State government has more than doubled in cost in the decade Governor Jay Inslee has occupied the mansion, and state tax revenues continue to exceed projections, yet this is not enough tax money for greedy Democrat lawmakers — so they spent much of Valentine’s Day expressing their love for even more taxes.  When Governor Inslee took office in 2013, the state budget was $32.1 billion and in 2022 the state’s enacted two-year budget was $67.2 billon.  This represents a near $4,000 annual increase in the cost of government per every Washington State resident (from $4,632 in 2013 to $8,617 last year).

The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council reported yesterday that tax revenues continue to be strong, and collections were 1.1% ($88.6 million) higher than originally projected last quarter.  Yet this massive increase in tax revenue fails to satisfy the liberal greed of Democrat lawmakers who seek to take even more of your money to spend it on the inefficient state government they are running unchecked.

Yesterday there were four separate public hearings on tax increases which current Democrat lawmakers wish to impose on state taxpayers:

• The House Finance Committee heard testimony on the Democrats latest (and likely unconstitutional) Holy Grail tax – the Wealth Tax (HB 1473).
• The House Finance Committee then heard testimony on repealing the “uniformity clause” from the state’s constitution to make it easier for lawmakers to impose a graduated state income tax on residents (HJR 4205).
• Finally the House Finance Committee heard testimony on increasing the death tax (HR 1795).
• Not to be outdone, the Senate Committee on Local Government, Land Use & Tribal Affairs heard testimony on a bill to increase the local property tax rate from 1% to 3% (SB 5418).

While Democrats were expressing their love for higher taxes they failed to demonstrate any affection towards financially struggling lower- and middle- income taxpayers by hearing testimony on any of the tax relief measures proposed by Republican lawmakers.  (Washington Policy Center, LEAP annual budget chart,  Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council 2/14 report, and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

The Seattle Stranger continues to demonstrate that it will not allow facts to get in the way of pushing its far-Left agenda.  In a recent article promoting the Democrats’ unconstitutional state income tax on capital gains, the reporter found a liberal attorney who made the false claim that he and a group of liberal law professors “studied capital gains and excise taxes in states across the country and concluded that nearly every other government treats their capital gains tax as an excise tax.”  The problem with this statement is that it is clearly false, though that rarely bothers The Stranger.

Five years ago, Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center solicited and documented responses from every state in the country, and each and every one of them stated that a capital gains tax is a tax on income (and is thus unconstitutional in Washington State).  Not surprisingly the liberal attorney the Stranger quoted provided no supporting evidence to back up his false claim. (The Stranger and Washington Policy Center)

Stolen valor Democrat Representative Clyde Shavers (D – Kirkland) is again receiving strong criticism, this time not for his many lies, but for crafting a piece of legislation which would do far more harm than good.  As we all know, Democrat candidate Shavers was caught repeatedly lying about his military service, his work experience, his family history, and even where he lived, to barely win an election last November.  Now that Representative Shavers is serving his first (and likely only) term in elected office, he has introduced a bill (HB 1412) to prohibit foreign companies, governments, and foreign-controlled American subsidiaries from purchasing land in Washington State currently used for farming, ranching or timber production.

At a House Committee on Civil Rights and Judiciary hearing yesterday, only Representative Shavers spoke in favor of the bill, while others criticized it for going too far and asserting that it would negatively impact investment in state businesses which create jobs and pay taxes.  Tom Davis of the Washington Forest Protection Association warned the legislation needs to be refined. “I ask that you look at this more carefully,” he said. “The bottom line, shouldn’t the consideration of limitations on land ownership be directed at those foreign countries that we believe to be hostile to the U.S. (such as China and Russia), and not to the Netherlands, to the UK and Germany.”

It is interesting that Representative Shavers said he heard about the issue as he was campaigning last year.  We are not sure if this was before or after he falsely informed people he served on an U.S. Navy submarine, was a practicing attorney for a prominent Seattle law firm, his mother was an economic refugee escaping poverty, or that an Oak Harbor bed and breakfast room (and not his Kirkland condo) was his permanent residence.  (NW News Network, Shift, and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat provided more evidence that extreme liberal policies are destroying Seattle, yet he fails to mention that his newspaper is partially responsible for why there are no moderate or conservative voices in the city to restrain the extreme tendencies of the city’s liberal establishment.  Westneat told the story of yet another small business owner who decided to close his establishment because the city’s liberal crime, drug, and homeless policies have made it impossible for him to operate his Wallingford neighborhood bike shop.  The column also described how the city, despite offering large signing bonuses, is unable to recruit new officers to replace the more than 500 who have already fled the department.

