We have all seen this many times before, right?  Governor Jay Inslee and Democrat legislators are claiming that their proposed unconstitutional income tax on capital gains will only impact the “mega-rich.”  Following the typical Democrat playbook, you can bet that if successful, in a few years, Democrats will remove the exemptions, and reduce the minimum caps, and soon we will have a full-fledged state income tax that will impact everyone here who earns a paycheck.  Why are Jay Inslee and the Democrats doing this? They need a new revenue stream to help them make state government larger and more powerful, to benefit friends like their major campaign contributors in the public employee unions. (Click to read full Shift article)

Liberal gadfly Nick Hanauer, who inherited a family business and then got lucky by being allowed to invest early in Amazon, brags in a Seattle Times op-ed, that “my friends and I already have more money than we know what to do with.”  He says he and the ultra-rich people he hangs out with should pay a state income tax on their capital gains.  Well, there is absolutely nothing stopping Hanauer and his ultra-rich buddies from handing over to the state any spare money they don’t “know what to do with” (see our next story).  Yet, those of us who do not live in such exclusive company as Hanauer, and who read history books, know that Democrats can always be counted on to find whatever future “emergencies” are necessary to expand the state income tax to everyone who earns a paycheck.  Oh, and by the way, the tax is unconstitutional. (Seattle Times)

Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center brought to our attention that the State of Washington has a form ready for those who want to pay even more taxes.   We believe this form would be very convenient for Governor Inslee to use with his friends.  We are not saying he should donate any of his $187,000+ salary (he is the sixth-highest paid governor in the country, not that you’d know that based on performance). However, he does have more than $800,000 sitting in his gubernatorial campaign’s account and nearly $40,000 in his presidential campaign account.  Remember, he forced Washington State taxpayers to pay for his extra security during his failed run for president (while fellow candidate Montana Governor Steve Bullock reimbursed his state for his added security costs).  For some reason, we doubt the governor will take advantage of this easy process to pay Washington State taxpayers back for the money he stole. (Washington State Treasurer, Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, Federal Election Commission, and Seattle Times)

One of the many good pieces of legislation which Democrats allowed to die in committee this year was Representative Dan Griffey’s (R -Allyn) bill to make it illegal for an adult to knowingly provide pornography, or other harmful material, to a minor.  Griffey stated this is a known technique of pedophiles who are pursuing young children. Unfortunately, the bill (HB 1292) was not voted out of the Democrat-controlled House Public Safety Committee prior to the legislative cutoff of bills needing to be out of committee, because evidently the majority party doesn’t see a problem with pornography distribution to minors. (Kitsap Sun and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Representative Joe Fitzgibbon (D – Burien) is given the coveted “Most Arrogant Statement” award for his performance during the Washington State House of Representative’s recent floor debate on Governor Inslee’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).  While many studies and reports have revealed that the cost of gas will increase up to 58 cents per gallon if an LCFS is mandated, Fitzgibbon basically stated he knows more than those people who have actually studied the economic impacts of the ineffective policy he supports.  While the studies’ authors provided evidence to support their findings, the six-term legislator felt the only evidence he needed to provide was from his own ego.  Fitzgibbon proclaimed, “I hear concerns about what this is going to do to the price of fuel. If those were true … you would not see me here advocating for this bill.”  Of course, it’s not like Representative Fitzgibbon is known for his rational decision making. Remember,  he drew national headlines in 2013 for attacking the people of Arizona, when he tweeted after the Seattle Seahawks lost to the Arizona Cardinals, “Losing a football game sucks. Losing to a desert racist wasteland sucks a lot.” (Columbia Basin Herald, Stillwater Associates Study, Washington Policy Center, and Huffington Post)

The Seattle Education Association (SEA) demonstrates what matter to its union bosses by flexing its political muscle to keep special-needs students away from in-person instruction.  The district classified 700 educators as “essential” to enable special-education students to return to the classroom, leading the SEA to file three complaints with Public Employment Relations Commission to stop the return to work. The union said the district’s action was made before union leadership had agreed to protocols to return special education personnel to the classroom, while the district believes the superintendent is allowed to make this decision.  One has to wonder how many teachers are pleased that their union is now standing strongly against special-education students returning to their schools, and is quickly becoming as despised for their actions as the tobacco lobby. (Q13 News)

Hundreds of parents and students protested outside the Lake Washington School District headquarters displaying their frustration at the district’s decision to cancel in-person instruction for 6^th – 12^th graders for the remainder of the school year.  While many school districts in Washington State and across the country have found methods to return their students to at least a hybrid schedule during this challenging school year, the East King County school district has been unable to do the same for their students because the school board does not prioritize educating students. (KING5 News)

Because King County Executive Dow Constantine failed to meet a deadline, the county will not have the revenue it had originally planned to use for purchasing hotels to house homeless individuals.  Last year, the state legislature allowed county governments until September 30^th of 2020 to raise the sales tax 0.1% to fund affordable housing projects in their jurisdiction.  Executive Constantine failed to meet that deadline, and some of the cities in King County have now said they plan to use those funds for their own affordable housing projects.  It was Constantine’s original plan to use $400 million to buy hotels for homeless individuals.  Many cities, including Renton and SeaTac, have fought efforts by the county to use hotels in their neighborhoods for this purpose. (MyNorthwest)

Once again, a group of Eastern Washington community leaders are asking Governor Inslee to include their ideas, concerns, and suggestions as he mulls over when he is going to move the state to Phase 3, and how much of the economy he will allow to reopen.  “Re-Open Spokane” is a group of local community leaders and elected officials which has sent a letter to Governor Inslee asking that its members “be included at the table when determining what the state will use to measure further reopening phases.”  The governor has been criticized by local leaders all over Washington State for previously ignoring local businesses, elected officials, and health professionals when determining the state’s reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic.  This failure by the governor led to the state using faulty data that initially kept the South Central Region stuck in Phase 1. It was not until local officials pointed out the mistake that the six counties were allowed to join the rest of the state in Phase 2. (KHQ TV, Re-Open Spokane Letter, and Yakima Herald)

Many Southeastern Washington officials have joined in the chorus of criticism directed at Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson’s $33.5 billion plan to tear down the four lower Snake River dams.  In a letter to U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Walla Walla County Commissioners stated, “This plan will only weaken and harm our county (and in doing so weaken our country), while doing little or nothing certain to address the issue of salmon recovery.” Previously, Columbia County Commissioners made similar statements about Rep. Simpson’s proposals and stated they were never contacted by him about the radical idea.  Numerous Washington state legislators have joined Representatives McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse in criticizing the plan. (Walla Walla Union Bulletin)

Even though a severe housing shortage exists in Washington State, legislative Democrats have proposed several bills to amend the Growth Management Act and increase housing costs even further!  By placing more regulations on development, the Democrats are increasing the cost of housing, pricing thousands more Washingtonians out of homes.  Cost increases to cities, whether by forcing more planning requirements or otherwise, leads to cost increases to developers. This ultimately leads to higher home prices for prospective home buyers. (Click to read full Shift Article)

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