Governor Jay Inslee released his 2022 environmental legislative proposals this morning and like nearly all of the governor’s previous climate-related policies, the latest measures are very expensive ($626 million) and will actually do nothing to reduce CO2 emissions.  Practically all of the latest proposals are duplicates of current policies, as the governor is simply giving state government workers and wealthy environmental groups more tax money to spend.  He continues to subsidize the wealthy to purchase $55,000 cars while his Cap-and-Trade legislation makes it more expensive for low-income workers to get to work and increases the cost of their groceries.  The latest proposals continue to pour even more tax money into subsidizing solar power, despite the National Renewable Energy Laboratory ranking Western Washington as one of the worst places in the country for solar power potential.

And Inslee doesn’t care, because he can claim this is all “green”, which is, after all, what matters to him.

Rational people find it curious that the governor wants to create the office of “Climate Commitment Accountability”, to be tasked with monitoring how the state is achieving climate milestones.  Yet, Inslee should remember that his “Results Washington” program was previously assigned to performing this.

He may have forgotten that since, when Inslee’s previous environmental policies dramatically failed to achieve the promised results, the Inslee Administration simply scrubbed the website of all relevant data (not surprisingly this was done just before the governor announced his failed short-lived campaign for president). (AP/US News & World Report, Washington Policy Center, Crosscut, and Results Washington)

It isn’t just your imagination: facts prove that Washington State is declining on nearly every important issue during the one-party rule of the Democrats.  The Washington State Senate Republican Caucus posted “10 Facts Every Citizen Should Know” to illustrate how Democrat action (or inaction) has resulted in poorer conditions for Washington residents.  The caucus’ list includes:

1. Home ownership and affordability is 7^th worst in country and getting worse.
2. Washington saw largest increase in homelessness while rest of country experienced a decline.
3. Drug overdose deaths at an all-time high.
4. Violent crime at a 25 year high.
5. Washington families cannot afford or access childcare.
6. Recently enacted taxes passed by Democrats will cost the median family at least $1,000 a year.
7. State spending has nearly doubled under Governor Inslee.
8. Government ignores will of voters and thwart rights of voters to repeal legislation.
9. Tort liability for bad state conduct has tripled in last decade.
10. Road congestion and conditions, fuel prices, and taxes rank amongst worst in nation.

This list is far from complete (for it doesn’t include such items as the Democrats’ failed expensive climate policies, liberals’ attack on our agriculture community, or Governor Inslee’s 650+ days of one-man rule enabled by Democrat legislators), but it does start to build the case for some necessary changes in 2022. (Washington State Senate Republican Caucus)

Sales tax revenue for state and local governments continue to climb, supporting the push by taxpayers calling for sales tax relief for Washington State consumers. The Washington State Department of Revenue revealed that the state’s portion of the sales tax (currently at a rate of 6.5%) has jumped 33.6% in actual dollars from June 2020 to June 2021.  As the Washington State government bank accounts continue to overflow with unexpected revenues (currently estimated to be at least $4 billion more than the biennial budget passed by the 2021 legislature), Republican lawmakers and conservative think tanks are calling for tax relief for state residents.

A sales tax reduction would benefit all Washington State residents, with lower-income households benefiting the most. The Washington Policy Center estimates a 0.2% reduction of the state sales tax would only reduce projected state revenues by $600 million (which is slightly less than $650 million the Inslee Administration allowed foreign criminals to steal from the Washington State Employment Security Department).

