Posted Mon, Jan 16, 12:23 a.m.

Washington State ranks 29th lowest in terms of state and local taxes nationally yet its income per capita ranks it 9th highest.Hardly an example of overtaxing people's ability to pay for educating our kids and helping seniors and others with needs.

Posted Sun, Jan 15, 3:53 p.m.

Requiring a 2/3 vote to sunset Tax exemptions/expenditures under I-1053 makes that initiative the Tax Loophole Protection Act. Putting an exemption in place only requires a majority vote. Requiring a 2/3 to repeal is absurd. A bill to revise the tax expenditure process by returning to majority votes as mandated ...

Posted Fri, Jun 24, 5:05 p.m.

Democratic extremism - supporting education for all, not just those that can afford private schools or colleges; fair taxes that don't just benefit corporations or the wealthy while eliminating basic services for the needy and less fortunate; support for public health and safety; clean air to breathe and clean water ...

Posted Wed, Jun 15, 4:06 p.m.

Reichert has since taken himself out of consideration. Congressman Jay Inslee is the presumptive Democratic candidate at this point

Posted Wed, Jun 15, 4:05 p.m.

Jay Inslee has a much better chance of winning the Governor's race than Brian Sonntag does. Most Democrats are unlikely to feel any allegiance to a candidate who has endorsed Republicans like Susan Hutchison and who has been cozy with Tim Eyman and the BIAW. Jay's statement of not running ...

Posted Fri, May 6, 2:50 p.m.

What's forgotten is that the previous 2 times Washington voters voted specificly on requiring 2/3 votes to raise taxes it barely passsed with 51%. Only when we were in the midst of an economic downturn and a recession did it pass by a higher margin last year. And then there's ...

Posted Sat, Sep 11, 12:54 a.m.

Cameron - I answered your question - we are paying below the national average and many could certainly pay more if it were done fairly. Education is underfunded in our state. We don't gain anything without investing in the future. And what I donate to others is not relevant to ...

Posted Sat, Sep 11, 12:54 a.m.

Cameron - I answered your question - we are paying below the national average and many could certainly pay more if it were done fairly. Education is underfunded in our state. We don't gain anything without investing in the future. And what I donate to others is not relevant to ...

Posted Fri, Sep 10, 4:23 p.m.

To Cameron - Obviously everyone is not paying the same now. If you take everyone's taxes and look at what percentage of their income they are paying in taxes it varies as the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy noted from "People earning less than $20,000 annually pay 17.3 percent ...

Posted Fri, Sep 10, 11:26 a.m.

The Washington State Legislature has acknowledged a budget problem and is hardly grasping at straws. I urge anyone thinking so to consider some of the things we have lost with cutting $4 billion in the last budget. It's projected we'll have another $3 billion shortfall next year. State funding for ...

Posted Fri, Sep 10, 10:51 a.m.

I-1098 provides tax relief to middle class families and small businesses by cutting the state portion of the property tax 20% and eliminating the B&O; tax for 80% of small businesses. It provides much needed funds for education of our kids and health care. Your article is heavy on repeating ...

Posted Mon, Apr 26, 2:31 p.m.

Anyone can be a "pundit" these days it seems. Even me. I think a Rossi campaign is a long shot and a win is even more unlikely. Senator Murray has a good track record for helping the state and has been an aggressive fundraiser. Republicans under Bush spent 8 years ...

Posted Fri, Apr 16, 2:01 p.m.

Stormwater runoff is a huge problem affecting the health of Puget Sound and all waterways. A lot of that runoff is polluted with oil products coming from raods and parking lots. The no tax crowd has no answer except no taxes which is not an answer. This source of revenue ...

Posted Tue, Mar 30, 11:13 a.m.

The protests by right wing conservatives, including so called Tea Party folks, over health care is misplaced. They are so pro their free enterprise ideology that they can't see that the free enterprise system of health care has Americans paying twice what other industrialized countries pay. To maximize profit for ...

Posted Wed, Feb 10, 11:11 a.m.

The myth being pushed by thr Republicans and Eyman is that somehow tax cuts are good for the economy and the more taxes are cut, the better the economy. There is also the philosophy that any tax increase is bad. This simplistic nonsense does match up with the real world. ...

Posted Tue, Feb 9, 9:16 a.m.

I-601 and I-960 are clearly unconstitutional. The Legislature is using the 2/3 requirement when it wants to and is voiding it when it wants to. Ironically 2/3 of the public has never supported these measures. Both I-601 and I-960 were passed by small margins. If they had needed to receive ...

Posted Thu, Jan 7, 2:59 p.m.

The diverse impacts from petroleum products in storm water have many potentially toxic effects on the marine ecosystem. The broader approach is of course to include pesticides and herbicides but when the toxics control act was passed about 90% of the pollutants were petroleum based. Let's deal with what we ...

