EFFin’ Unsound

Post by Carl

Ron Hebron at Sound Politics has decided that letting voters vote on an income tax is awful.

The Dems dream of an income tax

It would sure be nicer than cutting vital services or a more regressive tax increase.

The Senate had a hearing about their proposed income tax yesterday afternoon. But of course they don’t call it that; they call it a sales tax reduction. Fooled you!

Yes, if you replace part of the sales tax with an income tax, the sales tax will go down. No fooling anyone.

You didn’t know about the hearing because they gave less than five hours notice. It was plenty of time for Evergreen College students to turn out in force and the Dems like what the students say. And I hear that the text of the bill wasn’t available until less than an hour before the hearing.

The students testifying don’t count because, um, fuck you hippies that’s why. Also I like that “I hear” is a responsible thing to put out there. I hear all sorts of rumors, but since this is something you can actually verify, it might be nice to at the very least say where you hear it, so the rest of us can see if that’s a credible source.

They are saying they just “want to give voters their choice.” Nice. But they don’t want to give us a choice on reducing spending, just raising taxes.

It’s true, they just cut spending during the long session without even putting it on ballot. And this year, most of the reduction of the shortfall is being made up with cuts that again aren’t on the ballot. Why don’t they put that on the ballot?

A state income tax would require amending the state constitution due to a Supreme Court ruling in 1933 and that requires a 2/3 vote of the public.

The case that the 1933 ruling was based on has subsequently been overturned (pdf). So it’s at the very least an open question. This is the most boring argument righties make against a state income tax.

But, ignoring the constitution, the Demos intend to give the voters a referendum that would only require majority vote, not the constitutional amendment that requires 2/3, according the to Andrew Garber of the Seattle Times.

This is why Ron Hebron goes after his coblogger Tim Eyman for trying to force legislators to vote by 2/3 on tax increases even though plain text of the state constitution says it’s 1/2 + 1 in the House and 1/2 + 1 or 1/2 + the Lt. Gov. in the Senate.

This is for YOU.

For me. That’s nice.

The current proposal is to TAX THE RICH. But once they put the structure in place they will redefine “rich” lower and lower and lower. Not that they will want to, but conditions will force them to. And the tax rate will go up and up and up. Because they just can’t cut spending. AND they won’t have to cut spending.

They have cut spending. The last session was all cuts. This session there’s a 2.4 Billion dollar gap. The greatest proposal for revenue increase is $1 Billion in new taxes and fees. That leaves $1.4 Billion in cuts, and almost certainly more. 1.4 > 1. You are an idiot.

So the income tax will get you sooner or later. Do you want it? The voters in Oregon voted yes in January and employers are moving out. Do you want the same?

Anecdotes are not the same as facts, and the voters approving tax increases on high earners and corporate income is not me.

Post by Carl

Gary Randall had a post a while ago that I was thinking of doing a post on, but I have nothing to add to this or this.

Post by Carl

Pudge sees the Democrats finally not compromising with themselves and gets upset.

One Question

That’s all you get.

Did the Democrats give any signal, at all, that they would be willing to take out any significant provision of their health care bill?

Yes. They took the Public Option out of the House and Senate bills, and didn’t even vote on true single payer. Didn’t even vote to lower the age of Medicare eligibility. They did this despite Republicans not being committed to the bill in the first place.

It seems to me that if not, it’s hard to make a claim they were trying to compromise or be bipartisan.

Well, if Mitch McConnell had come to the health care summit and said “I’ll deliver 10 Republican votes in the Senate if you do this” he probably could have got even more out of the Democrats. It would have at the very least shown he was willing to compromise. He didn’t offer any of that, he and his party basically just said “do over!” for 7 hours like they’ve been saying for 10 months.

Post by Carl

Of course it does. But it looks like quite a bit more too. Unless you’re FW Con. Then, the wonder of freedom of speech is that it allows you to have viewpoints as diverse as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Mark Levin are all heavily influential conservative talk show hosts. Their shows are successful, they have a wide and broad audience, and when they turn their microphones on, millions and millions of people will be listening.

And as they nod in agreement, those millions of people will hear a lot of nonsense.

Obviously, they don’t agree with each other all the time. No two people ever will. Glenn Beck has been harping on the Republican Party pretty violently because they have a progressive tilt. He wants the Republican Party to become the anti-socialist party, and he isn’t afraid to shame them into a change of heart. His CPAC speech was pretty condemning.

