State Sen. Adam Kline (representing my 37th LD) has a great guest column in today’s Seattle P-I, ripping Tim Eyman a new one:
Uh-oh. Hold onto your wallets, folks. Tim Eyman is back.
That’s right, the professional initiative salesman, who secretly pocketed hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions, began his most recent screed (“2006 initiative: Save our $30 tabs,” Dec. 29) by stating that nobody trusts politicians. The veteran of umpteen initiative campaigns proceeded to attack politicians for allowing additional fees for vehicle registration. No mention, of course, that the fees are still there because he failed to eliminate them in the drafting of his own initiative, which he falsely advertised as the “$30 Tab Initiative.” Talk about truth in advertising.! He could have fixed it again with Initiative 776, which he dubbed “$30 Car Tabs for Everyone.” But he didn’t. He blew it, not once but twice, and now he blames it on “politicians.”
To quote Eyman: “The arrogance is overwhelming.”
It should also be noted that Eyman’s scandals have finally caught up with him, at least in terms of his so-called “grass roots” support. Of the $593,000 he raised for Initiative 900, over $514,000 can from a single source: investment banker Michael Dunmire of Woodinville. All it takes to qualify for the ballot is a half million dollars worth of paid signatures, and with a deep pocketed sugar daddy like Dunmire, Eyman is virtually assured ballot access. But that won’t mean his latest $30 car tab initiative has popular support.
Indeed, in the wake of I-912’s resounding defeat, targeting the other third of the funding for the state transportation package doesn’t sound like such a sure thing to me. I just hope the business community puts up the money to help kill Eyman’s latest folly, putting a fork in his dying initiative career.
Let me get this straight:
Eyman sucks in a tremendous amount of cash donations from neo-convicts, makes a comfortable 6 figure salary, which means that much less financial support for conservative candidates running for political office in 2006, and I pay less in car tabs.
Where’s the problem?
Go, Tim, Go!!
Eyman has to start new initiatives so he can go on KVI and have John Carlson and Kirby Wilber jack him off. Eyman is their hero.
I dont have a problem with cheap car tabs.
It’ll get popular support.
Car registration should be kept to the cost of registering cars and not a revenue source for pet projects that cannot be funded via the gas tax.
I think GBS has a point there. And, especially since most of the time of late, Tim fails and just drains resources away from the other wingnuts, and that half of the inititives he does pass get struck down…,
Go Tim Go!!!
Sven @ 3: I thought you were a moderate? This one line, oversimplified, we-can-sell-this-to-the-unwashed-and-they-won’t-know-it’s-actually-bad-for-them analysis of a very complicated issue is veeeeeery Republican, innit?
@3 – I don’t have a problem with cheap tabs either. But I firmly believe we need to pay for the services we receive. Reducing the amount of revenue coming in, while the population continues to grow, and at the same time receiving all these unfunded mandates from Washington, is not smart. And in the end we will end up paying for the services we get, whether it is through car tabs, gas tax, or whatever. And the longer we wait, the more it will cost… JMHO
Keep “Permanent Defense” in your bookmarks.
Pardon my ignorance (actually, just an aversion to following anything related to Eyeman), but, if I-776 passed and was upheld by the courts, what’s this about? What’s the cause of Eyeman’s beef?
Once again, the LEFTIST PINHEADED KLOWNS want average working folks to feel guilty for wanting to hold on to more of their hard-earned money. AIN’T THAT HORRIBLE Larry the Bourbonite???!!!
Adam Kline is yet another LEFTIST PINHEAD who believes the only problem in our state is that we don’t pay enough taxes!!! Adam would be better served spending his time making sure all existing tax dollars are being effectively spent and figuring out ways to get more productivity with existing dollars.
That would be hard work Adam….it’s just easier to shame the taxpayers for wanting to draw the line. The World according to Adam Kline is simply give Adam as much money as Adam asks for and don’t ask any questions!
Who cares what this asshole EYEMAN wants. He got caught pocketing donations from inbred righties. And I’d wish him ill but if he takes money out of the pockets of republicans, he’s doing God’s work in my opinion. Keep at it Timmy. Hopefully all the ignorant asswipe chickenhawks will continue to support your luxury lifestyle at the expense of their own! HE HE!
