Liberal hypocrisy is on full display in television ads for the Washington State Lottery.  While Governor Jay Inslee and other Democrats continue to push for “tax fairness” and “equity” by imposing an unconstitutional state income tax on the citizens of Washington, the state is running ads targeting members of the Black community to gamble on the lottery – likely the most regressive manner the state takes money from the people.

The Washington State Lottery runs an ad during nearly every Mariners’ game broadcast featuring a Black grandmother giving her grandson a lottery ticket, proclaiming it supports “our opportunities, our celebrations, and supports our community.” So, while the Democrats falsely state that “fairness” is the reason behind their never-ending demand for tax increases (including the state income tax the Democrat-controlled legislature jammed through earlier this year), the state continues to target members of the Black community to spend their income on the very poor investment of a lottery ticket.

Perhaps if Governor Inslee and his fellow liberals truly cared about “tax fairness” at the state level, they would stop targeting Black residents to waste their income giving money to the state by gambling on the very low-return lottery. (Washington State Lottery Ad/YouTube and The Olympian)

Perhaps due to the constant stress over uncontrollable factors (such as the weather or liberal urban politicians imposing unworkable conditions on their livelihoods), those in the agricultural industry have a higher suicide rate than the general population.  Washington State University, the Washington State Department of Health, and the Washington State Department of Agriculture are researching methods to reduce the number of suicides in the agricultural community. One of the key aspects in preventing suicides is encouraging normally stoic farmers to inform others of the stress they are under. (Pacific Northwest AG Network)

With COVID infection rates again increasing, we wonder why the local media has not criticized the false and premature statement made by Governor Jay Inslee that he had “won the Super Bowl” as he took a victory lap around the state in early July.  At the very least, the governor’s self-congratulatory comment is on par with President George W. Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” messaging in the early stages of the Afghanistan War. (Q13’s The Divide and History Channel)

A new study shows that the regressive tax on soda, passed by the Seattle City Council in 2017, has failed to achieve its stated goal of reducing consumption of sugary drinks.  Like nearly all failed liberal programs, the real goal of Seattle’s soda tax continues to be raising more money to permanently expand the size, cost, and power of government.  The Seattle City Council Insight blog (SCCI) does a very thorough review of the study, which was commissioned by the Seattle King County Public Health Department, including questioning many of the comparison cities the study used to place Seattle’s tax in favorable light.

SCCI makes the following observation regarding the tax and its failure to reduce consumption: “Seattle City Hall stubbornly refuses to admit that the sweetened-beverage tax isn’t having the desired effect, despite years of studies all pointing to that conclusion.  When the tax was originally passed, all parties acknowledged that it was a highly regressive tax, effectively taxing poor people to pay for programs for poor people.” (Seattle City Council Insight)

A survey of many Port Angeles area restaurants reveals that asking workers to enforce whether or not customers are vaccinated is causing additional staffing problems for financially suffering establishments.  Workers have left the hospitality industry in droves over the last 18 months, many due to the constantly changing state regulations they have been forced to operate under.  This has led to a severe shortage in restaurant and bar workers.

Demonstrating a clear lack of understanding of the unintended consequences of their decisions, Clallam County health officials imposed a regulation stating only vaccinated individuals can enter bars and restaurants. Many hospitality workers have quit their jobs, for they feel uncomfortable enforcing the government’s latest mandate, and nearly all establishments saw yet another decline in customers over the Labor Day weekend. (MyClallamCounty)

In what is promising to be the latest government failure during the COVID pandemic, King County Executive Dow Constantine says the county is working on a “vaccine verification system.”  As more governments are imposing severe restrictions on those who are unvaccinated, and forcing businesses to pick up the tab (and consequences) of enforcing the mandates (under the threat of losing their business license), the county is working on a computer program which will allow facilities to know whether someone has been vaccinated. Very few details about the system (such as, when it will be available, or how those without computers will access the system, or will it be easy for unvaccinated individuals to fake a vaccination) were given.

A reasonable guess, based on the past performance of Dow’s crack King County bureaucrats, is that the system will cost a lot of money and it will be totally useless for most businesses to use.  We should also note that the implementation of these restrictions comes just months after state officials stated that a “vaccine passport” would not be required and King County was well above the 70% vaccination rate (currently over 84%) officials previously promised would slow the spread of COVID. (Seattle Times and Seattle P-I)

As Democrat King County officials seek to spread Seattle’s severe homeless problem to the rest of the county, local residents are asking their city officials to not allow the county to operate a homeless shelter in their neighborhood.  Dozens protested Tuesday evening at a Redmond City Council meeting over the county’s recent purchase of a Silver Cloud motel (near the Microsoft campus) which King County Executive Dow Constantine wants to turn into a 144-bed homeless shelter.  Speakers at Tuesday evening’s council meeting asked that the city deny the county the necessary permits to operate the shelter.  Other speakers stressed that if the large shelter is allowed to open, that the residents be screened for criminal history and must not abuse drugs or alcohol. (KOMO News)

The Kennewick City Council voted to add its city to the growing list of those prohibiting a local income tax.  The support of small employers was the primary motivation in the resolution passed by the council.  “The City Council hereby declares that a local income tax would be in direct conflict with the high value the City places on promoting economic development through the attraction and expansion of financially healthy, family-wage paying employers. Small businesses are the backbone of our local, regional, state, and national economy and it is imperative that the City not put unnecessary hurdles in the way of their success.” Kennewick joins Battle Ground, Granger, Spokane, Spokane Valley, and Union Gap in opposing a city-imposed income tax.

Many Shift readers notified us that Moses Lake has also joined this expanding list of communities prohibiting an income tax. While Shift was on a short break, the Moses Lake City Council adopted a resolution that not only prohibited the city from imposing an income tax, but also encourages the governor and state legislature to “consider the will of the people” at the state level.  Remember, Washington voters have rejected the last 10 ballot proposals to impose a state income tax. (Washington Policy Center and WPC Center for Government Reform Facebook)

The disgraced Suzi LeVine quietly resigned from her cushy Biden Administration job at the Department of Labor last month, after it became evident her past disastrous effort “leading” the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) was going to cause serious difficulties in forthcoming Senate confirmation hearings.  As Governor Jay Inslee’s handpicked selection to lead ESD in 2018, LeVine was responsible for easing security measures at the beginning of the COVID pandemic which allowed foreign criminals to steal more than $650 million (they are still trying to count all the losses) from taxpayers. She then compounded her mistake by interfering with a state auditor’s investigation into her failures.

Evidently President Biden’s operatives believe LeVine’s past performance was too much of a political liability, as the administration struggles to recover from its recent debacle in Afghanistan and a slowing economy.  And, as Shift reported previously, there were also growing concerns about large political contributions which LeVine and her husband made to Senator Patty Murray and the Democrat National Committee around the time she was seeking a job in the Biden Administration. (Click to read full Shift Article and Shift)

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