I was sorting through some of the crap in my archives over the weekend, when I stumbled on this:
“If you have the 1 percent saying, ‘Tax the 99 percent,’ and the 99 percent saying, ‘Tax the 1 percent,’ you have a standstill.”
— former WA State Senator Joseph Zarelli (R-Ridgefield), 12/2/2011
That’s right: 99 to 1, and we’re at “a standstill.” Utterly fucking ridiculous.
Hey now, he’s 40% disabled. And obviously some of that is obviously mental.
http://seattletimes.com/html/l.....lli06.html
Republican Sen. Joseph Zarelli gets $601 a month from the federal government, indicating that he is considered 40 percent disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to records obtained by The Associated Press. He has been receiving the tax-free stipend for years.
Zarelli said the disability payments he gets are far different from the benefits provided in the state programs he’s targeting for cuts, in part because he suffered his injury on the job. He said the people in the state system were making poor lifestyle choices — such as drug and alcohol addiction — and argued that lawmakers should be focused more on identifying ways to fix their problems.
He was criticized in 2002 after collecting unemployment checks for months while also drawing his salary as a state lawmaker.
Problem is, your link goes to another NYT link, in which now-mayor Murray is quoted as saying:
Sen. Ed Murray, of Seattle, chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said this election shows voters don’t want new taxes, but he believes they’ll continue to want services the state provides.
Maybe one of the reasons for the standstill is that some people are confusing a majority against with 99% in favor.
“former WA State Senator Joseph Zarelli (R-Ridgefield)” is merely accepting the SCOTUS view that some votes are worth a helluva lot more ($$$) than others (“and now with ex-cathedra powers!”)
Maybe one of the reasons for the standstill is that some people are continuing to want something for nothing.
Fixed that for you; you’re welcome.
I don’t know how we get around two polar opposites of “People demand stuff and serveries” and “People will destroy anyone who raises their taxes”.
Sounds like another push for a state income taxes.
Yeah….good luck with that.
Of course people want services. Of course they don’t want to pay for them. It’s called human nature. What politics is really about is, “What are you willing to pay for?”
From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs. Sound familiar?
@8: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
Sound familiar?