C @ 10: I’ve got no problem with “average working folks” holding onto money. It’s the Lexus/Hummer/BMW/Mercedes/and even lefty Volvo drivers I want to pony up the bucks.
And, as usual, you ignore Kline’s basic premise: Where is the fat? Make gov’t more efficient? Please, if it get’s any more efficient (that’s Republispeak for non-existent) we might as well move to a third world country. Oh wait, stolen elections, corrupt leaders, pointless wars….we’re there!
I answered my question @ 9 by myself. But here’s another one: Is there anyway to limit abuse of the initiative process? We keep on voting on (what seems like)various permutations of basically the same thing. As the lawyers say “Asked and answered”.
Goldy, I know the initiative process is a pet peeve of yours (and mine) as being inicimal to representrative gov’t. How about an initiative to prevent abuse of the initiative process by whack jobs… ahem, I meant to say special interests? One approach might be to exclude paid sig gatherers. Or limit the maximum donation from one funding source? Any other ideas?
Larry the Bourbonite—
So precisely why should someone driving an expensive car pay more for tabs than some asshole hippy driving a 1978 beater Volvo Wagon or a 1981 Suburu???
Is it because according to Larry….they can afford it????
People who buy these expensive cars also paid sales tax, the car dealer paid B&O tax, gas hogs pay more GasTax per mile.
Larry, I’m certain you view yourself as a full 6-pack. However you seem to be missing the plastic thingy to HOLD IT ALL TOGETHER!!@!
Perhaps Garth Brooks was thinking of pathetic bastards like you when he wrote the chorus:
’cause I’ve got friends in low places
Where the whiskey drowns
And the beer chases my blues away
And I’ll be okay
Cynical @ 13: To answer your basic question (because they can afford it): Why, yes! Rethuglican “faith based initiatives” notwhithstanding (and we all saw what a sucess that was), I believe people are essentially greedy. However, I believe that, in a wealthy democratic society such as ours, that supports everyone equally, that those who benefit the most have a RESPONSIBILITY to give back to the community. But people also have short memories and won’t do so on thier own. Therefore, it’s big brother time.
Ironically, if Rethuglicans really were the moral, christian, giving people they profess to be, this wouldn’t be necessary. But, I’ll let you in on a secret…they’re not. They got where they are on the backs of those below them, and then just want the peons to go back to thier mud hovels and be quiet.
Here’s another ironic thing: Calling me a Bourbonite makes no sense at all, as they were the most uber-conservatives there ever were! Remember “Let them eat cake”? Marie Antionette was married to a Bourbon. Idiot.
go Tim go…where do I sign….besides it pisses off all the right people…:)”were hunting wabbits”
Larry—
So your idea of charity is to tax the wealthy and allow the government to redistribute the wealth?? No surprise there. I know plenty of folks who are very generous without the most inefficient form of charity (government). Money actually gets to needy folks without some loser bureaucrat slicing off a huge hunk.
Larry, you seem to have quite a hard edge toward financially successful people. Rather than complain and be bitter, go take risks and earn your own money!! Roger Rabbit is a Lefty…but he takes risks and invests. I’m sure Roger also makes reasonable choices on his lifestyle and discretionary spending (except for giving money to KLOWNS like Cantwell…sorry Rog, I couldn’t resist!).
Making money is enjoyable and can be stressful when you are taking risks. Too many KLOWNS like you Larry focus your energy on how to take it away from others rather than CREATING wealth.
When I listen to KLOWNS like you Larry, I often find it hard to believe that the winner that created you actually beat out 1,000,000 other sperm in the race to your mommy’s egg!!
First of all, I am selfish. period. The more of my money I can keep, the better I like it.
Second I spent a lot of years paying ridiculous car tabs here and in California, and I never liked it. $500+ for a used mid size economy car jsut plain wrong. When we went to dramtically cheaper tabs I was very happy. I pay more then 30 now obviously, but not so much i would actively campaign for it.
But if I had to pay 30 instead of ther 60-80 I pay now, I won’t admit to being unhappy about.
I am selfish…unabashedly so.
And lets not forget the debacle of the monorail tab fee which Seattle folks will pay for years even though there will never be a monorail.
Car tabs is a convenient cash cow when you have to buy them in order to drive, as opposed to a use tax like Gas Taxes.
Fire,
I dont argue any of that.
But I admit, less is better in my world.
