State Dems ignore the will of the People

Again.

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Washington state Legislature passed a temporary suspension of Initiative 960 Monday night, just ahead of House and Senate Democrats unveiling their budget proposals.

Temporary? Supposedly until July of next year, but when did any legislature - local, state or federal - do anything that allows them to raise taxes on a temporary basis? Anyone? *crickets*

I-960 makes it harder for lawmakers to raise taxes or to close tax exemptions, which is why the Democratic majority needs it to be suspended.

Budget writers want a mix of spending cuts, tax increases and one-time fixes to fill a $2.8 billion deficit. But Initiative 960, approved in 2007, requires two-thirds approval from legislators to raise taxes - a significant hurdle compared with the simple majority needed to pass other measures.

We passed that Initiative for a reason. That reason is that our state legislature is in the habit of spending too much of our money on things that very often do not work, and the Dems don't like not being able to spend OUR money as they see fit - kind of like Congress on the federal level.

"This is just the beginning," said Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood. "This is the catalyst that will be used to raise all sorts of taxes."

That's right. Because the Dems hold both state houses, and the governorship, we in Washington State can expect that not only will our taxes go up, but that "temporary" thing? It'll become permanent, as the state Dems ignore the will of the People of the State of Washington.

Again.