Democrat lawmakers continue to push their poorly developed, inadequately funded, and mandatory Long-Term Care payroll tax, which mostly benefits government employee labor unions and their bank accounts, while Republican legislators have offered a voluntary, privately managed, low-cost long-term care plan which benefits all Washington workers. Simply stated, the Democrats’ plan forces workers in Washington State to pay into an underfunded plan that is controlled by union bosses and unpredictable politicians like Governor Jay Inslee, in which a worker will be ineligible to receive benefits if they retire to another state or if they are currently within 10 years of retirement. Since the plan is dramatically underfunded and provides minimal benefits, premiums (i.e. payroll tax) will need to be dramatically increased soon in order to stay solvent. Meanwhile the Republican plan (HB 1913), introduced by Representative Drew Stokesbary (Auburn), is well-funded, is controlled by the individual, and the worker can receive benefits no matter where they retire.

This week there will be votes on the floor of the House over a Democrat bill (HB 1732) to officially delay the collection of the payroll tax until July 2023 (well after this year’s elections) and another Democrat bill (HB 1733) to exempt military family members and workers who reside in another state. It is interesting that the Democrats are willing to exempt out-of-state workers who cannot receive the benefits, but are unwilling to exempt Washington State residents from the payroll tax who are also ineligible to receive benefits but are still forced to pay the tax (people who retire out of state and those who are currently within 10 years of retirement). (House Republican Caucus media  release and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

We are now 294 days away from the November 8th general election and all Democrats must be increasingly worried about the recent Gallup poll which shows the largest one-year swing towards one party (and against the other) in recent polling history. While liberal policies have led to record-breaking inflation rates (even higher in Washington State), skyrocketing crime rates, higher taxes, and expensive and ineffective climate policies, American voters are abandoning the Democrat party like those fleeing a building on fire. In a Gallup poll conducted in January 2021, 49% of American voters said they were either Democrat or leaned Democrat, while only 40% said they were Republican or leaned Republican. Yet a new poll of those surveyed earlier this month showed a dramatic 14% swing in voters’ party affiliation with only 42% of voters identifying with the Democrats and 47% identifying with Republicans.  This is terrible news for Democrats, especially those representing swing suburban districts.  (Gallup New Briefand U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Senator Emily Randall (D – Bremerton) has introduced legislation which will require employers to state the complete pay range for the position in all job listings, in the Democrats’ latest effort to manage the small details of running a business. According to Senator Randall’s (who is near the top of the list of vulnerable Democrats in swing districts with a 2022 challenge from Representative Jesse Young) legislation (SB 5761), failure by the employer to post this information will result in a $5,000 fine and could be forced to back wages with interest. As anyone who has ever negotiated a salary knows, by the employer having to reveal the acceptable top salary they are willing to pay provides a significant negotiating advantage for the prospective employee. It is just as intrusive as requiring all prospective employees to publicly declare their minimum salary requirements.  (KXLYand Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Senator Manka Dhingra (D – Kirkland) has introduced legislation allowing school district to permanently teach remote classes once a week. This bill (SB 5735) has been nicknamed the “Ferris Bueller” bill since it basically gives a day off to teachers and students. The bill fails to require a visual check-in by the student with the teachers.  Senator Dhingra’s (another very vulnerable Democrat in a swing district) legislation is being strongly criticized by parent groups who are already upset at the poor level of education their children have received via remote learning during the past two years. Recent test results reveal that during remote learning the percentage of Washington State students who met basic math standards dropped by 20%, and the percentage of students who met English standards dropped by 9%.  Senate Republican Leader John Braun (Centralia) also points out that this would bring economic hardship to some families as a parent will have to take time off work to stay home with their children. (Centralia Chronicle, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and The AP’sThe Skanner)

Governor Inslee does not rule out imposing a vaccine mandate on Washington State private employers, despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down a similar federal mandate by President Joe Biden. Governor Inslee appears to believe that he is above the Supreme Court ruling by stating “There’s nothing in there to suggest the state has a diminished capability of protecting people,” (as if that is a legitimate argument the court did not consider). To go along with the disastrous roll out (and subsequent delay) of the Democrats’ Long-Term Care tax plan, human resource departments at major Washington businesses are working overtime keeping track of all of the confusion being spread by Democrats in Olympia. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

Supporters of the Pike Place Market claimed that Seattle City Councilmember Andrew Lewis has overstepped his authority with his previous statements that he wants to remove vehicles from Pike Place (the one-way street that runs through the market).   Councilmember Lewis, who has been strongly criticized for caving into the “defund the police”demand of liberal rioters, and for oblivious statements regarding both the crime and homelessness crises in Seattle, made headlines recently by saying he was working towards removing cars from the area around the highly frequented market.  In a recent Friends of the Market newsletter, Pike Place advocates state that the market is “arguably the safest, most vibrant part of downtown” (due in part to Lewis’ policies increasing crime and homeless encampments in the rest of downtown).  The newsletter goes on to question Lewis’ actions by asking, “Why, now, would the Seattle City Council want to meddle in the management issues of the Market?” (MyNorthwest)

Tri-City law enforcement agencies have begun to train and hand out body cams to their officers. Both the Benton and Franklin County Sheriff Departments, and the Kennewick and Richland police departments, have started to equip their officers with the devices to record their interactions with members of the public. (The Pasco Police Department have had body cams since 2019.)  Sgt. Shawn Swanson of the Richland Police Department said, “We’re 100 percent in support of it. It’s been a long time coming.” Police have generally been in favor of wearing the device because officials believe the cameras will show the good work being done by officers. (Tri-City Herald)

We are hearing rumors that Democrat Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins (Tacoma) is very upset that Representative Tarra Simmons (D – Bellingham) and Representative David Hackney (D – Tukwila) introduced legislation (HB – 1692) to reduce sentencing of individuals convicted of hurting or killing individuals in drive-by shootings. Speaker Jinkins is upset that the bill has garnered considerable media attention at a time when Democrats are receiving significant (and justifiable) public criticism for their 2021 “police reform” package, which allowed numerous criminal suspects to remain free and resulted in skyrocketing crime rates across the state. While the Democrats are making it easier for criminals to commit more crimes, Republican lawmakers have offered nearly 50 pieces of legislation (in their “Safe Washington” package) to correct the many problems created by the Democrats’ legislation.

The Democrats hastily wrote (without input from law enforcement) and passed their “reform” package during the 2021 session to reward the violent liberal protesters in Seattle by caving into their demands to make our state more comfortable for criminals.  While legislation to release drive-by killers earlier would likely have been passed by the Democrats in 2021, with all the current public concerns over public safety, the Democrat Chair of the House Public Safety Representative Roger Goodman of Kirkland (who co-wrote most of the irresponsible 2021 “reform” package with fellow Democrat RepresentativeJesse Johnson of Federal Way) said the bill to reduce sentencing of drive-by shooters “is basically dead on arrival.” (Shift Article,Newsmaker Interview, and MyNorthwest)

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