:)
C @ 16: Whn you assume…. I’m actually 2nd generation wealthy, dude. And, I’ve earned my own money, not by investing, but by WORKING for a living. As I’ve mentioned before here, I make a very nice living as a consultant (don’t ask what kind, that’s more info then I’m prepared for a nutball like u to know). So, if anyone has the right to push rich people to give it up, it’s me…cause I’m one of them.
Bet I make more than u, Mr. C. Neener-neener.
Idiot.
@ 19 – Sven, I think your Repuglican colors are showing…
fire_one @7
Reducing the amount of revenue coming in, while the population continues to grow,
Well, that statement is not quite so simple, unless you are saying the population that is growing is not growing the tax base. That cannot be true in a state with regressive sales taxes as its primary source of revenue. If the population grows, the tax revenue increases, which means a rollback of “fees” (from what, $60-ish down to $30?) is not likely to have a negative effect on the funding of government.
21,
Naw, just my curmudgeonly cheap bastard colors.
:)
22
Correct me if I am wrong, but most of what is attached to the car tabs now is just for various local transit projects, right?
Sven, I say show me a cheap bastard and I’ll show you a republican. It’s false economy to invest in cheap goods, by the way.
Larry.
Lol. So if I am cheap, or simply like to keep my money, I am a republican?
nice standard. Filing that one under “whatever”…
I looked up my tabs, I pay 68.75 which includes:
Filing $3.00
RTA Excise Tax $25.00
License $30.00
Vehicle Weight Fee $10.00
Lic Service $0.75
Total Fees $68.75
Not bad, and easily affordable.
If I-man makes it with an initiative and makes it 30 again, I will enjoy paying that, until they raise it again.
That to me is the futility, that initiatives are jsut temporary fixes. 912 was futile because had the gas tax been rescinded, they would have repassed. The legislature will pass what is feels is necessary. That’s their job.
I gave up on the initiative process having any long term value.
So if it changez I will pay it. When it changes again, I will continue to pay it, since I must to drive, and I need to drive.
I do my part.
22.
It is my understanding that the car tab surcharge pays for more than transit, but also for bike lanes, sidewalks and roads projects all across the state, and a large chunk is for road congestion and safety projects.
My tabs contain a fee for RTA, identified as Sound Transit by the state website..
According to DOL:
In 1996, voters in Central Puget Sound agreed to increase their taxes by adding a three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) Motor Vehicle Excise Tax to pay for a transportation system that would enable people to move easily from one end of the region to another. The plan includes an assortment of transportation improvements, Sounder commuter rail, Link light rail, ST Express regional buses, HOV lanes, new or improved transit centers and park-and-ride lots. The Central Puget Sound RTA District includes the urban areas of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.
That may include what you mention, bike lanes and such, but the focus is on high capacity transportation.
Timmy just hates paying that extra weight fee for the SUV the American Conservative Union bought for him. Didn’t the knee-jerk Carlson anti-tax crowd get the message
This initiative is already dated – it was designed to repeal the last portion of the legislature’s road improvment tax increase. Now, all the Anarchist-Elitist-Talibangelist right wing has to work with is the weight fees.
And God knows, tiny-appendage driven weasels like Tim Eyman “need” to tool around 4,500 lb. SUVs to make up for their shortcomings.
And how funny is it that rich frat-boy punks like Eyman are still positioning themselves as looking out for the little guy? Yeah, the same way George W, Inc. is looking out for the little guy!
-I know plenty of folks who are very generous without the most inefficient form of charity (government). –
Mayby MTR/Mr. Cynical is trying to blame liberals for the Bush/GOP Congress deficit spending spree? Maybe Mr. Troll is terribly worried about ongoing audits that show hundreds of millions are disappearing into the conservatives’ favorite rat-hole, Iraq? We want to know, Troll!
Voter Advocate @26
I thought that was the main selling point for the gas tax and the defeat of I-912.
Oh, this is different?
27, 30
All I know is that gas tax revenue is limited to roads and ferries by the state constitution.
Any other transportation spending has to come from elsewhere, including:
Freight rail improvements
Bike lanes
Transit
Sidewalks
The reason some road building is and ferry improvement in thrown into the registration and weight fee increase, I don’t know.
Bottom line, the tab increases are not just for public tranportation.
