Less Free, But Improving

The serfs are a little better off. That's so nice....

Washington State is not very free, according to the libertarian oriented Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

"Washington was among the states that improved the most in overall freedom and consequently moved up five spots in the rankings. Unfortunately for denizens of that state, it had—and still has—a long way to go. Washington is still among the 10 least-free states. Indeed, it only barely cracks the top half of states in personal freedom.

[Government] spending is a bit higher than average, but taxes are slightly lower—a recipe for government debt, which Washington has in abundance. Government employment is also too high. Land-use planning is somewhat centralized."

The Center made these policy suggestions

1. Reduce spending consistent with the state’s relatively decent tax-burden levels, starting with reducing government employment and spending on natural resources (mostly at the state government level) and sewerage (at the local government level), which is particularly far above national norms.
2. Enact further-reaching eminent-domain reform.
3. Reduce centralized land-use planning by repealing or amending the Growth Management Act and Shoreline Management Act.

The Mercatus Center study of Washington State, and the study of several United States.

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Retail complications

What certainly classifies as an abuse is what merchants have to do to make an in state retail sale. The merchant gets to add the item's sales tax according to the shipment's destination. This sounds innocuous enough until you realize the state has a crazy quilt of retail sales tax rates.

You can tell the state's tax scheme is too complicated when you look at the Department of Revenue webpage and see they want to know the street address before they tell you the tax rate.

At least the information is available in 6 languages other than English.

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Guns too?

The sales tax slurping sound is audible if you need to transfer a firearm from out of state. All such transfers have to go through a federally licensed firearms dealer. Washington State now compels those dealers to estimate the value of the firearm they are transferring and tax you accordingly.

Olympia's gutlessness, and our Initiative to stop it

Olympia overspent. Spending and tax income are not going to balance. The legislature did not have the fortitude required to cut unnecessary spending. The unresolved spending problem is around $5.5 billion.

But the legislative session is over for now, and Legislature has gone home. Like a bowl of rotten oatmeal, the Legislature left a bad taste and a likely intestinal problem. Why does this Legislature think they can spend our money better than we can spend our money?

Initiative Momentum
by Tim Eyman

Last year's 64% vote for Initiative 1053 was extraordinary. Not only did it receive a supermajority level of public support, it was the 4th time voters approved its taxpayer protection policies. Voters clearly said they'd had it with Olympia's insatiable appetite for taking more of the people's money. Even so, before this year's session started, Gregoire signaled her obstruction: "I'm not gonna let 1053 stand in the way of me moving forward for what I think is right."

That's exactly what she/they did. In direct conflict with what the voters said, the Legislature fundamentally undermined and sidestepped I-1053 in various ways during this year's session. It's shocking how brazen and disrespectful they were of the people's decision. We would need several initiatives to reverse everything they did to I-1053 -- we simply can't do that. Instead, we are focusing on their worst violations.

Totally contrary to I-1053's policies, the Legislature re-empowered Gregoire's Transportation Commission -- a bunch of unelected bureaucrats -- to unilaterally impose tolls on our state's streets, roads, highways, and bridges.

With our state's slow-growing economy and high unemployment rates, families and businesses are struggling just handling their existing burdens -- they're hard pressed to take on any more. Despite the fact that Washington has the highest gas tax in the nation, they're planning on forcing us to pay twice with sky-high tolls. It shows a complete lack of compassion for the taxpayers' plight and totally ignores what the voters said in November.

The Governor's and the Legislature's arrogance and disrespect for the voters has spurred this year's initiative. I-1125 does the following:

• Resurrects I-1053's policy that the Legislature, and not Gregoire's Transportation Commission, set tolls so we can hold toll-crazy politicians accountable;
• Requires that transportation taxes and tolls only go toward transportation, prohibiting raids and diversions to non-transportation purposes;
• Reinforces current law that requires that tolls be project-specific, preventing tolls from becoming de facto taxes;
• Requires that tolls GO AWAY/STOP/EXPIRE after the project is paid for (that's the way it's always been, but Olympia recently changed it so tolls will now go on FOREVER -- I-1125 says NO to never-ending tolls).
• Prohibits gas-tax-funded lanes on state highways from being transferred or used for non-highway purposes (our state Constitution -- the 18th Amendment -- already prohibits this, but politicians are still trying to weasel out of this constitutional prohibition); and
• Ensures that tolls are uniform and consistent.

