarding his decor, someone really needs to tell him to take a fistful of that cash he inherited from mommy and go buy some taste.
79
This is from Reagan Dunn’s father: http://www.str8arrows.com/
Dennis Dunn is rich as hell and, believe it or not, unethical as hell. A close friend of mine ended up hunting in a party that included Dunn several years ago in the Northwest Territories of Canada, in what I think is now called Nunavik. The sonofabitch shot a caribou swimming in a lake. That is not fair chase. That’s called cheating. That’s Reagan Dunn’s genes.
What an ugly house. IT belongs in that book called What Not to Build.
The columns out front do not have a beam across the top. Matching them with that huge ugly facade with the scoop in it is quite an innovation. It screams “we’re trying to be classic, but we don’t know how!”
The grand entry fails. The stair isn’t grant enough and the vast empty box like space in front of it doesn’t work. You need a broader stairway and you don’t put a big rug like that in the entry way.
The ubiquitous mottled dark counter tops are going to look passe in about two years. It’s a quite ugly combination to combine that with the dark wood cabinets.
The two islands are excessive. The rooms are large and cold. The box beam ceiling in the game room looks like each beam was stuck on after the fact — obviously a fake. And the massing of the structure on the lot is overwrought and the landscaping isn’t up to par either. It’s basically just a suburban lawn.
Hey Reagan, this ain’t no Inigo Jones.
I was trying to figure out the point of the two kitchen islands and couldn’t either. They also seemed to be a hell of a long way from the fridge.
Could we please vote on a special surcharge for people with bad taste who inherit large sums of money and preach the benefits of self-empowerment and “hard work?”
Jealous much?
@88 Jealous? Of What? Bad taste? Wingnut kitsch? That’ll be the day.
@89 Steve
I just love your reply to that idiot Delbert…Jealous? Of bad taste and wingnut kitsch?
Great stuff.
Way to stuff it right back in an ignorant trolls mouth.
@11: Dre fool
What I love about an idiot like you is how you have no reply to facts – but manage to try and call me a fool.
You defend what the republicans do and attack the democrats for looking out for the middle class – but then you say that party does not matter – they are all crooks.
?
Hmm, so what do you think should be done with health care – should the insurance companies own my ass? Or should we be like the rest of the civilized world?
I do notice that you are unable to articulate what you want to see…but very able to insult and criticize others.
You will not be taken seriously until you can describe what you want to see instead of the third-grade level chirping that you do.
Maybe you should actually PAY attention to what the parties are doing and quit defending the republican suck-ups to big business.
Maybe you should actually pay attention to what is going on before you shoot off your poathetically stoopid mouth.
For someone who claims to know what is going on – you sure are pathetically ignorant.
Still waiting for an answer, Mr. Angry Wingnut. Why don’t you give a shit about needless, wasteful, and conspicuously selfish consumption that is clearly destroying the environment?
[Deleted]
93 “Remember what I taught you people.”
Yup. That you’re a total dipshit.
# 85, I was thinking the same thing, especially as I looked at the entrance again. The huge porch roof supported by greek columns is very oversized for the front entrance, and out of place with respect to the rest of the exterior architecture.
The brick facade from ground to soffits is plain and unimaginative, lacking any detail other than that provided by the windows and faux shutters themselves. Without the front porch and the entryway floor-to-ceiling windows, it looks boxy and the brickwork gives it a slighly fortress appearance.
The floor-to-ceiling windows in the entryway are impressive from the inside, but not so much from the outside – again, they seem out of place with respect to the rest of the structure.
I’m guessing that the oversize porch was added by the architect because too much direct light would have flooded through those windows otherwise (blinding those inside). But a smaller roofline on the front porch, or even a balcony accessible from the upper floors, would have accomplshed the same purpose. I’m guessing that having the wings of the house fold back from the entrance unintentionally made the house look smaller than intended from the front entrance. Therefore, to increase the intimidation/envy factor among guests, the porch roofline was made exceptionally oversized. It might be excusable if the driveway ran UNDER this huge porch roof, thereby giving the guests cover from the rain as they exited their vehicles and turned their keys over the valets. (Come to think of it, it does remind one of a high-end restaurant or country club clubhouse with that sort of amenity). But the curved driveway is outside the roofline of the porch, so it doesn’t even serve that purpose.
Personally, I prefer a more classical approach to large homes:
<a href="Missionary Ridge Homes“>
Cannon are optional, of course.
@95 Too much owner input into the design or just another architectural shake & bake disaster, whichever, it’s all wrong and then made worse with the cheesy furnishings.
Books, there are no books in the entire house. he’s a lawyer and a councilman, is it possible he has NO books?
This is hilarious. I actually know and like Reagan personally, but this has got to go down as one of Goldy’s greatest hits. FWIW, I don’t believe they had this home built. Looks like it was a built and designed for a Microsoft Millionaire once upon a time.
Even though Goldy pokes fun at Reagan for identifying with the middle class, I truly believe he self-identifies there. He is extremely personable and doesn’t leave one iota of an heir of superiority after a meeting with him. I like him because he is straight forward and doesn’t hide the ball. His sense of humor is a godsend in some of the dreary committee meetings I’ve had to attend.