Two Republican legislators authored a Seattle Times op-ed providing logical arguments to “hit the reset button” on the state’s poorly developed and unpopular Long-Term Care insurance program, which is forcing many Washington workers to pay into a program they will never be eligible to use.  Representatives Joe Schmick (R – Colfax) and Peter Abbarno (R – Centralia) write that workers within 10 years of retirement, and out-of-state residents who work in Washington (very prevalent in Vancouver, Spokane, Pullman, and Clarkston border areas), will be required to pay the tax yet they cannot receive the benefit.  Workers who want to “opt-out” by using a private plan are having severe difficulties in finding and enrolling in a plan before the “opt-out” period ends today.

No other state in the country has such a system and state officials already admit that in a short period of time this program will be paying out more dollars than it will take in. Nearly all Republican state lawmakers, and even a few Democrats, have called on the governor to delay implementation of the program in order to fix its many flaws. Yet, severe problems for the public surrounding this tax are not that important to Governor Jay Inslee and most Democrat legislators, since the real aim of the plan is not to help residents, but to increase the size, cost, and power of state government – and to help their campaign-donating buddies at the SEIU. (Seattle Times)

Governor Inslee, who usually loves to be the only one in charge given his 600+ days of “emergency powers”, says he does not “have the authority” to delay the implementation of the poorly developed Long Term Care insurance payroll tax, which is scheduled to begin January 1^st.  As is often the case with the governor, his response is not even half true. Why could Inslee not just cite the COVID pandemic as a reason to suspend this new tax, as he has done with so many other issues over the last 18 months? Governor Inslee also knows he has the authority to call the legislature into special session to fix the plan, yet he claims that he had “not heard serious efforts” by legislators to fix this broken law despite several legislators having called for reforming the package. .  Remember this is the same governor who claimed he knew nothing about the illegal creation of the CHAZ in the summer of 2020.  Simply by going to the Republican House and Senate caucuses’ webpages, the governor could have found dozens of “serious efforts”.  (MyNorthwest, Rebecca Perry Twitter, House GOP Caucus, and Senate GOP Caucus)

Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center writes that the reason why Washington State’s expensive climate change policies have repeatedly failed to reach even a fraction of their promised results is that the “approach our leaders take is rigid and arrogant.”  Myers argues that the state’s failed process (which proponents often claim is “scientific” to cover their political agenda) has resulted in liberal policies which have “failed to reduce CO2 emissions, failed to recover Puget Sound salmon, and have led to unhealthy and fire-prone forests.”  Myers recommends that we should learn instead  from the actions of indigenous peoples who have developed a knowledge base built on trial and error, which has resulted in “universal context-free truths.” This knowledge is far more likely to bring the positive results instead of the process currently used by Governor Inslee and Democrat lawmakers, which is “influenced heavily by ideology, politics, and other non-science factors.”  (Real Clear Policy)

Some Washington State tribes, which were once major supporters of Governor Inslee, have learned what many others had previously realized – the governor does not understand the importance of keeping his word.  Snoqualmie Tribal Chairman Robert de los Angeles said at last week’s Centennial Accord meeting that his tribe “does not put in further trust in Jay Inslee. He has broken his word repeatedly.”  Many tribal leaders were blindsided by the governor’s veto of a section of his Cap-and-Trade legislation, which Democrat leaders had negotiated with the tribes in order to receive their support (and the votes of members who like to support the tribes) for the bill which was jammed through during the 2021 legislative session. This move resulted in the President of the National Congress of American Indians, and current Vice president of the Quinault Indian Nation, Fawn Sharp to label Governor Inslee “a snake.”  The governor dismissed President Sharp’s comments with the sexist remark that she was not a “real tribal chair.” (The Olympian and KNKX Radio)

The “WA Verify” computer app which the Washington State Department of Health developed to help speed up the verification process at events and restaurants/bars is evidently running today.  After it was introduced last week, the site was repeatedly “under construction.”  We have heard several people express concerns about allowing the state to maintain records that contain such health information on residents, since the Inslee Administration has a very poor record for protecting personal information (remember this is the same government team that removed security safeguards at the Employment Security Department and thus allowed one of the largest thefts in American history to take place last year).   (KOMO News, WA Verify Website, and KUOW/NPR)

Chances are if you are reading this, you are already know that 8:00 PM tomorrow is the deadline for returning your ballot.  You can remind your friends of the voting deadline and let them know where the closest Ballot Drop Box is to them by clicking on this link. (Washington State Secretary of State)

Lame duck Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s vaccine mandate has caused a staffing crisis at the Seattle Fire Department (SFD). The reduction in SFD personnel has resulted in the city removing aid units from service during shifts when it is unable to meet required staffing levels even through paying overtime wages to those who are still employed. The staffing shortage caused eight aid units from across Seattle to be unavailable for emergency calls on Sunday.  One firefighter said, “The city is without firefighters today. Someone will die today as a result.”  Overtime pay is also a serious concern, with the department spending an additional $32,000 – $100,000 per day just to maintain the current reduced level of service. While the mayor does recognize the current personnel shortage in the police department, she has yet to publicly acknowledge a similar problem with the SFD.  The mayor, whose replacement will be selected tomorrow, is no longer concerned with “problem solving,” she is focused on “problem-delaying.” (MyNorthwest)

The Seattle area ranks as the top large market in the country for “adults (who) felt nervous, anxious or on edge.”  In a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau during the first couple of weeks of October, 54.5% of those who responded in the Seattle area admitted their current anxiety.  This was greater than 2^nd place Houston at 50.5% and Boston at 48.8%.  Atlanta at 39% was the least anxious of the country’s 15 most populous regions.  While the survey did not provide reason for the local anxiety, it is easy to imagine that liberal pro-criminal and anti-police policies have made local residents feel less safe.  The multiple increases in taxes at every level of government have likely made many feel less financially secure.  The numerous failed climate change policies have made many feel less secure about the future.  Homeless encampments have threatened the livability of many neighborhoods.  And Democrat politicians who feel no obligation to condemn political violence and a governor who continues to undemocratically use one-man rule to control the state, has made many citizens anxious about our form of government. Other than that, everything is just fine. (Seattle Times)

The Washington State Department of Agriculture is asking farmers and others to be on the lookout for an invasive pest which could be damaging to grapes, hops, and tree fruits.  An unconfirmed sighting of the spotted lanternfly in Okanogan County has agriculture officials nervous.  The lanternfly is native to Asia, and if it is confirmed that it has infested crops in Washington, then costly quarantines and increased use of pesticides will be needed.  Our suggestion is for someone at the Department of Agriculture’s Olympia office to immediately check the apple trees at the Governor’s Mansion since the last known pest outbreak occurred there. (Pacific Northwest AG Network and Seattle Times)

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