This year's I-1125 reinforces protections in our state Constitution and resurrects policies approved by voters with I-1053.

Tim Eyman's website

Initiatives 2011

The legislative session is over, so Impolite attention turns to the people's legislative process -- the right to initiative petition.

Washington State Constitution, Declaration of Rights

"All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights." - Article 1, Section 1

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Initiative -1125 -- This measure would prohibit the use of motor vehicle fund revenue and vehicle toll revenue for non-transportation purposes, and require that road and bridge tolls be set by the legislature and be project-specific.

I-1125 restores I-1053's policies that Gregoire and the Legislature reversed this year. The governor and legislature imposed new tolls on bridge and highway use through a committee of bureaucrats appointed for the purpose -- in effect bypassing the legally required 2/3 super-majority to enact new tolls, fees, etc. Those increased revenues are being used principally to pay for the unsustainable increased levels of state spending. The state constitution requires revenues gathered from motor vehicle sources be devoted to motor vehicle purposes - highway construction, maintenance and the like.

The current, unlawful, practice in Olympia directs tolls to the general fund. Weirdly, there is an ad opposing 1125 which seems to claim road construction will be reduced by $500 million if 1125 is enacted. Not so. What will be reduced is $500 million from roads going into the general fund.

Impolite recommends you sign I-1125 and vote yes in November. The People have the right to control their government.

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The following measure has been withdrawn from the ballot. The Humane Society of the United States made an agreement with the egg industry. The agreement will effectively implement 1130 by 2029.

Initiative 1130 by the Humane Society of WA DC and the Farm Sanctuary of Watkins Glen, New York -- Initiative Measure No. 1130 concerns confinement of egg-laying hens. This measure would prohibit, with certain exceptions, confining hens in stacked cages or cages that limit the hens’ movement, and would prohibit the sale of eggs in the shell from hens so confined.

The well funded I-1130 is the only initiative who got their signature drive out of the gate on day one.

Through the end of April, they've raised a total of $372,011 with $207,035 from the Humane Society, 2100 L St NW, Washington DC 20037 and $150,000 from Farm Sanctuary Inc, PO Box 150, Watkins Glen, New York, 14891. They hired PCI Consultants Inc, 26500 Agoura Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302-1952 as their paid signature gathering firm and have paid them $260,224.30 so far.

I-1130 would allow chickens to "stretch their wings" and not live in production cages. If you know chickens, you know this is a pointless initiative. When the people of the state decided not to hunt cougars, we started seeing news reports of children mauled and killed by cougars. Although this initiative is similarly 'feel-good', at least chickens aren't as dangerous as cougars.

Some vegans say I-1130 doesn't go far enough and recommend a no vote.

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Initiative 1163 by the SIEU (Government employees union, Service Employees International Union Local 775) -- Initiative Measure No. 1163 concerns long-term care workers and services for elderly and disabled people. This measure would reinstate background checks, training, and entangling requirements for long-term care workers and providers. It also creates new financial accountability and administrative expenses for the long-term in-home care program.

Although caring for the elderly has the appearance of sweetness and light, the initiative will make long term care more costly without any real improvement. The metrics in the background check are subject to abuse.

Long term elder care is difficult for the care givers. Its tough to become friends with people and then have them die. That makes a turnover problem for the facilities. Adding in background checks will only alienate potential care givers.

Finally no amount of government imposed regulation can actually make one person care about another. The "feel good" aspect of the initiative is bankrupt from the start.

On April 25, the SEIU transferred $500,000 into a new initiative PAC. They hired PCI Consultants, Inc, 26500 Agoura Rd, Calabasas, CA 91302-1952 as their paid signature gathering firm to collect signatures from both I-1163 and I-1167. They recently abandoned the I-1167 signature drive and are now focusing their efforts on I-1163. The SEIU will certainly get I-1163 on the November ballot.

