WHY YOU NEED TO BE IN OLYMPIA ON PRESIDENT’S DAY. TIME TO BREAK THE ADDICTION.
HAVE YOU BEEN KEEPING UP WITH developments in Olympia? Yesterday, the Democrats on the House Finance Committee voted to suspend Initiative 960, which requires a 2/3s vote to raise taxes, supposedly for a year. ( Any bets on whether they would really vote to reinstate next year? Don’t kid yourself. You are smarter than that. ). The hearing before the votes was full of personal stories and testimonies, the silliest of which was from state Representative Steve Kirby, who brings dishonor to the name we share by his economic ignorance. ” I need to help the little people in my district“, he said. In bad times, quoting the Seattle Times, everyone should ” reach into our pockets to do that.”.
Where do I start? Little people?? Reach into our pockets?? Representative Kirby, you are free to reach into your own pocket as much as you want, and I encourage that. But you are reaching into everyone’s pocket, including the pockets of the 10% unemployed and the struggling small business owners, and all of those who couldn’t come down to your hearing and cry. You are adding to their burden. If you all had not overspent and overcommitted during the good times, but put some away and not spent every dime and then some, we would have the resources we need now. This downturn does not just impact the little people, but everyone, and your well-intentioned but ignorant ways of helping will make matters worse.
Not only are the Democrat’s lifting the 2/3s requirement for a sales tax increase, but several have introduced HB 3183 which would raise the statewide sales tax by a full point, with a trigger to take it off when unemployment hits 5% for four continuous months. Of course, the increase in the tax will impede the ability for jobs to be created, though they claim that the tax will do just that. So, now, we raise taxes to lower unemployment? Where in the H#)) did these people study economics? BTW, this tax hike would make Washington #1 - that’s right, the highest sales tax in the nation.
In addition, bills have been introduced in the Legislature to raise cell phone taxes ( to the highest rate in the nation, another #1 rating), impose taxes on candy and bottled water, impose higher car tab fees for transit operations, increase water right application fees 500 to 1000%, impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies, and increase midwide license fees. ( Thank you Dori Monson). They just don’t get it, a recession with high unemployment is not the time for massive tax increases.
And, on top of all this, King County is discussing a .3 cent increase in the County sales tax for criminal justice. Add these up, and the sales tax is over 11% in restaurants and bars in King County. ELEVEN PERCENT!
Some liberals are starting to get it. Joni Balter of the Seattle Times in a column published Thursday raised some serious questions about spending and new taxes proposed by the Legislature. And Kate Riley, editorial columnist for the Times, someone I know and like, but disagree with on most issues ( she is a little too leftie for me ), said Friday in the paper, ” I’m not the only cranky taxpayer starting to lose patience with a governor and Democratic-controlled Legislature that knowingly approved unsustainable budgets. The overspending made the state extra vulnerable when the recession crashed in and state revenues dropped precipitously.”
Meanwhile, the Washington Policy Center reported Friday on their website that the state forecasts a 12% increase in revenue for the next biennium and a multi-billion dollar deficit. Read that again. A 12% increase in revenue, but still a multi-billion dollar deficit. My friends, that is a spending problem, pure and simple. Spending other people’s money, expanding government, refusing to be responsible, refusing to acknowledge the issue and look for answers besides more, these are the signs of addiction, a deadly addiction that the addict is helplessly in the throes of. It’s time you and I intervened for our future, for our kids and, for the little people.
JOIN US IN OLYMPIA, 10 AM, THE CAPITOL STEPS. BRING YOUR KIDS, YOUR PARENTS, YOUR CUSTOMERS, YOUR STUDENTS, BRING EVERYONE. IT’S TIME TO DRAW THE LINE AND JUST SAY NO. SEE YOU THERE.
10 Responses to “WHY YOU NEED TO BE IN OLYMPIA ON PRESIDENT’S DAY. TIME TO BREAK THE ADDICTION.”
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Marsha Kriney says:
I want to BE there Mon am but want to car pool. Anyone interested?
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Cammy says:
Kirby,
Gregoire, Brown, Chopp, and the rest of those progressives need to start with themselves and take huge pay cuts on their salaries. Then they need to start going line by line to cut back on the waste. Then they need to stand up to the unions who are practically running Seattle behind the scenes. We’d save a heck of a lot of money in this town without the unions! The unions make sure they have all the politicians in their pocket. We are going to end up just like California thanks to the politicians in this state.
Didn’t Gregorie say NO TAXES when she was debating Rossi? Why do they keep lying!
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Kirby,
Take pictures and video tape it if you can!
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shelly says:
Hi Kirby ! I want to share the letter I received back by my State Senator, Paull Shinn after I urged him NOT to vote for this. I certainly am NOT his Family!!!!
Dear Shelly,
Thank you for contacting me regarding Senate Bill 6843, the proposal to suspend Initiative 960. I know many people feel strongly about this bill and I want to be sure you know why I voted to suspend I-960. I appreciate the views of the voters living in my district and I always consider your thoughts as I make my decisions in Olympia.
I want you to know that I am fiscally conservative, both in dealing with my own money and that of the taxpayers of Washington. During my 46 years of marriage, my wife and I have budgeted in good times to save for the bad. When emergencies happened and my kids got hurt or sick, I had to invest in them, sometimes with money I didn’t have. But I did it because I had to. The well-being of my family depended on my ability to get the funds needed so that we could all get back to full health. I view the taxpayer’s budget as no different from that of my family.