@22 The point is that with a growing population, you need more services, especially since we are so far behind already. In particular we need to improve our roads and schools. Go to Missouri where the taxes are low and look at their schools and roads. Go to Alabama where their taxes are low and look at the infrastructure… I don’t want to live in a state like one of those. As to growing population paying for itself, that’s a common fallacy. The additional population weight WILL eventually pay for itself, but not immediately. In the meantime, the kids still need schools, and roads to get them there NOW.
But if I had to pay 30 instead of ther 60-80 I pay now, I won’t admit to being unhappy about.
You say you are selfish, Sven? If I could show you with hard numbers that you would pay LESS tax with a reformed progressive state income tax, would you support REAL tax reform?
This state needs to stop taxing the poor and the working class people to death. It is an absolute outrage that Bill Gates pays less for the tabs on his Bentley than the average worker pays for his tabs on his pickup truck.
Washington state needs a viable tax structure that is based on wealth and income. This hook and crook Democratic controlled Nanny State needs to stop taxing Alcohol, Tobacco, property, Businesses, and Sales Tax to fund the State. Where is the income tax? Where is the fairness?
fire_one @33
Go to Missouri where the taxes are low and look at their schools and roads. Go to Alabama where their taxes are low and look at the infrastructure…
Why compare Washington to them? Why not compare to New York or Pennsylvania or even the Holy Grail of New England?
It is not a matter of high taxes; it is what you are willing to pay for the statistically relevant number of students-to-graduation rate. At some point, it matters. At what point would that be?
Marks – My comparison was to demonstrate how crappy the infrastructure can be if you are not willing to pay for it. Missouri and Alabama historically have some of the lowest taxes in the US. And you can see the results. I do not want us to become like that. I want good schools and roads. And that means I am willing to pay for what I use. And I am willing to pay for a higher graduation rate amongst our highschoolers. I can’t prove it, but I believe that those who do not graduate high school will be more of a drain on our state. Those who do, pay more taxes…. Simple, really. The teachers here start out at an average of about 20000 per year. We should be ashamed of that. We can do better, and we need to.
And we should tax the CRAP out of alcohol and tobacco….
And Marks, I have been somewhat reluctant to part with more tax money in the past, and have stated such here in this forum, but I have somewhat changed my mind after BushCo lost 8.8 BILLION dollars somewhere in Iraq…
Larry the Loser sez:
” Whn you assume…. I’m actually 2nd generation wealthy, dude. And, I’ve earned my own money, not by investing, but by WORKING for a living. As I’ve mentioned before here, I make a very nice living as a consultant (don’t ask what kind, that’s more info then I’m prepared for a nutball like u to know). So, if anyone has the right to push rich people to give it up, it’s me…cause I’m one of them. Bet I make more than u, Mr. C. Neener-neener.
Idiot.
Comment by Larry the Urbanite— 1/5/06 @ 4:24 pm”
2nd Generation Wealthy Larry??? Does that mean mommy & daddy paid for your college education? Or were they smart enough LEFTY’S to know how to cheat & get the “Guv’mint” to pay???
Since you are claiming to be such a moneymaker like me give you a little tip for your investment strategy:
When your IQ reaches 50 Larry, SELL!!!!!!!!
fire_one @38
And you can see the results.
I am not certain that you can retreat from this particular situation, but to say that substandard life is one way while basking in the province of another is the height of hutzpuh. How do we attain a school system that is equitable? Throw money at it? I suppose that is on the table, but is it necessary?
And get rid of the Iraq crap. It is useless filler for your political hopes.
Only 50% of the students are passing the WASL, they will need billions more to fix it.
Washington is already taxing Alcohol and Tobacco and syrup and potted meat and every other stupid thing they can think of. It is criminal for Washington to be in the Alcohol businesses. I want fair market alcohol for all. I want Bill Gates to pay a state income tax on his income instead of shielding it from taxation in his foundation. Why should he pay less than 1% of his income to the state while a worker earning 40 grand a year is paying anywhere from 15 to 45% of their income to taxes.
sgmmac @44
taxing Alcohol and Tobacco
At what point do we say “enough?” Or do we say enough? Just keep going and going??? Goldy??? Is there a limit?
“So let me get this straight. If you live in Seattle, your phone can be tapped, your garbage will be rummaged through by a city employee, you have to show picture ID to buy cold medicine and it’s illegal to go down the pub for a smoke.”