The SIEU government union has the most treasure to spend on a measure which will fatten their bank account, if enacted.

Big government treasure is being used to force I-1163 onto the ballot. Its a clear abuse of power. Impolite recommends you vote no on I-1163.

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Initiative 1183 by Costco, Washington Restaurant Association, NW Grocers Association, et al -- Initiative Measure No. 1183 would privatize the sale and distribution of liquor. The initiative is not as sweeping as I-1100 was.

Washington State imposed controls on liquor after prohibition was lifted in the 1930's At that time, liquor control was presented as promotion of public virtue. The state government makes 52% margin on liquor. Clearly, the state's actual reason is monopolistic pricing.

The state's principle use of liquor profits is to keep the public employees unions available to incumbent legislators. Government corrupts public virtue more effectively than private liquor sales ever could.

Impolite recommends you vote yes on I-1183.

See the Washington Wire discussion for another perspective.

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Legislative referenda will also appear on this Autumn's ballot.

SJR 8205 is a proposed constitutional amendment which would repeal a non-functioning part of the State's Constitution. The specific part is Article 6, Section 1A, which is a residency requirement for citizens who wish to vote in the federal election. The section was rendered inoperable by federal court order in 1976. Finally (or suddenly - depending on your perspective) the matter came to the legislature's attention.

Impolite will vote for SJR 8205, just to tidy up the constitution.

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SJR 8206 strengthens the set-aside requirement for the state's budget stabilization account, or "rainy day" fund, by specifying a portion of "extraordinary" revenue of good years be set aside in the fund. The fund is used to offset some types of shortfalls in years when state revenue is not so good, so that important spending (like school) can proceed.

Opponents of SJR 8206 make a funny argument that voters have not approved SJR 8206 yet, so they shouldn't vote for it. The opponents also view fat and lean years as no impediment to state spending.

Impolite recommends you vote Yes on SJR 8206.

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Note: Normally, Impolite would link the initiative petition number to the sponsors website. But some initiative's campaigns don't have working websites yet, so those initiative numbers are linked to the official text of the initiative petition.

Sort Of No New Taxes.

The Washington Legislature closed out the special session without imposing any significant new taxes. But the "Democratic" Party controlled Legislature is pitching a huge hissy fit 'cause the People required accountability with 1053.

We're getting a batch of new fees imposed on use the stuff we already paid for. People in the Puget Sound area are gonna get screwed via the imposition of new fees (tolls on 520, for example) to use the roads they already own.

Freedom Foundation issued a couple of press releases.

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The Tax Loopholes are Rigged

Legislative session is finally over. This year labor unions led the fight to close tax "loopholes" in lieu of budget cuts, but their framing of the issue has a few loopholes of its own. Earlier this month the Freedom Foundation sent out a press release exposing the fact that unions themselves are the primary beneficiaries of select tax breaks.

Labor unions--which have been fighting so hard to paint beneficiaries of tax exemptions as greedy fat cats who enjoy watching small children starve--have conveniently failed to mention their special tax treatment in the myriad press releases, statements and public testimony on the state budget. We at the Freedom Foundation are not the only ones sitting up and taking notice of the issue. Following our release, Washington State Wire's Erik Smith wrote an excellent, in-depth, story covering the murky issue of union tax breaks. Smith expands on the matter, revealing union tax breaks well in excess of many enjoyed by the labor-maligned business community:

"Federal stats say Washington's unionized workers earn an average of $1,068 a week. Union dues typically run one to two percent of gross income. If you figure it at 1.5 percent, that means Washington-state unions collect $503 million a year in dues.

"So at the current services B&O rate of 1.8 percent, the tax break is worth $9 million annually. It might be off a million or so either way, but that's about as close as anyone can come."

To read Erik Smith's full story, visit the Washington State Wire webpage here.