Posted Wed, Jan 6, 1:43 p.m.

Last year the Washington State Legislature was limited by Eyman's Initiative 960 requiring a 2/3 vote on any tax or fee increase. Two years have passed since the voters approved I-960. The Legislature can now amend it by a simple majority vote. Expect that they will do so to allow ...

Posted Tue, Oct 6, 10:05 a.m.

I commend you for trying to lay out some of the facts and circumstances facing King County government. It is not a pretty picture and a difficult one to try to find answers to. Unfortunately as you note, Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033 is not the answer but will make things ...

Posted Mon, Oct 5, 11:18 a.m.

It seems to me that both Gregoire and Brown are missing the boat here. Whether or not there is a tax increase proposal will much more depend on the fate of Initiative 1033 than anything they say. And they are pretty much leaving the discussion to others. Eyman's simplistic approach ...

Posted Sun, Sep 27, 11:56 p.m.

Initiative 1033 would freeze not just the budget of Washington State but also all 39 Washington Counties and 281 Washington Cities. Tim Eyman does not trust that you will elect people who support his anti-tax, anti-government proposals, so he is trying to sneak in a radical change and end our ...

Posted Sun, Sep 27, 11:52 p.m.

Here is a YouTube video which has a very different perspective on I-1033 than Eyman has. They say Colorado's version of Eyman’s I-1033 has been a dismal failure. And they represent Republicans and businesses and teachers and others. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbF3_CiOtoM

Posted Wed, Sep 23, 11:36 p.m.

Voters will vote for what seems credible and unfortunately for Tim his dream scheme of freezing public spending so that sales tax dollars everyone pays can help property owners pay their property taxes is a wealth transfer system designed to mostly help the wealthy. Eyman does not rebate any taxes ...

Posted Wed, Sep 23, 12:22 a.m.

The real question is not Eyman's what's wrong with voting but what's wrong with Initiative 1033. Plenty. It a complex measure that proposes radical changes in our form of representative government and in our state's tax policies. We are in a recession and Tim Eyman is proposing that state and ...

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 11:52 p.m.

Initiative 1033 is a renter's nightmare. Renters will continue to pay the same taxes, including sales taxes, after I-1033 passes but they will lose twice. They both will get no tax rebate as well as see no new or restored public services. What a deal Tim has for them. Renters ...

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 5:05 p.m.

Believe Tim Eyman at your peril! Listen, you want to know what's wrong with Initiative 1033? Here are three big negatives. 1. IT FREEZES STATE AND LOCAL SPENDING AT THE CURRENT LEVEL. We are in a recession and have made many cuts to services. None of these services will be ...

Posted Mon, Sep 7, 10:20 p.m.

Another aspect of I-1033 that has been overlooked is the radical change that I-1033 proposes to implement on local governemnt and their budgets. Initiative 1033 does not just affect the state but applies to all 39 counties and 281 cities in the state of Washington. Eyman in I-1033 is playing ...

Posted Mon, Sep 7, 10:05 p.m.

One frequently overlooked aspect of Eyman's Initiative 1033 is that it proposes to radically alter representative government. It also radically alters the concept of local control. I-1033 proposes to end budget making decisions by elected representatives for all 39 Washington counties and 281 cities. By freezing their spending at this ...

Posted Thu, Sep 3, 3:39 p.m.

I-1033 has nothing to do with how fast governmnet grows because it is a no growth initiative It freezes public spending at this year's level if voters pass I-1033. The only way to fund new needs, like helping more seniors as they turn 65, is by referendum votes. That sounds ...

Posted Thu, Sep 3, 3:28 p.m.

Tim's continuing his cutting and pasting and posting of false and misleading material. One example above is his use of Forbes and Tax Foundation information stating Washington State ranks 8th highest taxed state in country. First off we're talking about state and local taxes, not Federal taxes. The Tax Foundation ...

Posted Fri, Aug 21, 10:49 a.m.

Let's get real here. I-1033 is a radical proposal to freeze spending for public services. Starting at this year's baseline of state spending that saw a $9 billion shortfall and numerous cuts in state services, like education, children's healthcare and many other programs no matter how good next year's economy ...

Posted Fri, Aug 14, 6:56 p.m.

I-1033 is Tim Eyman's clone of a failed measure in Colorado. It was called TABOR or Taxpayer Bill of Rights. It also tried to limit government spending on the state and local level to the previous year's spending plus a slight adjustment for inflation and population growth. The trouble is ...

Posted Fri, Aug 14, 6:43 p.m.

I-1033 is Tim Eyman's clone of a spending limitation measure Colorado voters passed called TABOR or Taxpayer Bill of Rights. It was added to their state constitution and turned out to have disastrous effects on state and local government services. The problem with limiting spending to the previous year's level ...