Thus far Governor Inslee has only allowed state workers (three pay raises in two years) and his wealthy environmental buddies to benefit from the surplus state revenue and said “I doubt this (tax relief for real people) will be one of my proposals” when asked if he would support a sales tax reduction.  (News Tribune, Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council report, Washington Policy Center, and TVW Governor Inslee December 2^nd media event)

Two adminstrators will end up leading The Evergreen State College, after the three finalists to become the embattled school’s new president each turned down the job. Interim President John Carmichael and Executive Vice President Dexter Gordon will be responsible for stopping the mass exodus of students from the scandal-plagued school, as parents are refusing to pay tuition for the near-meaningless education provided by the ultra-liberal college.  Enrollment has dropped approximately in half (from over 4,000 students to just 2,116 who enrolled this fall). (The Olympian)

Seattle Times editorial attacks the latest sexist behavior of Seattle City Councilmember Andrew Lewis. In the latest attempt by a liberal politician to reverse the impact of the voters, Councilmember Andrew Lewis (along with trounced mayoral candidate and outgoing Council President Lorena Gonzalez) introduced council “oversight measures” to tell the first woman elected as Seattle City Attorney how to do her job, something not ever forced on any of her male predecessors. This sexist action by the council follows its 2020 inexcusable behavior when councilmembers refused to even listen to the concerns of Seattle’s first Black woman Police Chief Carman Best, before caving into liberal rioters’ demands to slash the police department’s budget.  Councilmember Lewis, who ran on a platform of increasing police funding in 2019 and has since become the poster child for the city’s failed public safety policies, now seeks to control the city attorney’s office after Seattle voters elected moderate Ann Davison over Lewis’ old boss (and incumbent) Peter Holmes and the radical abolitionist Nicole Thomas-Kennedy. (Seattle Times)

Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) policies are again being scrutinized after foster parents had previously warned state officials about concerns of returning a child back to her biological parents.  The five-year-old child is now missing, and the parents are in custody as more media outlets are reporting on the disappearance of Oakley Carlson of Oakville (Southeastern Grays Harbor County). Oakley’s foster parents said they repeatedly told DCYF authorities of suspected problems after the young girl would return from overnight visits with her biological parents.  When asked about the foster parents’ claims, a DCYF spokesperson said, “Due to privacy laws, we cannot comment on case-specific details.” And, of course, that same “privacy” will protect any DCYF staffer from being held accountable. (Centralia Chronicle)

Squatters were finally evicted by King County Sheriffs from a well-known Seattle hub for drugs and prostitution, after months of repeated notifications and offers of public assistance were ignored by “residents.”  Officers kicked in doors and removed the belongings (including drug paraphernalia and knives) of those who had taken over the abandoned 12-unit Hillside Motel on Aurora Avenue (above Lake Union). The previous owner had defaulted on loans earlier this year and a Spokane company has been attempting to clean up the property to sell since last summer, but local squatter-friendly policies allowed the crime rings to continue to occupy the hotel. (Seattle Times)

As Democrat anti-law enforcement policies allow criminals to become even more brazen in their illegal activities, a Tacoma library branch has been force to close its doors and return to curbside service for at least three months. Library workers at the Mottet branch said they felt unsafe at work, and that some of them were followed home by individuals that workers suspected of drug trafficking. Library Director Kate Larsen said, “As library workers, we aren’t prepared, this isn’t our expertise, we are not prepared to deal with these types of situations. But unfortunately, they’re becoming more and more common.” (KING5 News)

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is not responding to local authorities concerned about the homeless encampment on their property near the George Sellar Bridge in Wenatchee.  Many local residents report prostitution and drug use in the growing encampment and that they feel unsafe.  Wenatchee Mayor Frank Kuntz reports that police need to be on hand when city crews conduct maintenance at a nearby park.  He said the city has made several requests of WSDOT to do something about the problem, but Jay Inslee’s bureaucrats have denied the requests. (iFIBER One)

Jesse Jensen is this week’s Shift’s Newsmaker Interview, as we continue to bring readers each of the GOP candidates running to challenge Representative Kim Schrier next November in the 8^th Congressional District.  Jensen is a highly decorated combat veteran who served four tours of duty in Afghanistan.  His first experience in politics was in 2020, when he surprised many political pundits by coming within 2.5% of defeating Representative Schrier, despite being outspent $5.4 million to $850,000.  Jensen’s 2022 campaign is focused on reversing the current inflationary economy he attributes to Democrats in Washington, D.C.  Jensen asserts that Representative Schrier needs to be replaced because “She’s put the far-Left agenda ahead of Washington families.” (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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