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Unions are big business

Unions are clearly big business in Washington state, bringing in half-a-billion in dues each year. We can only hope the exposure of hefty union tax breaks and the concomitant hypocrisy of union rhetoric rebalances the tax break discussion in the Legislature. And speaking of hypocrisy, when asked to comment on labor's special tax treatment, Washington State Labor Council President Jeff Johnson responded:

"We're calling for a moratorium on a wide swath of business tax exemptions," he said. "We've never said all tax exemptions are bad or do not have a valid purpose--many of them do--but in a time of severe budget deficits, there is a need for greater shared sacrifice out there. That's been our argument--it's not just been an attack on business tax exemptions."

Right. Shared sacrifice is only a good idea when others are forced to do the sacrificing.

What's that, Mr. Labor Council President? You want to close tax loopholes? I'm sorry. We can't hear you through the hypocrisy.

They ought to be ashamed. And we ought to take action. Read the blog that exposed this hypocrisy here.

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There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

Everyone wants government to pay for lots of goodies, but no one wants to pay the taxes for those extra goodies. The Democrat politicians insist there are the "rich" who don't pay their fair share.

For some reason the Democrat politicians can't seem to tax the "rich" effectively. Either the "rich" are rich because they honestly earned it, or because the rich are the Democrat politicians' buddies.

We have both types in Washington State. The Unions Bosses are buddies with the "Democratic" Party; they are corrupt. We also have rich people like Bill Gates, whose Microsoft Corporation is losing market share because innovation eludes them.

Washington State must stop listening to the soothing words of the Democrat politicians and start voting for responsible leadership. We need equality of taxation, not this phoney stick-it-to-the-rich attitude.

Washington State also needs to have realistic expectation of what government should provide -- basic public services which cannot be privately consumed. A lot of the current budget is being directed to the Democrats long-standing buddies. Hacking that off would be a start, but only a start.

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Some revenue increase particulars for policy wonks. More as the details get published.

That day trip across the Sound is going up even more than the Summer fare increase. $41,016,808 from increased fares for ferry rides. 2ESSB 5742

Water system operating permit fees. Take that big gulp now. $15,670,000 in water system permit fees. SSB 5364

Court is going to cost more. You may get justice, but it will cost you. $8,850,000 in increased court fees - final passage. SB 5941

Red Light Camera

By Scott North and Rikki King

The controversy surrounding traffic enforcement cameras has been a big draw for people who post comments to Heraldnet.com. Some folks seem compelled to weigh in with opinions on nearly every story. Apparently that includes at least one vice president at an Arizona-based camera company.

Meet reader 'W Howard,' undercover traffic cam exec
A poster using the screen name "W Howard" has commented 43 times on our site since June. The unifying themes in these posts are that the cameras ahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifre good, that they are making the world safer and that anyone who says otherwise -- particularly Mukilteo initiative activist Tim Eyman -- needs their head examined.

Some readers have suggested "W Howard" has been posting comments as part of a marketing campaign run by American Traffic Solutions, Inc. The Scottsdale-based company contracts to provide enforcement camera services in Lynnwood and Seattle. It had inked a similar deal in Mukilteo last year, then Eyman pushed for a public vote. Upshot: no cameras in Mukilteo, and a spreading movement around Washington that has growing numbers of people asking questions about enforcement camera technology.

More at HeraldNet

Olympia can't be trusted with taxes

Tim Eyman reports

First, a little history....

The Legislature's decision in 1995 to override the voters' decision not to pay higher taxes for a sports stadium was the worst example of Olympia's arrogance, audacity, and shamelessness in our state's history. The voters said no, but just weeks later, Democrats called an emergency special session of the Legislature and said it was a threat to the public health and safety if a sports stadium was not paid for by taxpayers.

The bill passed. That declaration of emergency -- that emergency clause -- was challenged in court. In one of the most embarrassing rulings of the state supreme court's history, a 6-3 majority decided that the imposition of taxes for a sports stadium was a legitimate exercise of the state's emergency power.

Obscene.

Over and over again during legislative debate on the bill, politicians repeatedly, explicitly, and publicly promised that the stadium's taxes were temporary -- that once their miscarriage of justice was paid for, the taxes would go away. Over and over again, the People knew that the politicians were lying, that they'd later try to extend the stadium taxes forever. But politicians responded emphatically: "No, the bill was written to ensure that all the stadium taxes would automatically expire once the stadium in paid for."