“I’m very glad that we are exporting “freedom” to the Middle East, but I didn’t realize it was going to result in a shortage here at home.”
David Ruffley Mullineux
Snohomish
Seattle’s PI
Marks,
The state’s profits from alcohol and tobacco is in the Billions, and that’s with a “B”
sgmmac – so, you finally get it…. We are losing our freedoms here. But I still don’t understand why you are so fixated on smoking and drinking….
marks – Do we have to throw money at it? We haven’t tried that, so I’m willing to give it a shot.
and goodnight all, it is 11 pm here in Virginia, and I gotta go to work tomorrow…
No fixation….. I can get tax free alcohol and cigarettes on base, I get health care there too.
It is just grossly unfair for “normal” people to be taxed to death so the elite don’t have to pay income taxes……
fire_one
Are you in Stafford, or does nothing matter?
MARKS
YOU NEVER DID TELL ME WHERE YOU WORKED ON THE RANGER
Yo,
I replaced sacrificial anodes. Heat exchangers are the same the world over…not least in Radar systems…
Okay, YO, that was cryptic…
Ever heard of AIRNAV or RADAR 3? If you didn’t, I can’t help….
The problem with Eyeman is he doesn’t do enought intitiatives. He need to do each elction. I will trade the 1/2 million to put the initiative on the ballot for the 12 million the liberals will have to put up to defeat it. Together we can bankrupt the DNC. Go Tim Go!!!!
“Of the $593,000 he raised for Initiative 900, over $514,000 can from a single source: investment banker Michael Dunmire of Woodinville.”
At this rate, even Dunmire has to eventually run out of money, and when that happens Eyman will be reduced to gathering signatures himself at strip malls. And collecting spare change in a glass jar.
RR, I think he is already doing that. It looked like Eyman, CynnicalIdiot and MTVYD were all at South Center collecting for their MD2020 but the mall police ran them off
Eyman’s $30 car tab initiaitive is based on the principle that prices never go up. People should ask him about the costs of the watches he sells.
Tim Eyman has already wasted many millions through his yearly efforts to stop improvements to transportation in puget sound by appealling to the backwaters of the state who want to make the whole state’s quality of life on par with – say – Wapato. Or take your pick of any other Eastern Washington dump.
Tim has found he makes more money in politics than watch sales. His initiative isn’t about saving money – its about delaying things that’ll cost us more when the bills finally come due.
His 2006 $30 car tab stab is a product direct from the department of redundency department of the Tim Eyman agency of keep Tim Eyman’s earnings up.
He’d take over a billion dollars from the road projects voters just approved by rejecting I-912. That just means more waiting in traffic and more deaths and maimings on roads that aren’t safe.
For the vast majority of people in this state the car tabs they’ll pay for are extremely reasonable. The weight fee the legislature added on last year will cost the average person about $10 per year. Tim Eyman’s new initiative will cost us all a lot more.
But he’ll bring it to the ballot. And he’ll lose. But it won’t matter to him – loe or win – because he’ll pocket a healthy income even while losing.
Who is Michael Dunmire? And why does he give Eyman money?
According to an April 2005 article in the King County Journal, “Dunmire, who has degrees in engineering and business, is principal of the Tacoma-based Benchmark Plus Partners, which manages investments, including ‘super-enhanced’ index funds, for institutional and individual wealthy investors.”
(For article, see http://www.kingcountyjournal.c.....tml/204870; for Benchmark Plus Partners web site, see http://www.bpfunds.com/)
Dunmire’s motive?
“`I’m 60 years old and have been very successful in business and wanted to do something to give back to the community’’ Dunmire said in an interview.” WTF??? Paying Eyman’s salary is “giving back to the community???” Hmmm … well, maybe indirectly, if Eyman spends Dunmire’s money in local food stores, instead of ordering his groceries on-line to beat the sales tax on trash bags and soda pop.
The article continues,
“Eyman critic David Goldstein, a Seattle software designer and blogger, said Dunmire is ‘basically propping up Eyman. People should finally get it through their heads that Eyman is not some grassroots guy. He is a front for the monied special interests.’ ”
Wait!!! Is this OUR David Goldstein? Goldy of Horses Ass? Yes!!! And Goldy knows a crutch when he sees one.