Posted Thu, Aug 6, 11:14 p.m.

continued -of providing government services to help our economy and our families and neighbors have a decent life in our state. We get multiple services every day funded by tax dollars that keep our society and economy alive. Services like education, transit, ferries, roads, parks, libraries, fire protection, police protection, ...

Posted Thu, Aug 6, 11:03 p.m.

Some 86.5% of the money raised for I-1033 came from 3 individuals. $300,000 from Michael Dunmire of Woddinville, $250,000 from a loan secured by Tim Eyman and $25,000 from Kemper Freeman who owns Bellevue Square. I-1033 at best freeses government services in good times and in bad times like the ...

Posted Thu, Aug 6, 10:41 p.m.

I-1033 is not fiscal discipline, it is a freeze on government providing services in years when the economy is good and it is negative growth when the economy is bad. There is no way limiting spending to the previous year's spending in recessions can yield anything but negative growth. The ...

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 11:55 p.m.

I-1033 would result in a transfer of wealth from those that pay sales tax to wealthy property owners. It does not lower sales taxes. It will not help senior citizens on fixed incomes or working class families. It is an attempt to freeze governemnet spending at current levels and in ...

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 7:07 p.m.

I-1033 would impose a permanent government freeze on spending. All that programs could do is keep pace at their current level, any increase in inflation and population over the current level funds no new services. It would only at best keep existing programs at their current level. Think of your ...

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 6:41 p.m.

Opponents don't want to become like Colorado or California Tim. I-1033 is a freeze on government spending by cities, counties and the state. It takes away local control of taxpayers and citizens to make their own decisions on taxes and spending by hogtying legislators and city council people and county ...

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 3:23 p.m.

Tim Eyman loves to quote a Forbes article as his source of WA being highly taxed. The Forbes article has been repeatedly refuted including by the Wa State Dept of Revebue because of its inaccuracies. Here is what the Washington State Department of Revenue says: "Tax rankings are a popular ...

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 3:05 p.m.

Repeating false statements don't make them true. "out of the 48,148 supporters who were mailed a I-1033 petition in February, an extraordinary 34,588 sent back a partially filled or fully filled petition," as stated repeatedly by Tim Eyman Since the Washington Secretary of State said that Eyman only turned in ...

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 2:25 p.m.

Actually I-1033 freezes government spending at the current level. It does not allow for real growth. Adjusting for inflation and population growth only maintains the ability of government to pay for existing services at their inflation adjusted cost the next year. That means no additional funding for programs beyond the ...

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 1:24 p.m.

I-1033 is just another one of libertarian Tim Eyman's attempts to reduce government. It is not meant to address any real problem in state spending because we are actually at the state and local level not overtaxed. The Tax Foundation ranks Washington State as 35th (with 1 being the highest) ...

Posted Mon, Jul 27, 10:52 a.m.

Tim what happened to all the petitions your "grassroots" sent back to you. Or is this just another one of your overhyped inaccurate misrepresentations of fact. Since you have added new comments since I wrote mine about your mirepresentation you seem to be avoiding responding. Saying over and over how ...

Posted Mon, Jul 27, 10:36 a.m.

Misrepresenting an issue and giving people false hope will get lots of peole to sign an initiative. How many have actually read the initiative is another matter. I-1033 gives people false hope that it will save them property taxes when the people who benefit the most are large commerical interests ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 11:58 p.m.

Tim, You're on a rant. We're No 35 in terms of state and local tax burden according to the national Tax Foundation. Property taxes hurting more and more people? Where's the populist outrage? You didn't answer the question above as to where all the petitions are that you claimed people ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 8:51 p.m.

I-1033 at best only provides relief for large prperty owners. It is a wealth transfer scheme, a reverse Robin Hodd type program, that transfers funds from sales taxes when the economy is booming to provide a special tax break to property owners. The more property you own, the more you ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 8:12 p.m.

Lots of folks are already lining up against I-1033. The No campaign is just getting started as it didn't make sense to organize a campaign until it was certain there was an initiative on the ballot. The Secretary of State just verifed that. Expect much more to happen Tim. Here's ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 8:04 p.m.

Tim, its impossible that "34,588 sent back a partially filled or fully filled petition." You only turned in 19,317 petitions. And this includes all those that you paid for. It sounds like another "Tim Eyman Initiative 1033 Grassroots Joke." I think you meant to say that some 34,588 signatures came ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 3:26 p.m.

Tim Eyman's I-1033 was actually funded by mainly 3 people despite Eyman's claiming grassroots support. You can read about Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033 Grassroot Joke here: http://www.majorityrules.org/blog/2009/07/initiative-1033-eymans-latest-wealth.html The truth is that 86.5% of Eyman's money came from just 3 sources. Michael Dunmire of Woodinville gave $300,000. Tim Eyman borrowed $250,000 ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 2:51 p.m.

