Rumor has it that Governor Inslee is expected to release his next budget proposal on Thursday, December 17^th (he is constitutionally required to submit this by December 20^th).  Shift has been providing some good ideas (such as providing families with funds to offset cost of educating students at home) which we do not expect to be included in the governor’s proposed July 2021 – June 2023 budget, and some bad ideas (like his state income tax on capital gains) which we unfortunately do expect to be in that proposal.

Next among the governor’s bad ideas sure to make the budget cut: The governor has said that he will again push for an expensive and ineffective Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) law during the 2021 legislative session.  Even though the LCFS and other carbon pricing schemes have been rejected by both the voters and legislatures multiple times during his reign, Governor Inslee continues to promote this expensive proposal which will dramatically increase the cost of transportation (and thus increase the price of all goods) at a time when many families are already struggling due to government restrictions.  This idea was a bad idea when the economy was good, and is a worse idea when many Washington residents are struggling.  Even more importantly, an LCFS is a very inefficient method for reducing carbon.  It’s an Inslee two-fer: too expensive, not effective. (Washington Policy Center)

The Freedom Foundation has purchased six billboards across Washington State that proclaim, “End the Monarchy! There is NO pandemic exception in the constitution.” The billboard features a smiling Jay Inslee with a king’s crown on his head.  The group released a statement  Tuesday critical of the governor’s extension of his latest emergency restrictions, saying “Inslee’s orders are coming from a man and an organization, the government, that have made no sacrifices or suffered in any way as a result of COVID. No one in state government has had to fear losing their job, worry about paying their mortgage or stress about whether their business will survive.” (KEPR TV and Freedom Foundation)

Not surprisingly, Governor Inslee has stated that spending billions and billions of taxpayer dollars on a high-speed “Cascadia” train between Portland and Vancouver, B.C. could help repair the state’s economy (which his one-man rule has helped to damage over the last nine months).  If the governor is so concerned about the state’s struggling economy, there are far more effective policies he could do right now that he has chosen not to do.  There is no reason to believe this unnecessary project (is there a an unmet local demand to get to Portland that much quicker?) will not cost far more than estimated and be completed long past its target date (as nearly all Washington public works projects come in).  One only needs to look at the still-delayed and budget-busting California high-speed rail fiasco to realize the problems that could occur with the Vancouver-Seattle-Portland project. And remember, the California project only has one loony Left-wing government to screw things up, the Cascadia project would have three. (MyNorthwest)

In one of the lamest vote analysis pieces in recent memory, the Seattle Times used fancy graphics to push the Democrats’ political narrative that Washington State voted more Democratic in 2020 than it did in 2016.  The Times based this trend (“Our reddest counties were bluer”) solely on the presidential campaign numbers and barely mentioned that the entirety of the vote increase for the 2020 Democrat presidential vote came from Washington State liberals voting for the Democrat nominee, and not voting for a 3^rd party presidential candidate as they did in 2016 (when Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 5% of the WA vote, and 7.6% of the state’s voters went for a 3^rd party candidate). The Times also failed to mention that President Trump, despite spending almost no money in Washington State in 2020, increased his vote percentage by .7% – hardly an indication of the state becoming “bluer”. Maybe the Times “FYI Guy” needs some basic math education. (Seattle Times)

State transportation officials are considering toll increases on the Highway 520 bridge and the Highway 99 tunnel due to a decline in revenues since fewer people are paying for the privilege of commuting to work on the roadways.  The Highway 99 tunnel also has less traffic because many people are bypassing it by taking surface streets through downtown Seattle, which is nearly empty because of the governor’s draconian business restrictions and the Seattle City Council’s radical public non-safety policies.  Instead of making appropriate cuts to reduce costs, transportation officials only response is to charge higher tolls to get more money. Drivers on those roads can expect to see toll increases within a few months. (Seattle Times) 

State Representative Vicki Kraft said she will introduce legislation which will allow the public funds allocated for each student in a public school (about $12,000) to “follow the student” to other educational choices, such as private schools or homeschooling.  Kraft said her bill will be like HB 2933, which she introduced last legislative session.  In an op-ed in the Battle Ground Reflector, Kraft said, “(Parents) should be able to use the same funding that would follow their student to a public school for an education at a private school or for homeschool learning. Parents should be able to decide how and where their children are educated – not government or teachers’ unions who have vehemently opposed parental school choice options.” (Battle Ground Reflector and Washington State Legislature Bill Summary)

The Vancouver Education Association is resisting efforts by its school district leaders to return children safely to the classroom.  The district superintendent announced plans to return at-risk students to in-person instruction next month, and bring back kindergarten through 2^nd grade students in February.  Despite support for returning children back to the classroom from local, state, and national health officials, the teachers’ union is opposing the plan and is demanding that the superintendent “stand up and say ‘no’” to the mental health and educational concerns of the parents and students.  (Clark County Today)

State Representative Tom Dent (R – Moses Lake), who is recovering from his bout with the coronavirus, writes in a Columbia Basin Herald op-ed about his concerns with the state’s emergency powers law.  Dent claims the law “is poorly written and does not provide for an end to the state of emergency other than another declaration from the governor. This must be addressed.” Dent was critical of Governor Inslee for failing to consult other elected officials over major decisions which impact the lives of all Washington residents. “Governor, demanding and ordering the people what to do doesn’t work and never will. The more you demand, the less cooperation you will receive. If you truly want to slow the spread of COVID, include everyone in the process – listen to them – and the legislators that represent them. You might be surprised with what you hear.” (Columbia Basin Herald)

Benton County Sheriff Jerry Hatcher posted a statement on social media saying his department will not respond to calls involving businesses or individuals breaking Governor Inslee’s restrictions.  Hatcher says in the statement “The Governor and other policy makers must not penalize our citizens and business owners for earning a living, protecting their families’ mental health, or exercising our most cherished freedoms and liberties.” (KOMO News)

Governor Inslee’s campaign continues to raise money by blasting out numerous email appeals before the fundraising freeze hits on Saturday.  (Washington State elected officials cannot fundraise 30 days before a legislative session begins and during the session.)  The governor does not say why his campaign needs more money in his latest appeal (in which he laughably quotes his “climate expert” Greta Thunberg).  His campaign’s Public Disclosure Commission report reveals it should have more than a million dollars in the bank.  If the governor is concerned about the state’s fiscal health, maybe he could use his leftover campaign haul to repay the taxpayer funds he stole from the state to provide his security during his failed presidential campaign. (Inslee campaign email, Inslee PDC Summary, and Seattle Times)

The City of Seattle cannot wait to start 2021 – so the Council can add more taxes. Using a selfish and greedy interpretation of the state constitution, the Democrats on the Seattle City Council voted to impose a tax on income. We have already seen businesses respond by moving jobs (and tax revenue) to the suburbs and to other states.  The exodus from Seattle will continue.  When the city coffers dry up, Councilmember Kshama Sawant and her fellow Leftist colleagues will very likely blame someone else for their failed experiment. (Shift Article)

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