(For photo of crutch, see: http://www.bpfunds.com/people/.....mire.shtml)
Hmmm … doooooo you suppooooose that Michael Dunmire might be none other than our own trollfuck, Mark the Redneck???
Nah.
Doofus @54
Okay, send your $500,000 to Tim Eyman, and we’ll try to raise the $12 million. You first.
35
Progressive income tax? Feel free to share, I am open to any idea. I dont particularly love taxes, and I support tax reform, but I lean towards flat taxes or national sales tax.
36,
Sorry, I cant agree. A car should be a car, and in your example, Gates already paid Sales Tax. Why the double dip?
39
We already do tax the crap out of tobacco and alcohol. The spam tax tho…that’s my favorite.
44,
What state income tax?
And the WASL is a joke, an education assessment test written by everyone but educators.
49,
Dont forget the Indian smoke shops…..
Karl,
We already have a flat tax in this state, with many exceptions. We pay property taxes if you own property, we pay sales taxes, if you own a small business, you pay Business & Occupation taxes, a lot of those are passed on to the consumer.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen are paying just about zero in taxes to this state, as a percentage of their income. Whereas, a family of four making 50 thousand a year are paying upwards of 20% of their income in taxes to the state. Every other year this state raises some kind of tax to increase services, the family of four gets slammed with the higher taxes putting them further and further behind. The rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. It’s a never ending spiral down.
Knucklehead Greenspan wants a National flat sales tax. If you think the Millionaires and Billionaires arn’t paying income tax now, if a National flat salex tax goes through Congress, they won’t pay anything and those who live in Washington State don’t pay crap for taxes now.
sgmmac…. I am speechless! (shut up MTYDR)
But I agree wholeheartedly!
SGG,
We already have a flat tax in this state, with many exceptions. We pay property taxes if you own property, we pay sales taxes, if you own a small business, you pay Business & Occupation taxes, a lot of those are passed on to the consumer.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen are paying just about zero in taxes to this state, as a percentage of their income. Whereas, a family of four making 50 thousand a year are paying upwards of 20% of their income in taxes to the state. Every other year this state raises some kind of tax to increase services, the family of four gets slammed with the higher taxes putting them further and further behind. The rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. It’s a never ending spiral down.
I suppose it seems that way. Gates has a multimillion dollar home though, I am guessing his taxes are significantly higher then the couple grand a middle class family might pay.
He buys more expensice cars, he pays more in sales tax. It is porportional even if he still ends up muchmore income. Hell i would love the money he spends on gum, it would likely beat my paltry salary.
But I wont get anywhere hating the rich for being rich. I’d rather live my own life.
And frankly guys like Gates do give back a lot to the community in many aspects.
Knucklehead Greenspan wants a National flat sales tax. If you think the Millionaires and Billionaires arn’t paying income tax now, if a National flat salex tax goes through Congress, they won’t pay anything and those who live in Washington State don’t pay crap for taxes now.
Your comment is illogical. A flat tax means everyone pays the same no exceptions. no exemptions, no shelters, no audits, no IRS abusing people’s legal and civil rights, no tax courts violating peoprty rights…
Sorry, in principle its a win. We can argue the percents and such, but a simplified tax code of some kind is essential…the one ewe have is useful for civil servants, accountants and lawyers only.
63,
Donna, the world shuddered to a stop there for a second, buts its ok now……
The State doesn’t just tax alcohol. They own alcohol. It is a monopoly and their profit margin is outrageous. I don’t remember the exact percentages and it varies by the type of alcohol, but on some it was over 300% profit! Costco is suing the state claiming violations of the Commerce clause in the Constitution.
I say we go back to the good old days of the Republican Ike Eisenhower and Dick Nixon era. The top Tax bracket was a cool 90%. Now that was a progressive tax system, and if the Rich complained…? They always tasted good if you used a good marinade.
66
Now here we agree
by sgmmac— 1/5/06 @ 11:38 pm
“The State doesn’t just tax alcohol. They own alcohol. It is a monopoly and their profit margin is outrageous…”
No shit Sherlock. For the price of a LARGE bottle of J&B scotch in Washington, I can get a full half gallon of J&B and a half gallon of
Bombay Sapphire in Oklahoma. Of course tax makes up a large portion of the diference as well.
36
Mac — you may be interested to know the Gates Tax Commission found the bottom fifth pay 17% of their income in state and local taxes, while the top fifth pay only 4%.