They knew they were lying, we knew they were lying, and this Tuesday, the Senate Gov Ops Committee will prove they were lying.

At their 1:30 pm hearing, today, in the Cherberg Building in Olympia, we have the opportunity to testify against Seattle Democrat Scott Smith's Senate Bill 5958 appropriately called "The Latest Example That Politicians Can't Be Trusted On Taxes Act".

This despicable bill demands a vocal, contemptuous repudiation. Join us and let Olympia's politicians know how you feel about their latest betrayal.

Can you believe some politicians wonder why voters don't trust them when it comes to taxes?

Special Session Update

by Rep. Cary Condotta, May 11, 2011

We are now 15 days into the special session and very little has been decided. The Legislature was supposed to adjourn on April 24, but we adjourned two days earlier (only to return). It would have been great if we had completed the work we were sent to Olympia to do, but plenty of work went unfinished and there is already talk of a second special session.

Going into extra time is inexcusable and taxpayers should be upset. The Democrat majority party is dragging its feet on the state operating budget.

We all knew in November the financial situation our state was in and drafting a budget would be difficult. However, 105 days is plenty of time. The House Democrats waited until after the March 17 revenue forecast before writing a budget that came out April 4.

That budget passed the House on April 9, but the Senate took no action until April 19 – less than a week from adjournment. There seemed to be no incentive for the majority party to finish on time, as we didn’t work late or much on the weekend during the last month. It was a frustrating situation.

It is important to know that House Republicans did not stand on the sidelines and say “no” to Democrat proposals. In fact, it was the first time ever the minority party offered its own budget proposal.

Many of our budget ideas were incorporated into the House Democrat budget, but when it came down to it, there were still too many differences with Republicans prioritizing education and the Democrats pushing for more in social services. You can find our Republican budgeting principles and alternative budget solution here.

A special session costs nearly $16,000 for every day that lawmakers are at the Capitol. At a time when the Legislature is struggling to write a balanced two-year budget, it seems ludicrous we are spending more money for a special session.

Workers’ compensation reform
The fact that we were unable to get meaningful workers’ compensation reform passed during the regular session is just as big a disappointment than not passing a budget. This is another instance in which we knew how badly something needed to be done because of the dire financial situation of the workers’ compensation system, yet nothing that would provide long-term reform has been passed. The workers’ compensation fund is in a poor state.

In fact, last year, State Auditor Brian Sonntag sent a letter to Labor and Industries Director Judy Schurke addressing the $360 million deficit in the workers' compensation accident fund that read in part, “Our report is a warning that if this condition continues, the future liabilities may exceed assets within a few years, creating a financial hole difficult to recover from.” He also pointed out the fund has a greater than 70 percent chance of insolvency and the Medical Aid Account could also be facing insolvency within the next few years. The Wenatchee World recently published an editorial Condotta wrote on the issue. You can read it here.

Capital budget and debt reduction
Washington state legislators are considering a measure that would reduce the state’s long-term debt to put our state budgets on more stable and sustainable footing.

The Debt Reduction Act of 2011, Senate Joint Resolution SJR 8215 would accomplish both of those goals. My colleague in the Senate, Linda Evans Parlette, actually co-sponsored the measure in the Senate. The Senate passed the bill unanimously during the regular session and have already passed it again in the special session. The Senate had to pass the measure again, because the House failed to take any action on the bill.

Keep in mind, the capital budget is our budget that funds construction of schools and colleges, develops community infrastructure, maintains parks and recreation areas, and is funded in part by state bonds. Payment on those bonds is made from the state operating budget, which also funds other priorities such as education and health care.

This debt is one of the fastest-growing parts of the budget, climbing from $970 million 10 years ago to $1.8 billion in the current biennial budget. The operating budget has doubled its level of debt payment in the past decade. The Debt Reduction Act addresses this problem by phasing down our constitutional debt limit from 9 to 7 percent. This will reduce the debt payments we make in the operating budget over the next 20 years by more than $3 billion.