What I really like about the marketplace of ideas is that you can have 3 slightly distinct ideas. It’s like when you go to buy ice cream and you find a selection of Dryers vanilla, Bryers French vanilla, and — let’s say — vanilla nut crunch. And you look at the shelf and think to yourself, “look at all the flavors.”*

Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh disagree with Glenn Beck. They were quite vocal and critical in their dissent.

Folks, this is what freedom looks like. It is chaotic. People don’t agree, and they don’t get along. There is always going to be a difference of opinion.

Freedom looks like a bunch of people who agree about the crazy direction they want the country to go in, but disagree about quite how to get there.

But you know what? That’s ok. In the world of ideas, the best idea will win as long as everyone takes some time to listen to the various ideas and evaluate them critically.

Unless that idea somehow acknowledges that the govenrment can be a tool in our kit when we try to help our fellow citizens. Then that idea means you’re a communist, and FW Con dismisses it outright.

This may look like the conservative movement is fracturing. Far from it. I doubt that Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, or Rush Limbaugh have any bad blood between them. I doubt that they are going to go witch-hunting on each other. Instead, they are seriously considering what the best way to shift the Republican Party is.

Hey guys, keep witch hunting liberals.

Glenn Beck is using plenty of stick and only a few carrots. Rush and Mark Levin are trying to build a new party from within. We’ll see who’s right in the end. Maybe both are.

All three are cruel paths that hurt their fellows, so common ground.

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It’s so rare I get to say something nice about legislators. But Geoff Simpson’s responce to a stupid email from OrbusMax is really a thing of beauty. He used the word “teabagger” and it upset the teabaggers. So The Orb demanded an apology, and he, um, didn’t get one.

Indeed, it is well documented that the originators of your movement themselves adopted the names “teabag” and “tea bagger” to describe their anti-government antics. Your manufactured outrage toward me for using the term that the fathers and mothers of your movement coined for themselves is tiresome.

I will apologize to you for recounting my friend’s puzzlement about the selfishness of your movement when you apologize for your hatred, your selfishness and your lack of compassion toward others.

In fact, I can’t decide what’s more amusing, the actual smackdown of OrbusMax, or the fact that right now at the top of the page, they’re highlighting it in a font so large it would be embarrassing if it were announcing an alien invasion.

Post by Carl

This piece by Lou Guzzo is almost a week old, (Feb 14) and not the most important subject. But it amuses me to no end.

Hey! It’s “Pet Peeve” time — and I didn’t have to research this commentary for a moment, because the pet peeves listed here won’t leave my mind, dammit! So, without wasting a second more, permit me to launch into my list of pet peeves, most of which I believe are yours, too.

So we can assume the next time Lou rails against billboards, or tells us how awesome prohibition was, that Lou will have spent time researching it. Also, I believe that most of them I’ll be fine with.

Pet Peeve No. 1 — Nothing bothers me more than those disgusting all-you-can-eat contests that frequently are shown on TV, whose directors and camera crews should know better. Is there any activity of humankind, particularly in this era of starving nations, that is more ludicrous and upsetting than a contest in which the competitors keep shoving pounds of food into their mouths and stomachs? Makes one want to throw up.

So don’t watch it. It’s not my pet peeve, but OK. And does Lou really think we could solve world hunger simply by banning eating contests? Those 90 hot dogs could have gone to Haiti!

Pet Peeve No. 2 — Pro-sports and college male athletes who let their hair grow so long that it frequently obscures their names on the backs of their jerseys. Men, the long, flowing hair is for the ladies! Get a haircut, dammit, and clean up your act! Quit trying to look like Samson.

How will I figure out what player is Troy Polamalu when his name is covered by all that hair? Also, I promise you as someone who had long hair, looking like Samson isn’t in the top 100 reasons.

Pet Peeve No. 3 — All tattoos and particularly the tattoos on the bodies of both men and women in or out of the sports realm make my blood boil. Tattoos mar the natural beauty and health of the human skin. Why, oh, why, doesn’t the medical profession come out strongly against tattooing as being dangerous to healthy skin? Babies are born without tattoos and they should grow out of life that way, too.

So all tattoos, particularly on man and women and particularly on sports players and non sports players. Particularly. The reason doctors don’t say tattoos are dangerous is probably because tattoos aren’t dangerous. Crazy doctors.

