Regular readers know that Shift has long kept a watchful eye on attempts by Washington Democrats to impose a state income tax. Such readers also know that Washington voters have voted against such a tax last 10 times it has reached the ballot, leading Democrats to need our state Supreme Court to redefine the simple meaning of income and, as the Wall Street Journal opines, “pretend it’s something else.”

What Governor Jay Inslee led the way in pretending was that Democrats passed an excise tax in 2021, leading the Journal to rightly point out that “Mr. Inslee and the Legislature couldn’t help themselves, but creativity and lawmaking rarely go together well, and sometimes they run up against the Constitution.” We are now left waiting to find out if this unconstitutional tax will run into a federal solution.

The U.S. Supreme Court is now considering the merit of whether “interstate excise taxes ‘threatens to wreak havoc on taxpayers and businesses around the country,’ as the Washington Policy Center put it in an amicus brief” to the court.  You can read how the Journal could have referenced Shift for that quote and its dangerous impacts since we picked it out for your reading pleasure two weeks ago here… Shift, Wall Street Journal, Shift again.

Evidently, the folks on the Seattle Times editorial board are tired of the clown show (no offense, clowns) that is the Seattle City Council. For those of you not on the paper’s subscription list, you’ll have to go to the web to see that of the Council’s seven members with expiring terms, “only three incumbents want the job again. We say, ‘No thank you,’ recommending their pragmatic, non-ideological challengers.”

The paper is unapologetic in its focus on public safety and the disdain with incumbents falling short, arguing it’s “(T)ime for authentic public servants willing to serve all residents in a compassionate and accountable way.” While you are contemplating how much of the blame for the city council mess might rest with the Times itself, consider the plea for “No ideology here” here … Times.

Legal disputes are often not what they appear at first glance, but the folks at KIRO 7 seem to be on to a story worth following with the news that “Jason Roth is a homeless homeowner. He has been living in his van while his tenant, Kareem Hunter, is months behind on rent and was illegally listing the home as a short-term rental on Airbnb.”

Before deciding whether this is a trend, consider that the squatter/tenant is promising the truth will be exposed by his “free lawyer (obtained) through the King County Bar Association’s Housing Justice Project.” You can see how much he owes in rent here… KIRO 7.

For those of you scoring at home, the editorial board at the (Tacoma) News Tribune has joined the ranks of those media outlets weighing in on “the frenzied controversy that now surrounds three simple words — diversity, equity, and inclusion — often called ‘DEI’ for short.” And, as you might expect, they are lining up on the side of their friends because “(W)hen Democrats play the game they have an inherent leg up because they’re on the right side of history and basic human decency.”

It’s ironic that this blunt partisanship comes after the writer earlier decried “black-and-white tribalism, given air by stereotypes and presumptions that contradict the complexity of people most often encountered in real life.” Read on to find out what the editorialist thinks is “a political football that liberals and conservatives both toss around to score points with their bases and vilify their adversaries” here… (Tacoma) News Tribune.

The communications folks at the region’s beleaguered transit agency must be working overtime to avoid commenting on the most recent tragedy on their property if past performance (as Shift has reported on) is any indication.  The latest breaking news from the Seattle Times is that “a man was stabbed Tuesday morning on the platform of the International District/Chinatown Station during a fight that started inside a light-rail train.”

Perhaps this is not that unusual a thing for typical train riders, as “no transit delays were reported. People coming and going detoured around a blood-splashed section of the southbound platform.” Read on in the coming days to see if the Sound Transit PR folks will be able to ignore this as long as they did the “fentanyl residue” story here… Shift, Seattle Times.

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