Governor Jay Inslee and his political machine see both the state’s taxpayers and his campaign donors as personal cash machines to pay for their luxurious trips and high salaries. This week the governor’s campaign emailed yet another fundraising appeal to his donors, and the pitch they provided for why people should send him money were two completely fabricated and meaningless deadlines. Not only was no serious reason given for why someone should contribute to Inslee’s campaign, but in reviewing his Public Disclosure Commission reports, we find that paying the lucrative retainers of the governor’s fundraising consultants is the campaign’s only major expense.

We also found that the campaign has moved a half million dollars into a “surplus funds” account. Which raises the obvious question of why doesn’t the governor use these “surplus funds” to reimburse Washington State taxpayers who paid for his various excesses in recent years?  Taxpayers were forced to fund his unnecessary security during his failed 2020 presidential campaign and have recently funded the lavish trips he takes with his wife to Europe so he can hobnob with wealthy environmentalists and the woke corporate executives who are making millions off of his ineffective and expensive environmental policies.  A politician who respect taxpayers and believes tax money should go towards those less fortunate would reimburse the state. (Click to read full Shift Article)

The next state government entitlement program the Democrats will push during the 2023 Legislative Session is the so-called Washington Future Fund.  The Seattle Times performs its role as the Democrat Party’s public relation team by posting a 1,000-word article that only extolls the virtues of the new idea, while not providing one word from anyone who opposes or even expresses caution about the big new government expense.  The article claims it will “break the cycle of poverty that’s trapped families” and “lift future generations of low-income residents toward a path of financial independence.” These are claims similar to those offered for multiple other government programs which Democrats have sought while pursuing their primary goal of expanding the size and cost of government.

The plan would initially set aside $4,000 (like all government programs, we can expect this amount to dramatically increase) in a trust fund for every child born under the state’s Medicaid Apple Fund, which is currently 40,000 children per year.  The recipient could access the funds between the age of 18-35 to use for the very broad purposes of “home ownership, education or pursuing a small business.” It is estimated the trust fund would grow to about $24,000 if withdrawn at age 25, and $50,000 if withdrawn at age 35.

The Seattle Times claims the new fund would initially cost the state $150 million a year.  Yet this amount is low if the other figures in the article are correct.  For if there are 40,000 babies born every year under the Apple Fund, and each child has $4,000 set aside, then the state needs at least $160 million to starts with before heaping on any overhead expenses, such as employee wages and benefits, office space, computers, and other equipment.

Supporters claim the idea for this new social welfare program (often called “baby bonds”) grew out of the 2020 Black Lives Matters protests. This motivation should raise many concerns with Washington State residents, since the public safety policies which originated in those demonstrations (and were blindly adopted in 2021 by Democrat lawmakers) are utter failures which have resulted in higher crime rates and more victims, especially in lower income and minority neighborhoods. Shift will have more on the Washington Future Fund as the proposal unfolds, and we will likely provide a broader perspective than what the Seattle Times embarrassingly delivered today. (Seattle Times)

KTTH radio host Jason Rantz points out that while some Seattle City Councilmembers falsely claim they have “fully funded” the Seattle Police Department, the fact is they have permanently decreased the size of the force by an additional 80 officers. The councilmembers have also reinforced the pro-criminal political atmosphere that has caused 500 officers (including more than 140 this year) to already leave the SPD and why the city, despite offering large signing bonus for new officers, continues to have difficulties attracting new recruits to the department.

The council voted to slash future budgets of 80 officers the SPD was seeking to hire, while approving a budget with a reduced police force.  At-large Councilmember Sara Nelson, who easily won her position in 2021 by appealing to Seattle voters fed up with the council’s anti-police policies, voted against the budget that removed funding for the 80 officers.  She said, “I believe that eliminating these positions does reinforce a ‘defund‘ narrative that got us here.”  Seattle Police Guild President Mike Solan said, “in terms of the budget, I’m seeing more activist moves to take the money away from police and put it to projects that fulfill an activist talking point. For me, we need cops, and we need people that want to be cops.” (MyNorthwest)

As crime continues to be a common occurrence due to liberal anti-police policies in the state, violence continues to increase on the roadways.  Pierce County, where an 11-year old boy remains in the hospital following a shooting on I-5 last Friday, has already experienced 279 “road rage” shootings in 2022, up from 241 in all of 2021, and 180 in 2020.  This is an 55% increase in just two years (and there are still 30 more days left in 2022) as criminals have become embolden by liberal policies which make it more difficult for police to perform their jobs and reduces penalties to those who are actually caught and convicted.  (KING5 News)

The Seattle Times reports there will be significant changes at the Everett Daily Herald in the new year.  Herald publisher Rudi Alcott said in an email to employees that starting January 3rd the paper will no longer have print edition on Sunday and Monday, the Saturday edition will be larger with many items previously in the Sunday edition, and newspapers will be delivered via the mail.  This item has not been covered by the Herald, which expects to notify readers of the changes after Christmas. (Seattle Times)

The Columbia River Drug Task Force warns that the new deadly “Rainbow” fentanyl has been found in the Wenatchee area.  The pills are brightly colored and look like candy or children’s vitamins.  Fentanyl overdoses and deaths have skyrocketed in Washington State since the Democrats in the Washington State Legislature essentially decriminalized possession of the drug in 2021. The task force (made up of officers from Chelan and Douglas counties and the cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee) said they have seen pictures of the colorful pills on the cell phones of arrested drug dealers, and they encourage parents to remind children to not ingest pills not prescribed by doctors. (KPQ Radio)

Pasco is the 8^th fastest growing city in the country according to a just-released survey by SmartAsset.  The study examined nearly 500 U.S. communities between 2016 and 2021.  Pasco ranked near the top of the list due to growth in population, number of new businesses, and a 3% increase in the city’s gross domestic product.  Nampa and Meridian, Idaho (both just west of Boise, near the Oregon border) are #1 and #2 in the survey. (Tri-City Herald and SmartAsset Boomtown Survey)

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