Today, we are faced with worst economic situation I have ever seen and the citizens of our state demand our attention. Last year, we made difficult decisions to balance the state’s budget in dealing with a $9 billion shortfall. We made deep cuts to programs helping lay the groundwork for our economic prosperity, especially schools. We cut over $1 billion from our education budget, laying off teachers, closing down schools and preventing thousands of kids from getting the help they need to be successful in life. We cannot continue to make cuts and expect our children to get educated anyway.
We also made deep cuts last year to the help we provide to the most vulnerable in our community. We cut health care for our seniors, assistance to nursing homes and salaries for caregivers. We have laid off thousands of state workers, consolidated state agencies, and looked for every efficiency that we could find. We had to balance our budget and so we did, just as the law requires.
We’ve also made deeper cuts again this year – cutting pay once more for state workers, further consolidating state agencies and making other cuts to vital services to our state’s citizens. But I can’t do this anymore.
As an educator for 31 years, I have a firm belief that our country’s success lies with an educated populace. Our democracy depends on informed voters, a free press, and opportunities for all to find meaningful work. Central to this success is our investment in our schools. Education gives us a competitive advantage over other countries and I hate to see our country fall further behind the rest of the world. I can’t bear to see further cuts to our elementary schools, community colleges, and universities.When I voted to suspend the provisions of I-960 for the next two years, I thought about my family. I thought about our students and our most vulnerable. And I thought about taxpayers. I thought about the perspective of voters in my district who, by the way, voted against I-960 in 2007. It was a difficult vote, but it was a vote for our state’s future.
My vote suspends I-960 until June 30, 2011. Just because we altered I-960, doesn’t mean we will take every advantage to raise taxes. We will use this opportunity to close tax loopholes that allow out of state companies to get off without paying taxes. We will focus on making polluters pay for the damage they cause to our environment. And we will be providing opportunities for the middle class to get an education and to get a job.
My vote to suspend I-960 was not an easy one. But it was a vote that I took for the future of our state.Sincerely,
Paull H. Shin
Washington State Senator
21st Legislative District
Legislative Building (Room 407)
PO Box 40421
Olympia, WA 98504-0421—–Original Message—–
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Shari L says:
Lovely that I am classified as one of those little people in Steve Kirby’s district….What the heck does that mean…This is the reaason why they all need to be sent home and see how it feels to NOT have a job…..
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Linda says:
I would like to know: What EXACTLY has Olympia done to cut spending? Surely there must be some budgets or some departments who have had their budgets reduced. Who are they? How much was saved? We need more information on EXACTLY just what has been reduced in not only state government, but county government also.
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One more thing: It is wrong to lay off state and county workers (OK, it’s stupid). Those laid off folks just file for unemployment. Once on unemployment, we are fully supporting them, and they are generating no income taxes at all!
WHAT THE STATE AND COUNTY NEEDS TO DO IS REDUCE ALL SALARIES BY 10 TO 15% ON THOSE EARNING OVER $50K A YEAR. IF THERE TRULY IS A JOB THAT IS NOT REALLY NEEDED, THEN IT IS OK TO LAY OFF THAT PERSON.
IF THE STATE WOULD JUST REDUCE IT’S LABOR COSTS BY 10% THEY COULD SAVE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
ALSO, REDUCE THE CADILLAC RETIREMENT PACKAGES THAT STATE AND GOVERNMENT WORKERS NOW RECEIVE. WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD IT. THE ONLY OTHER CHOICE IS FOR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON TO FILE BANKRUPTCY.
The governor thinks that by raising sales taxes she will generate more income, but if it gets much higher, people will quit buying stuff, and they will end up with less revenue than before!!
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Cammy wrote:
Didn’t Gregorie say NO TAXES when she was debating Rossi? Why do they keep lying! BECAUSE THEY CAN! Shari -
Joel says:
Kirby,
I went to Olympia on President’s day, using an earned vacation day to drive down from the Woodinville area. When I arrived, I discovered that parking was either inconvenient or almost non-existent. I drove around all over the place, and found restriction after restriction: This spot reserved; official use only; barricades; people directing traffic; parking garage for state employees only.
One could park for an hour or two (for free!) on residential streets, when a spot finally opened up, but then have to walk a long way to the Capitol, and worry the whole time about whether or not one could make it back in time before being ticketed or towed.
Stopping at the tourist information building, I was advised to drive to the other side of town and take the free bus back (one runs every 15 minutes). I drove across town, and found that parking was 50 cents an hour, but it, too had a two hour limit. Add in the half hour round-trip bus ride, the half hour total possible wait, and it ended up being an even worse option than the residential parking option which left a person having to walk many blocks! At least that was free – until time ran out …
Please don’t think me a whiner, I just grew up on the Eastside, where parking in my life out here has NEVER been an issue. Having that life experience, it seemed to me that this inconvenient parking situation in Olympia was by design, to discourage and minimize peoples’ ability to visit government in action. I would have LOVED seeing a single, large parking garage for tourists and visitors somewhere near the capitol, with facilitated access to “where the action is” or at least some wonderful, informative, mall-like “you are here” maps.
Next time I might take my bike with me, and park outside of town, then pedal in where I have no time limits except those of the call of nature.
Take care, Kirby, and may you get back on the air with a full time gig soon – if that is what you truly want.
Joel
I will be there.