Also on Monday, the House passed a bill that would increase the amount of damages that landowners can collect for stolen Christmas trees.
Under present law, the state and private landowners can’t collect more than $3 per tree in a civil lawsuit if someone cuts, breaks or removes a Christmas tree from public or private land.
But when it comes to other kinds of timber or trees, landowners presently can collect three times the actual value of trees that are cut, damaged or removed. Someone also can be convicted of theft if he or she intentionally trespasses on public land and removes trees.
You mean current law provides an exemption for tree theft, as long as it was stolen to be used as a Christmas tree? WTF?
WTF alright!
The whole house is on fire fer cryin’ out loud and our Democrat controlled Legislature is focus on fines for Christmas Tree’s??
And please don’t give me the line that our State Legislators are somehow capable of multi-tasking….look at the mess we are in.
7.8% Unemployment per the Times…however, Two bright spots were state government, which gained 5,900 jobs last month (mostly in educational services), and real estate and rental leasing, up by 800 jobs. Wow, ain’t that good…we lose tens of thousands more private sector jobs…but the State just hired 5,900 more!!
This is akin to vacuuming your car when the engine and whole front-end are fully engulfed in flames!!
There needs to be a full-scale revolution.
$8.3 BILLION Deficit.
The Retirement Fund lost $15.6 BILLION in 15 months due to highly risky and questionable investments.
Unemployment is skyrocketing…but the State is hiring more!
Who cares….right.
Cynical
My understanding is that you would address the crisis you describe by . . . doing nothing.
@ 2
My understanding is that you would address the crisis you describe by . . . doing nothing.
No, no, no. You have that entirely wrong. Cynical would address the current crisis by doing exactly the same things that got us here in the first place.
pl–
I would devote 100% of my time to the Budget Debacle and put this on the back-burner where it has been FOREVER.
It’s a matter of the Legislators showing us they really truly understand how critical this Budget is to our cost of living and services received.
Yet these KLOWNS keep dredging up one sideshow issue after another.
I would save this one and every thing else not directly connected with the Budget for a time AFTER the Budget has been fully addressed.
Gee, Cynical, your knowledge of the legislative process is, well, … underwhelming.
I can’t imagine that for everyone except the sponsor of this bill, it takes up more than the two or three minutes it takes to do a voice vote. After all, who’s going to vote against Christmas trees?
Except for those working on the budget committees, everyone is waiting to see what the state gets as part of the federal stimulus package. Otherwise, a lot of the effort would be wasted making decisions which have to be reversed later. In the meantime, they might as well get these “housekeeping” matters out of the way (i.e., updating outdated legislation).
@ 4
I would devote 100% of my time to the Budget Debacle
Hm… There’s a surprising lack of detail in that comment. Using one of Cynical’s own arguments, we can reasonably conclude that Cynical would, in fact, do nothing.
So, I hereby apologize to PL @ 2. You were right. I was wrong.
Don Joe and the other KLOWNS–
For the past 2 years, you have had you heads in your collective asses (in some cases in your own ass and in many other cases, some other KLOWNS ass).
If you still believe Gregoire’s campaign rhetoric that there is no Budget Deficit, you are in the Permanent Head-In-Ass Klub.
If you finally understand the seriousness of the Budget Deficit…WELCOME TO THE SUNSHINE where it don’t stink as bad as the place you just left.
Now, if you are concerned to the level that this is truly a major, complex problem, please nod your little PINHEAD.
Good.
Now the one or two of you KLOWNS still left….
don’t you think the Budget and all it’s implications ought to be Priority #1 and knock off the sideshows until it is resolved??
How hard is that.
There is not now, nor will there ever be a budget deficit in WASH. Not ever. It can’t and won’t happen. Don’t believe right wing liars like Cyn when they say there is a deficit here. There is a PROJECTED deficit. Unlike in the other Washington, where Cyn’s boy AWOL Bush created a REAL deficit – the largest in US history – which for some reason is okay with the hypocritical cocksucker.
@7
Could it be the performance that patty, cantwell and the Gov. performed for obama was maybe larger than expected and the payback larger than expect.
Gee, hope it didn’t get sexual Yikes!
ByeBye–
How predictable…the KLOWN with the pointy-ist PINHEAD lodged the furthest up his colon shows his ignorance. All me to educate you retard–Don’t you have a Thesaurus?? Ooops, too big of a word for you douchebag.
Deficit
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: shortage of something needed, required
Synonyms: arrears, dead horse, defalcation, default, deficiency, due bill, dues, in hock, in the hole, in the red, inadequacy, insufficience, insufficiency, lack, loss, paucity, red ink, scantiness, shortcoming, shortfall, underage
How hard is that loser??
