A recent Rasmussen poll reveals that the majority of Democrats in the United States have a positive view of socialism. Making matters worse, Democrats are almost evenly divided on which system they believe is better: capitalism or socialism.
Political observers on both sides of the aisle have noted the national trend that the Democrat Party is moving further and further to the left. Democrats in Washington State are hardly an exception to this trend.
The initiatives pushed by Washington Democrats during this election cycle reveal just how far the party has shifted away from the party of former Senator Scoop Jackson. From a campaign finance scheme meant to grant a clear advantage to the special-interest left, to a new round of so-called “workers’ rights” bills, the 2015 initiatives hint at an unsettling future of a Democrat Party that caters to those special interests which fund its candidates.
On this Election Day, we’re taking a look at three far-left initiatives and what they reveal about Democrats’ future intentions
1. The hypocrites advocating for Seattle’s Initiative 122 claim that their intention is to “level the playing field” for voters engaging in politics. But, that’s not close to the true story.
The intentions of I-122 come down to one simple reality: to skew elections in favor of the far-Left. I-122 is not about leveling the playing field or honest elections. It’s about promoting a snake-oil form of democracy meant to benefit Democrats—that’s why it includes union exemptions and seeks to open the door to non-citizen voting.
Rich outsiders are pushing I-122 as a test. Seattle is the entry point to try and push a statewide initiative, all with a national agenda in mind. Ironically, that’s the very definition of rich people buying elections.
2. Spokane’s Proposition 1 seeks to enforce the highest minimum wage in the nation—advocates estimate $17 per hour. Because the proposition does not set an actual minimum wage—rather it would be established based on certain rules created by city officials—others estimate it would be more like $20-plus per hour.
The proposition requires businesses with 150 or more employees to pay the unspecified hourly wage. If the City of Spokane does not calculate the wage, employers would be required to pay wages of three times the federal poverty level for a family of two, or any family wage previously calculated by the city, whichever is higher.
Like so many initiatives pushed by Democrats, Proposition 1 caters to special interests by ensuring that businesses have no right to challenge any part of the law in court. Yet, it allows “any person” to sue the City of Spokane for “failing to comply with Prop.1’s family wage provision.”
Proposition 1 promises to do two things: destroy any semblance of a healthy business environment and make the city a lawyers’ paradise. It is sign of Democrats’ increasingly special interests-driven, anti-businesses agenda.
3. Democrats are split on two different wage hike propositions in Tacoma. But, in the end, both would raise the minimum wage at an unprecedented rate.
Proposition 1, pushed by traditionally labor-funded “$15Now!” activists, seeks to raise the city minimum wage to $15 per hour. If Tacoma voters approve the measure, businesses that gross more than $300,000 per year would have to begin paying a $15 minimum wage immediately. There are no union exemptions.
Democrat Mayor Marilyn Strickland has proposed a competing $12 minimum wage initiative. Strickland’s initiative has the support of big labor.
Both Proposition 1 and the competing $12 minimum wage initiative reveal Democrats’ willingness to make a “reckless wager” that would have dire consequences for businesses, if it means they achieve their ideological agenda. It’s Democrats’ big-government agenda at the expense of our economy to appease liberal special interest donors.
So, what’s next for Washington Democrats who are moving further and further to the left? By every indication, voters can expect to be presented—once again—with a state income tax initiative as part of Democrats’ attempt to fulfill the “guiding principle” of their party platform.
Leave a Reply