As noted previously Washington State already has a Property Tax Exemption for Senior Citizens. It also includes disabled people. see:http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/Pubs/Prop_Tax/SeniorExempt.pdf "You must be at least 61 years old on December 31 of the application year, or unable to work because of a disability, or a veteran with a 100 percent ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 2:20 p.m.

"What I-1033 addresses is the marginal increase in the overall tax burden of Washington's citizens -- taxpayers pay federal taxes, state taxes, county taxes, city taxes and many other charges" Tim Eyman So here's Tim's argument. Despite the fact that we rank 35th in state and local taxes nationally in ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 1:28 p.m.

Tim Eyman's comment that Homestead Exemptions and circuit breaker legislation are unconstitutional might be true if He wrote the legislation like the many initiatives of his that have been overturned by the Washington State Supreme Court. However like everything else, there are ways to draft legislation that would pass constitutional ...

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 11:56 a.m.

Thanks for responding PJS I still don't see your information at the link you provided. You say "Move three columns to the left in the same table, and Washington is #16 in per capita state and local tax burden. Per capita seems at least as good a measure as a ...

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 11:06 a.m.

Many cities like Seattle don't have separate fire districts or water districts or library districts so I-1033 affects funding for our fire protection, police protection, water, electricity, libraries and much more. We can make our own decisions about who we want to represent us and how we want to be ...

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 10:53 a.m.

"Interestingly, it appears that the Tax Foundation may be the source of Forbes's 8th in the nation statistic. According to the Tax Foundation, Washington state residents must work until April 16 in 2009 in order to pay all of their federal, state and local taxes this year. This is the ...

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 10:41 a.m.

PJS "You misstate reference to "number 35." The data you are looking at ranks Washington as #35 for state and local taxes as a percentage of income. Move three columns to the left in the same table, and Washington is #16 in per capita state and local tax burden. Per ...

Posted Thu, Jul 23, 2:34 p.m.

Also the Tax Foundation has some interesting figures on property taxes Analysis by the Tax Foundation showed Washington State ranking 24th (1 is highest) in terms of property taxes on owner occupied housing. The figures are given in terms of median real estate taxes as a percentage of median home ...

Posted Thu, Jul 23, 2:28 p.m.

hey tim Washington State is not the 8th highest taxed state. It's number 35 according to the conservative Tax Foundation when comparing states for their state and local property tax burden. Repeating something that's not true over and over doesn't make it true. The Forbes article is wrong. see http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/486.html

Posted Thu, Jul 23, 2:22 p.m.

Below is a list of early supporters of the No on 1033 campaign. The No Campaign is just gearing up and many more endorsers are sure to join. AARP Washington Amalgamated Transit Union 1015 American Federation of Teachers Washington, AFL-CIO Alzheimer's Association, Western and Central Washington Chapter Asian Pacific Islander ...

Posted Thu, Jul 23, 2:16 p.m.

Washington's state and local tax burden last year was ranked 35th (1 is highest) according to the conservative Tax Foundation. These figures include both state and local property taxes in their calculation You can read more about Tim Eyman's I-1033 Overtaxed Hoax here: http://www.majorityrules.org/blog/2009/07/tim-eymans-initiative-1033-overtaxed.html

Posted Thu, Jul 23, 1:40 p.m.

You can read about Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033 Grassroot Joke here: http://www.majorityrules.org/blog/2009/07/initiative-1033-eymans-latest-wealth.html The truth is that 86.5% of Eyman's money came from just 3 sources. Michael Dunmire of Woodinville gave $300,000. Tim Eyman borrowed $250,000 and loaned it to the campaign. And Kemper Holdings LLC of Bellevue owned by Kemper ...

Posted Thu, Jul 23, 1:35 p.m.

Initiative I-1033 is a reverse Robin Hood scheme. It takes money from the poor and middle class in the form of sales taxes we pay (57% of state revenue last year was from the sales tax) and would use it to reduce property taxes. The more property you own, the ...

Posted Thu, Jul 23, 1:16 p.m.

Washington State according to the conservative Tax Foundation ranks 35th (1 is highest) in terms of state-local tax burden compared to the US average. Eyman continues to try to push the myth that Washington State citizens are overburdened with state and local taxes. The figures don't support it. see http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/486.html ...

Posted Mon, Sep 22, 1:31 p.m.

Gregoire Won Debate Not Rossi: I guess it all depends on whether or not you like to hear antecdotes and personal stories or whether or not you want to discuss problems and solutions for Washington State. Rossi's campaign is one of vaguness and undefined messages. Like Rossi's for change - ...