Cynical @ 7 said:
To my knowledge, Gregoire never said there would not be a budget deficit. Several of us here pointed out that the budget has to be balanced (hence no deficit), but not Gregoire. At the time I wish she had responded more forcefully, pointing out that as governor she CAN’T propose a budget deficit.
Gregoire apparantly had more sense than to do that. I now see the better wisdom of her approach. Arguing over the semantics of an existing budget deficit (as Rossi implied) versus a projected budget deficit which will have to be balanced (as we pointed out) is probably beyond the scope the sound bites used in the media in reporting on the campaign.
I still would MUCH rather have Gregoire managing this budget than Rossi. And most of the voters agreed.
11. rhp6033 spews:
2 quick points rhp–
1) The projected Budget Defict was $1.7 BILLION when the voters voted. It’s now $8.3 Billion. Not so sure the voters TODAY would agree that Gregoire is the better Budget Manager.
2) Ironically, the “projected” Budget Deficit will soon become the “current” Budget Deficit when the new biennium starts and nothing substantive is done.
rhp..do you support the State issuing Long-Term Bonds to pay for the next biennium shortfall??
Can a brother get an open thread up in here?
12 CYn
Yes, somehow Christine Gregoire caused a global financial crisis after being elected.
But the projected revenue shortfall will become a “current deficit” ONLY when the books are closed at teh end of the budget period.
I think we’d better start raising revenue,a nd fast.
8 BBG
We don’t even have have a projected deficit. We have a projected revenue shortfall. Tha tis, rojected revenues will not cover currently legislated expenses.
Even teh framing as a “deficit” is a GOP prank. And hammering on the amount is part of the scam. Wihout considering new legislation, taxes, or spending cuts, one of two things will ABSOLUTELY happen over the next two years (biennium):
– Revenues will fall sort of the estimate
– Revenues will exceed the estimate
Give our current economic meltdown, I think it is more likely that the revenue picture will IMPROVE over the next two years than hat it will deteriorate.
Even so, we have to educate kids. We have to fund the State patrol, we have obligations to our citizens to provide medical services, and so on.
The answer? Trim spending AND raise revenues.
The Democrats since becoming liberals/socialist over the last 40 years have used fear and doom to control the weak and the poor in our state.
They worked very hard on keeping them down and not letting them get ahead.
Even though they have spent more money on dsh and the likes nothing has changed. Until we have a honest Governor and legislators who care more about the well being of all Washingtonians than sleeping with special interest groups for 3 months. Nothing will change.
Thanks for the educational heads up.
Am I using the word correctly?
byebyegoober has a deficit of intelligence.
In your personal life…
When you are paying your bills and have a “revenue shortfall,” do you-
1. Spend more
2. Spend less
If you believe in democratic economics, wouldn’t your answer will be 2.
It’s amazing how much th democratic party has changed.
40 years ago they were the party of:
40 years and they have done a complete flip-flop.
Damn!
Wouldn’t your answer be #1???
14. Daddy Love spews:
No, but she knowingly overspent in the face of a recession while publicly admitting it wasn’t sustainable. Keep defending that DL..moron.
Depends upon your definition of “deficit”…but I know what you mean.
Ever hear of cutting expenses?? Starting 4 years ago?? Gregoire has done nothing substantive…she acts like the yakking deer in the headlights. Gregoire allowed this to spiral to it’s current level due to her inactions.
15. Daddy Love spews:
And how you have framed this precisely defines the problem……..Big government with no boundaries on taxes is your schtick DL.
Won’t fly in this economy.
Better start choppin’!
Daddy Love would steal from his grandma’s cookie jar before cutting his expenses!!
@ 22
Big government with no boundaries on taxes is your schtick DL.
You’re positing an oxymoron. A democracy has a natural boundary on taxes. Perhaps you’ve heard of them. They’re called “elections”.
As for what will fly in this economy, the one thing most destructive under these circumstances is a constitution that requires a government to balance its budget.
@ 18
In your personal life…
Wrong model. What do businesses do when they have a revenue shortfall?
@19
I have never met a REAL Republican who became a Democrat.
I have met many Democrats that seen the light and became Republicans.
This bunch of Democrats are going down in flames soon.
This time it’s way overboard socialism.
@ 16
I have never met a REAL Republican who became a Democrat.
Nothing like a little question begging.
Please, keep running your brain around in rhetorical circles. Who knows? Eventually, you might just find yourself.
@16
Next time try to expand your intelligence to at least 6th grade.
@ 28
Next time try to expand your intelligence to at least 6th grade.
My fourth-grade daughter can come up with a better retort than that.
@28
Your child yeah sure… another pretend from a liberal.
You people are funny……..