Pet Peeve No. 4 — Why do so many people — and particularly young people — insist on bastardizing their speech with exclamations like “You know” and “You guys”? And why do they do it again and again and again? Are they so limited in speech that they can’t use more meaningful terms?

You know, I don’t know.

Pet Peeve No. 5 —Who was it that first created the notion that fighting and killing bulls was a legitimate sport? It must have been a Spaniard — and one who had so little to do that all he could think of was not just tossing the bull but sticking a sword through the animal’s skull. At any rate, bull fighting in Spain and everywhere else should be outlawed as cruel and inhumane.

This isn’t a pet peeve so much as a question. I a few quick Google searches and maybe the ancient Romans invented it. Anyway, I only know a few people who’ve been to bullfights but they all say they enjoyed them. It’s not something I have a desire to do, but I do eat beef, so who am I to judge?

Pet Peeve No. 6 — People who insist on carrying on conversations while watching a film in a movie theater or listening to a concert, drama, or opera at the concert hall. Why in hell can’t they save it for the intermission or for the ride home? Worse yet is the idiot who not only carries on a conversation at the theater but also laughs so loud that others can’t hear what’s going on in a film or on stage.

I guess. Although laughter is involuntary. People who know me know I have quite a laugh. I’ve been shushed in theaters, but you know what, if you don’t want people laughing at the movie you’re watching, go to a drama, or watch it at home.

Pet Peeve No. 7 — Drivers behind you who insist on speeding up so close to your rear bumper that you don’t dare slow down or stop at a caution light. If they’re in so great a hurry, why don’t they switch to another lane or take a road with fewer autos on it? Or, better yet, why don’t they take a bus or a taxi?

I agree tailgating is annoying. But maybe there isn’t another road. Also, this is the first time I’ve ever heard someone say, if you’re in such a hurry you should take the bus. Anyway, who wants to be behind Lou on a 1 lane road?

Pet Peeve No. 8 — So-called aficionados who insist on showing off their ignorance by applauding too soon or after every movement of a four-movement symphony — or before a singer has completed a work. And they do it as if to show off their musical savvy, when, actually, all they’re doing is showing off their stupidity.

This has never been a problem for me.

Well, that’s all the Pet Peeves for today, but, believe me, there are many more. I wasn’t a newspaper critic for nothing!

Lou was a newspaper critic so he could make fun of eating contests.

post by Carl

You know, the voice of reason in the communities.

* Shorter Tacoma News Tribune: School Levies passing with 60% or more prove that South Sound voters are in no mood for taxes.

* Shorter Walla Walla Union Bulletin: Dear Census takers, prisoners are our most valuable citizens. Please count them from here, and not where they’re from.

* Shorter Seattle Times: Instead of tax increases, King County should give Sue Rahr the authority to bust unions.

* Shorter Columbian: A “do no harm approach” to economic stabilization means cutting more services.

Post by Carl

Joni Balter follows her paper’s line on taxes.

Here in the Northwest, we do tax increases, particularly requests for bonds and levies, like some people ride bumper cars. The city and county, and sometimes the state, drive around in circles smashing into one another. Taxpayers are left watching frightfully from the sidelines.

Sometimes, you can just not go for a metaphor. Just “Taxie me no likee” would make as much sense.

So it appears to be for the 2010 taxing season.

Seattle, King County and the state of Washington are all pondering requests for voter approval or outright impositions of taxes, but there is no place where the cumulative impact on taxpayers is contemplated or assessed.

My goodness, that special election where 71% of Seattle voters supported schools in a down economy must mean that Seattle has no stomach for tax increases. Because it’s a down economy, and taxing season, right?

The county may ask voters to approve a .2 to .3 percent increase in the sales tax. Proceeds would pay for public safety, public health and crucial human services — items likely to be slashed in the upcoming 2011 county budget. This is merely an idea so far, an expensive one in a recession.

Slashing budgets in a recession is still bad. This is a recording

The county budget — about three-quarters of which goes to courts, cops, jails, prosecutors and public defenders — is in dire trouble. Several County Council members, some former Democrats and former Republicans, are thinking of asking voters to help.

They’re still Democrats and Republicans, even if there was an election. And courts, cops, jail prosecutors and public defenders are now the enemy?