44
“Washington is already taxing Alcohol and Tobacco and syrup and potted meat and every other stupid thing they can think of. It is criminal for Washington to be in the Alcohol businesses. I want fair market alcohol for all.”
Mac, the money has to come from somewhere. Would you rather tax alcohol and tobacco, or food and medicine (which currently are exempt from sales tax)? If we privatize alcohol, the following will happen:
1. Taxes will have to be raised to make up for the millions of dollars in lost liquor profits, or state services cut;
2. We will have a liquor store on every corner, like other states do; and
3. People will drink more, resulting in more alcohol-related problems such as domestic violence, car accidents, etc.
Before you respond to (1) by saying “cut services,” I’d like to point out that almost 50% of the state budget is education. As in other states, K-12 education receives a large part of its funding from property taxes, but unlike other states, in Washington this money goes through a state agency (the Superintendent of Public Instruction) before being disbursed to school districts, and consequently shows up in the state budget. This is not true of any other state.
To make an apples-to-apples comparison of Washington’s state spending to other states of similar population, you must subtract K-12 money from the total state budget. As a rough rule of thumb, this figure is about $6.55 billion a year.
Higher education is roughly $4.55 billion a year. The 2005-2007 operating budget is $49.46 billion, of which $21.27 billion (43%) is education, and $13.14 billion (26.6%) goes public schools.
If you subtract out K-12, the operating budget is $26.3 billion for the biennium or about $13.16 billion a year, of which $4.1 billion is higher and “other” education, leaving about $9 billion a year for all other government operations. The biggest chunk of this goes to DSHS, and the biggest expenditure by DSHS is Medicaid payments for nursing home care for the elderly indigent.
About a quarter of the state’s revenue comes from federal funds, and if you cut programs like Medicaid, your revenue goes down because you lose the federal matching funds (usually 50% of the program’s cost).
Mrs. Rabbit says you know things are bad “when your cats put your dog up for sale on eBay.”
Which reminds me of an oldie but goodie: How to Bathe a Cat
1. Thoroughly clean the toilet.
2. Add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water, and have both lids lifted.
3. Obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.
4. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids (you may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape). CAUTION: Do not get any part of your body too close to the edge, as his paws will be reaching out for any purchase they can find.
5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a ‘power wash and rinse’ which I have found to be quite effective.
6. Have someone open the door to the outside and ensure that there are no people between the toilet and the outside door.
7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.
8. The now-clean cat will rocket out of the toilet, and run outside where he will dry himself.
Sincerely,
The Dog
60: ZING!
Roger do you like cats or are you upset they treat your progeny as vermin?
Roger,
Where do you stand on Charter Schools, out of curiosity?
Tim Eyman serves a very important fucntion of reining-in government. We need more folks like him to slap government around.
And I’ll bet this one will pass too. What’s wrong Goldy? Mad and jealous that buddy Timmy the watch salesman actually does something instead of talking about doing something? Go Timmy go!
Sales tax on an automobile is a percentage of the sales price. This, while not graduated, still allows a much fairer taxation tan a flat dollar amount tax would be. The tab fees, on the other hand, are set to bve a flat dollar amount no matter what the cost of the vehicle (or gross weight, for that matter). I believe that it would be fairer to have the tab fee
1) Based on vehicle value (which in car purchases would tend to weight for income), using some fairer standard to establish value than was used previously, which was the REAL problem with our previous system
2) Added to a surcharge for weight (I think we’re doing it now), which balances the contribution a bit for vehicles that disproportionately damage roadways.
Daddy love,
I might agree with you if the weight fees repaired the roads, but they don’t. They are used for everything under the sun but roads!
Sounds like Mr. Dunmire isn’t very smart about what he does with his own money. I shudder to think what he does with other peoples’.
“And, especially since most of the time of late, Tim fails ” – JDB
Like his auditing initiave failed right? bwah ha ha ha ha.
LOL!
sgmmac
The trouble with that argument is that money is fungible; that is, money used for one purpose frees other dollars to be used for other purposes. It’s one reason why vouchers for religious schools are viewed by many courts as contributions toward religious functions.
Let me tell you something friend…you gat all those “Horses asses” in Olympia, and take a tour with me and I will show you all the government waste in this states heavy hiway construction system, but not without the media, so we can let everyone see the whole picture.George Rainha