Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center is asking Governor Jay Inslee to put his money where his mouth is by proposing a wager on the impact on the cost of gas due to the Democrats’ low carbon fuel standard and tax on CO2.  The governor has repeatedly said that his policies will only add “pennies,” despite numerous independent analysts and even his own Department of Ecology stating that the true figure will be closer to a 46 cents per gallon increase.

So Myers has offered a $50 bet (money going to charity) to the governor to see if he is willing to back up his statements that his policies will only cost pennies.  The bet is based on the cost of fuel in Washington State compared to the average cost elsewhere in the United States.  Washington’s current average gas price is already 45 cents per gallon higher than the average gas price around the country (mostly due to our state having the third-highest gas tax). Myers bet says the governor’s climate policies will add at least an additional 25 cents per gallon by the end next July and make Washington’s gas cost 70 cents more than the rest of the country. If the price of gas is higher than 70 cents per gallon than the rest of the nation, Myers wins. If the price is less than 70 cents difference, then the governor wins.

It will be interesting to see if Governor Inslee is willing to back up his statements by accepting the bet. We also hope that the governor will not force the taxpayers to fund his bet (like he made them fund the extra security costs for his failed 2020 Presidential campaign).  If he does lose the wager, the $50 is only a small fraction of what his policies will cost workers in Washington State, who will pay almost $10 more each time they fill up their car (if Myers and all the analysts are correct), on top of the higher prices they are currently paying due to the Democrats’ national energy policies. (Washington Policy Center, Washington Research Council, Washington State Department of Revenue, and Seattle Times)

New national testing data reveals that learning loss in students during the pandemic was greatest in districts where students were kept from in-person learning the longest, often due to demands by teachers’ unions.  Students in lower-income neighborhoods were impacted the most by missing class. Student test scores dropped in both reading and mathematics. The drop in math test scores was the first decline in the 50 years of national assessments. Researchers state it could take five or more years for today’s fourth graders to become proficient in reading and that this could also impact students’ abilities to read materials on other subjects. (Wall Street Journal)

The Seattle teachers union is preparing to strike as students continue to suffer from the effects of being kept away from in-person learning longer than nearly every other school district in the country during the pandemic.  Numerous studies have shown (see story above on national test scores) that students who were kept away from in-person instruction experienced a sharp drop in both their reading and math scores.  And, the Seattle Education Association (teachers’ union) demanded that students stay isolated and remain in disastrous distance-learning programs for far too long.  Yet this fact appears to be of little concern to labor bosses as the teachers union demands that the district maintain or increase staff levels even though there has been a steep decline in the number of enrolled students.  More than 4,000 students (7.6%) have left the Seattle School District due to the slow return to in-person classes and “equity” policies which punish students who excel. (Seattle Times)

The Democrats’ desire to make our state a more comfortable place to be a criminal, especially for car thieves, has resulted in yet another senseless tragedy in Puyallup, as a woman was killed when the driver of a stolen vehicle rammed into her minivan, causing it to flip over.  The suspected car thief, who had just run through a stop sign, fled on foot from the scene following the accident and there has not been a report on his capture.

This death adds to the growing list of avoidable tragedies and preventable crimes which have involved stolen vehicles.  The Pierce County Sherriff’s Office reports there has been a 110% increase in stolen vehicles and attribute this to the Democrats’ 2021 passage of state laws which prevent police from pursuing suspected criminals.  The majority Democrats in the Washington State Legislature and Governor Inslee refused to fix this law during the 2022 session, despite the skyrocketing increase in car thefts and the pleadings of police departments and victim assistance groups. If the Democrats retain majorities after the November elections, we can expect the restrictions on police officers to remain and the number of preventable victims to increase. (News Tribune, KIRO News, and The Center Square)