This massive policy failure is the result of the liberal-only Seattle City Council caving into the demands of violent liberal activists who demanded during their 2020 riots that the city “Defund the Police.”  While then-Mayor Jenny Durkan and then-Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said this was a dangerous policy, the unrestrained liberal establishment easily ignored them and passed several radical anti-police measures which made Seattle an unsafe place to own a small business, play in a park, ride mass transit, walk downtown, or do many of the basic activities residents used to take for granted.

This was allowed to happen because Seattle’s liberal leadership is left unchecked by any moderate or rational perspective, for people with those views have either fled the city or are silent in fear of being called a “racist,” “fascist,” or any of the many other hate-filled insults liberals love to pin on those who dare challenge their viewpoint.  This occurs even when it is obvious liberal policies are failing – see the outrage and the hate thrown at KOMO News after it aired its “Seattle is Dying” and “Fight for the Soul of Seattle” documentaries.

The Seattle Times must take responsibility for its part in eliminating rational moderate and conservative views from discussions in Seattle. The paper constantly acts as if it were the communications department of the Democrat Party.  Shift has repeatedly run columns (a few recent examples can be found here, here, here, and here) about how the newspaper has one set of lenient rules for covering liberals and a harsher set of rules for how it reports on moderates and conservatives.  While liberal policies continue to destroy Seattle, the city’s newspaper must recognize its role in allowing radical liberal views go unchecked. (Seattle Times, MyNorthwest, KOMO News/YouTube, and Shift)

Sound Transit’s over-budget light rail tunnel under Downtown Seattle failed to ventilate properly on Tuesday, forcing the agency to close numerous stops and run buses to move passengers.  Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm stated its latest operational failure was due to an on-going electrical supply issue. The agency had to close stops at University Street, Pioneer Square, and the Chinatown–International District as crews attempted to repair the faulty ventilation system. (MyNorthwest)

King County Councilman Reagan Dunn says that employees fired thanks to King County Executive Dow Constantine’s vaccine mandate should receive priority when the county seeks to fill positions.  Councilmember Dunn said this should include firefighters and sheriff deputies.  The councilmember said, “Now that vaccination requirements have been rolled back (they ended February 6^th), this is our opportunity to bring back those public servants — especially our first responders, including law enforcement and emergency personnel— who lost their jobs.” (KING5 News)

The Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) will hold a public hearing on the large 5,000 acre Hop Hill Solar Project which a Florida-based company seeks to build East of Sunnyside in the Yakima Valley.  The hearing will be held Thursday, February 23rd, starting at 5:00 PM at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.  There is very little concern that the project won’t receive the necessary permits from the EFSEC since its membership is full of Governor Inslee’s staff and partisan appointees and the governor recently criticized those who express concerns about the loss of farmlands or those who seek to protect the habitat of endangered and threatened species.  See story for information on how to participate in person or virtually. Last year the Democrat legislators gave the EFSEC full control over where solar and wind farms can be built and removed local authorities from having any say on the issue, because Democrats can’t always control every local decision as they can at the state level. (Yakima Herald, EFSEC membership, and Shift)

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview was with Republican Representative Eric Robertson of Sumner, who previously served as an officer in the Washington State Patrol and was appointed U.S. Marshall for Western Washington by President George W. Bush. He previously served in the Washington State Legislature for two terms in the 1990s and returned to the House of Representatives in 2021.  He is a father of five and enjoys being with his nine grandchildren.

Representative Robertson is a legislative leader among those seeking to restore common sense to our state’s public safety policies after the Democrats passed their anti-police measures in 2021.  He is the co-sponsor of the bi-partisan HB 1363 to repeal the disastrous restrictions the Democrats imposed on police pursuits.  The representative discussed in his interview several bills aimed to make our communities safer. He also shared his thoughts on Republican-sponsored legislation to financially support more educational options which will provide flexibility in meeting student needs.

Representative Robertson also shared his thoughts on taxing cannabis products, providing tax relief to lower- and middle- income workers, and repealing the Democrats’ poorly developed Long Term Care tax/plan. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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