Rep. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, is our ranking member on the House Capital Budget Committee. You can read her column on this issue in The Seattle Times here.

The status of The Debt Reduction Act and capital budget are still up in the air. Chair of the Capital Budget Committee, Rep. Hans Dunshee, is holding up SJR 8215, which in turn is delaying passage of the capital budget. He says he feels the legislation will cost us jobs, which is not the case.

Rep. Warnick pointed out in her editorial, thousands of people would be put to work by the capital budget even if SJR 8215 is in place.

SJR 8215 is a common-sense measure to put our state on more solid financial footing and benefit our state into the future by avoiding a senseless buildup of debt.

Water rights tax

The state legislature is attacking the industries, farms and orchards in the state with HB 2050. This bill is designed to tax the "right" to hold a right to use water, which proves this legislature is willing to sink to any depth to suck up more of our money.

The impact of the bill is the farms and orchards with ancient water rights will have to pay protection money to the politicians in Olympia to keep on using water. This sounds much like the tax Olympia used to collect for rain which fell on your house or land. The courts found that tax stupid and indefensible. Why do we have to go to court to spank the legislature for being stupid thugs?

Tax and Fee Increase

Legislative Indigestion - What the politicians in Olympia think they can slip by.

By now you've heard we're giving medical marijuana fuller legal status in Washington State. What you may not hear about is the taxes which come with your "medicine." Cannabis taxes are projected to average $5,529,902 per year. E2SSB 5073 AMH ENGR H2509.E allows the state to muscle in on your regular weed pusher.

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HB 1382 (Short version)- Ordinary drivers will lose a lane to HOV; for this bonus, you'll be charged tolls for certain highway and bridge use. This will sit well with liberals around the Sound and Lake Washington. The poor will have to stay home.

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Some other abuses
SB 5945 Modifying excise tax laws to provide funding for essential government services (e.g. gold plated doorknobs). The legislature will probably pass this to the voters for their approval.

The bill is a list of Democrats micromanagement ideas designed to use or abuse private enterprise. Another stupid idea for more taxes, I'll review this more closely if the legislature passes it. The primary impact is we would get higher retail taxes and more complicated regulation for making a living.

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HB 2094 Tax preferences (usually reserved for food taxes) - HB 2094's windy language would impose new taxes on laundry list of stuff. Boeing airplanes to electronic newspapers will get taxed. Section 501(4) will impose a tax on home generation of electricity. VOIP will get new taxes. So will your membership fees for the club. 2094 is another labyrinth of taxation to feed a bloated legislature.

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SB 5487 will add more taxes on eggs. The bill also requires reports form egg producers that the chickens are treated properly, better than citizens in fact.

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HB 1494 adds compulsory fingerprinting to elder placement referrals. The legislation as passed bears the title, "Concerning vulnerable adult referral agencies."

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SB 5502 Limousine services will get another new tax.

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HB 2079 / SB 5742
would raise ferry fares another 25 cents. Also, ferries will be required to run on unicorn dust. (I made that part up.)

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SB 5937 would add $6,918,101,000 in new taxes as an emergency measure. Proposed by politician Paull Shin of Mukilteo, it perpetuates the use of the term "emergency."

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HB 2078 will add $922,960,000 to retail and B&O taxes for school funding, to enhance class size for K3. This bill is fast tracking.

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Why can't the politicians leave things alone for once? Why do they constantly push pet projects and taxes on us? Isn't "bringing home the bacon" legalized theft?

Lucky us.

Good News for Violent Offenders

HB 1793 will restrict access to juvenile crime records. The legislation especially targets landlords, to force them to rent to violent offenders.

The consequence: You may be forced to live next door to a violent criminal.

The state is considering barring access from a violent offender's juvenile records. This is good news for violent offenders who started criminal activity early in life. Landlords, including public landlords, use criminal records to evaluate an applicant-renter. This act will bar that practice for young, violent offenders.

HB 1793 passed the Senate. Tell the governor to veto this one.