Tacoma has already tied its record number of homicides and there is still nearly four months remaining in the year.  As Democrat policies have emboldened criminals and made it more difficult for police to do their job to protect citizens, murder is running rampant in the City of Destiny. As of Monday morning, there have been 34 homicides in Tacoma, which ties the record number set last year (which broke a 1993 record set when gang activity was at its highest).  Democrat Speaker of the Washington State House of Representatives Laurie Jinkins is a resident of Tacoma, but has yet to show any signs of using her power to repeal her party’s crime and drug legislation which have resulted in the record number of murders in her community. Her lack of action speaks very loud about her priorities. (Q13 Fox News)

The decision to close down a Bartell’s Pharmacy in Seattle’s International District comes as the community experiences a crime surge and the Democrats on the King County Council refuse to even seek local input before deciding to “enhance” a shelter in the neighborhood to become a 500-person homeless “megaplex” for the homeless.  According to Seattle Police data, there have been 327 reports of larceny theft thus far in 2022 in the neighborhood (even though several merchants have stopped reporting property crimes because the severely understaffed police do not have the resources to pursue criminals).  There have also been six murders and more than 100 cases of aggravated assault so far in 2022.

Perhaps that’s why International District community leaders are outraged at the King County Council and County Executive Dow Constantine’s decision to enlarge an existing homeless shelter.  They claim that the council gave them no advance notice of the decision and they feel that — with five other homeless shelters in their community — the area is already overburdened by the number of homeless, and the drug and crime problems often associated with these individuals. (The Center Square, Seattle Police Department Dashboard, and Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness Project)

Mayor Nadine Woodward issued a statement late last Friday to try and correct the comments made by state officials over the large homeless encampment on Washington State property – and the actions of state agencies which have failed to work with community members while placing hundreds of homeless individuals in their neighborhood.  Much of the negative actions being conducted by the state appear to be coordinated actions designed to help a likely campaign for mayor by Director of the Washington State Department of Commerce Lisa Brown.

The misnamed “Camp Hope” is a large homeless encampment that the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) allowed to grow on its property near I-90 in East Spokane.  Department of Commerce Director Brown (who moved back to Spokane while still drawing a large state paycheck and claiming she is still in charge of a state agency despite most of her employees still working in Olympia) gave taxpayer funds to the Catholic Charities to allow them to open a large homeless shelter at an old hotel in West Spokane without talking with local residents. Mayor Woodward held a town meeting with the West Hill residents while Director Brown was a no-show.

The state issued various comments about the situation in which they attempted to put blame on the City of Spokane for the actions the state has taken.  Mayor Woodward criticized the comments asserting, “Misstatements from Olympia about Spokane’s shelter system distract from the work that needs to get done quickly to move people from an unhealthy environment exposed to the elements into a sheltered opportunity.”

Woodward also mentioned that today the city is opening the Trent Resource and Assistance Center to help some of those who have been on WSDOT property. (Mayor Nadine Woodward Statement and KREM-TV)

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview was with GOP 44^th Legislative District (Central Snohomish County) House candidate Dr. Ryne Rohla, who is challenging first-term Democrat Representative April Berg.  The Snohomish County native and father of two daughters is a state economist (a PhD in Economics from Washington State University) running to reduce the cost of living for Washington State residents, and he opposes the mindset of current state leaders who believe “you can subsidize and regulate your way to affordability.”

In his interview Dr. Rohla describes how a family tragedy strongly influenced his decision to run for state representative.  He believes that by bringing his economics expertise to the state legislature he can help shape state policies to assist those pursuing the American Dream.  Dr. Rohla supports reducing the B&O tax to lower consumer costs.  Like 70% of his district, he does not support the Democrats’ poorly developed Long-Term care tax and would support repealing the already insolvent and badly named WACares plan.  Dr. Rohla states he is frustrated by the daily stories of crime in his community and will work to reverse Democrat policies which he believes “played a significant role is our state’s crime increase.” He adds that he enjoys reading books which “intellectually tackle theology” as well as “realistic science fiction.” (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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