Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center makes the reasonable assumption regarding what responsible state leaders would do to provide tax relief after two separate media announcements yesterday.  The first came from the Washington Federation of State Employees proclaiming it tentatively agreed to “the largest compensation package in union history,” in which government workers will receive more than 7% in pay raises over two years, opportunities to receive $2,000 more in easy to obtain bonuses, and an improved benefits package which forces state taxpayers to pay more of the state employees’ health care costs. The second bit of news came from the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, which revealed that the state is on pace to have a $1.5 billion tax surplus for the current fiscal year.

Mercier writes that given these pieces of information it would be reasonable to assume that “the governor will also soon be announcing his support for tax relief” for state residents, as has been done by nearly all other governors across the country with state revenue surpluses.  Unfortunately, almost no one believes Governor Inslee will take this responsible actions to help lower- and middle-income households which are financially suffering due to the Democrats’ inflationary policies.  The governor has constantly shown that not only does he place the needs of campaign donors (like state workers and their union) above the needs of taxpayers, but he has actually demonstrated that he ONLY thinks of government workers’ desires and completely ignores the needs of taxpayers. (Washington Policy Center, The Stand, Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council September report)

An op-ed in the News Tribune promotes the argument that the Democrats’ ban on plastic shopping bags is well-intended but actually does more harm to the environment.  Microsoft attorney Erin Caldwell argues that the ban has resulted in more people buying more plastic garbage bags (which contain far more plastic that the now-illegal plastic grocery bags which many consumers used as garbage liners) and more stores are using paper bags which have four times the carbon footprint of plastic grocery bags. The op-ed author did not include another important point –  numerous independent studies have shown that reusable cotton bags are far more harmful to the environment than plastic grocery bags. This is yet another issue where Governor Inslee and Democrat lawmakers have chosen to ignore the science in order to pass restrictions promoted by their wealthy campaign contributors in urban environmental groups. (News Tribune, BBC News, and Washington Policy Center)

A Capital Press editorial condemns the decision made by Washington state lawmakers’ to have our state’s vehicle emission standards be determined by unelected political appointees IN CALIFORNIA.  In 2020, Democrats in the Washington Legislature passed a law which committed our state’s emission laws to follow what is passed in California, where extreme environmental regulations are determined by the 16 political appointees of the California Air Commission Board.  Thus our Democrat legislators have said they don’t have the courage to defend their views on vehicle emission standards and have outsourced their responsibilities to an unelected board in another state.

This extreme abdication of duty  is why it will be illegal to purchase a gas-powered vehicle in Washington after 2035.  Even though the Washington State Department of Ecology is seeking comments on the gas-powered car ban, it will not matter, for Washington lawmakers cannot alter the laws determined by Sacramento bureaucrats.  The Capital Press editorial concludes that if we allow Californians to decide such important state laws, we should at least save money by eliminating our unnecessary state bureaucrats. (Capital Press and California Air Commission Board)

Washington is the fourth least-affordable state in the country to purchase a home according to a report released by homebuyer.com.  Due to environmental restrictions on home construction and the small number of homes available for new home buyers, our state falls behind only Hawaii, California, and Oregon for people mot being able to afford to purchase a home.  Homebuyer considered prices of homes and median income to determine where it is most difficult to own a home.  Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio were determined to be the most affordable states. (KOMO News and homebuyer.com)

Of the top 15 population centers in the country, Seattle ranks the highest for the largest percentage drop of transit commuters during the pandemic.  A chart from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey reveals that, in 2019, approximately 126,000 people a day commuted on mass transit in Seattle.  This figure dropped 76% to 28,000 transit commuters in 2021.  San Francisco experienced a 74% drop, while Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon have both seen a 69% decline. The chart also showed that, in 2019, Seattle transit riders were 25.1% of all commuters, but in 2021 this dropped to just 6.4%, which is also the largest decline in the country. These figures are very slowly rebounding this year, but from all the nearly empty buses we see, and from recent data on those still working from home, it is very obvious that Seattle mass transit will be carrying far fewer commuters in the future as more people will permanently telecommute to work.

Meanwhile Sound Transit is continuing its aggressive plan of constructing a large and expensive light rail system for even fewer people to use.  When voters approved the plan in 2016, they were told it would cost $54 billion and that fares would pay for 40% of the operations cost.  With the (predictable) massive cost overruns, it is now conservatively estimated that construction costs will be at least $130 billion (and this figure will surely continue to rise).  Riders now pay for only 5% of costs and Sound Transit’s new fare collection policies (pro tip, you don’t have to pay to ride) guarantee passenger fees will never come close to reaching the 40% mark the voters were promised. Thus taxpayers are now stuck paying higher construction costs and a higher percentage of operational costs for a system which is moving far fewer commuters. This is what happens when people believe what big government proponents promise.  (Chuck Purvis Twitter of U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and Seattle Times)

Brandi Kruse criticized King County Executive Dow Constantine’s actions last week when he embarrassingly fled a news conference after he was asked a legitimate question about his actions in imposing a large, 500-resident homeless shelter in Seattle’s International District with almost no public input. The Discovery Institute’s Jonathan Choe asked Executive Constantine about the shelter at a news event and his staffers immediately pulled him away from the podium and attempted to stop Choe as he followed the fleeing politician out into the hallway. When Choe caught up with Executive Constantine, the future governor hopeful said he did not have to answer Choe’s questions because he “is not actually a journalist.” Kruse pointed out that Choe is just as legitimate as those who represent PubliCola, Converge media, Seattle Bike Blog, South Seattle Emerald, etc., which politicians regularly seek out to cover their actions and views. Kruse argues that all journalists should be outraged when politicians like Executive Constantine only respond to questions from journalists whose opinions “align with (his) world view.” (Brandi Kruse/[un]Divided Twitter)

Bellevue Police have moved more of its resources into stopping retail theft as crime continues to rise throughout the state.  Bellevue is placing more officers on “emphasis patrols” which include undercover officers and those on foot to walk around malls. Thus far this year more than 50 people have been arrested attempting to steal merchandise from Home Depot. (KOMO News)

Fewer criminals are being held in Pierce County jails due to the lack of deputies. The county has experienced one of the fastest growing crime rates in the state since the passage of the Democrats’ anti-police budget, and law enforcement is doing a good job in arresting suspects, but it appears they just do not have the staffing to keep suspected criminals behind bars. There are currently 55 vacancies out of 262 corrections positions. (Q13 Fox News)

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is considering lifting its recent ban on lethal removal of wolves after recent attacks have killed three cows and injured two more.   The WDFW instituted a ban on lethal removal of wolves a couple of weeks ago following mistakes made during a previous removal.  Frustrations are growing among cattle owners as they wait for the state agency to determine if lethal removal can resume again in Northeast Washington. The head of the Stevens County Cattleman’s Association exclaimed, “How long are they going to be thinking about this?” (The Center Square)

Washington State University is seeking $34.5 million from the state legislature to fund 7% pay raises for employees over the next couple of years.  This is after staff received 2.5% -3.5% pay increases during the past couple of months. (KQQQ Pullman Radio)

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