And then there is new Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, who has made an emergency election for a sea wall a priority — a $241 million property tax increase. He says the sea wall is a danger and must be dealt with promptly.

I don’t know if it is an emergency or not, but if it is, shouldn’t we pay for it before we lose the waterfront?

Always with the cupped hand out, always seeking more money from you and me.

I know right, let’s just Colorado Springs* the state and be done with it. Stupid hand outs.

One of the most likely scenarios to help balance the pinched state budget is to extend the sales tax to candy and gum and impose a wholesale tax on bottled water, which consumers would end up paying anyway. The tax may be tied to education or health care but probably would not require voter approval.

I get it, you don’t like the idea of taxes because you’re not thrilled with the idea of government. You work for the Seattle Times. Fine.

It is an increasing tradition in our region to offer government a la carte. You like police, don’t you? Well, then, buck up for the sales-tax increase. If the county were to seek the .3 percent sales-tax increase, and if voters agreed, sales tax in the county would be 9.8 percent and 10.3 percent in bars and restaurants. That is until the Mariners stadium tax expires in early 2012.

I do agree, we probably shouldn’t be paying that stadium tax, and I’ll be glad when it expires too. Yay common ground.

Word to the wise: That tax will never come off the bill even after stadium bonds are paid because everybody and their second cousin once removed is eager to reroute the tax to their cause. Think Husky Stadium, KeyArena, the arts and others.

Everybody and their second cousin once removed? Is that more than everyone and their brother, and actual phrase? Or really is it more than everyone? And given the fact that tax increases for stadiums are the only thing Seattle and King County residents regularly do reject, it seems like your analysis is at least questionable.

I have no specific problem with each tax mentioned above if the local government can make the case and show it is slashing all remaining blubber.

You sure sound like it. Although clearly we don’t have a good definition of blubber.

What irks me is the cumulative effect on citizens trying to make ends meet in an increasingly unaffordable region. There is little coordination between city and county, and insufficient synchronization between the mayor and the council.

And don’t even get Joni started on that time Seattle voted for public water. I mean really, increased taxes and taking over a private function. Sure it was 1875 to 50**, but I think we’re ignoring the will of the people, somehow.

To that end, the Seattle City Council recently asked McGinn to review all the voter “asks” on the horizon to have a more holistic sense of what is coming up. Councilmember Tom Rasmussen says the council is not on board for the mayor’s requested May election for the sea wall and may pursue other funding options, including use of the city’s credit card to reduce the hit on taxpayers.

Well shit, I say put all government functions on the credit card, amirite?

By the current system, taxpayers face each new ballot with dread. The assumption is that each government may throw a tax increase our way almost every summer and fall. Couldn’t there be a meeting where the geniuses we elect in various governments talk about the overall impact?

Seattle taxpayers voted 71% for schools. That’s not dread, it’s a recognition that we’re a community, and that even though we don’t have many children, we still value education.

What happens instead is various bond and levy requests vie for popularity, with county officials arguing police and courts are more important than sea walls and the city saying a sea wall is more pressing. There is no system for prioritization. The result is ballot fatigue and tax overload.

Hell, the non-Seattle portion of the county voted in favor of hippie dippy socialist libraries, and almost all of the school levies passed throughout the county.

It’s not as if 2010 is unique. Seattle’s Families and Education Levy is up for renewal in 2011. McGinn seems eager to ask voters this year or next if they want to extend light rail along the west side of Seattle. Counties are seeking a utility tax for unincorporated areas. The state is planning to tax or increase taxes on other items or services.

So now renewing a levy is a new tax?

Your wallet and head and mine begin to ache.

My wallet doesn’t have feelings, and my head is just fine. Anyway, awesome end! No mention of what real structural reform might look like, just whining.

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Posted by Robby

So over at (un)Sound Politics, Stefan’s got himself convinced that the fact that some people in Washington didn’t go to work this week because of snow means that no one needs the government.

“Snow shuts down federal government, life goes on”.

That suggests an experiment to test how long different parts of the federal government could be shut down before anybody notices.

The overwrought headline is from the Seattle Times, but even the Times manages to realize that their headline is a little ridiculous. As the Times reports:

So far, the effects have been negligible. Many essential government services are performed at offices around the country, and about 85 percent of federal employees work outside the Washington region anyway. Others were working from home despite the snow. An IRS spokeswoman said tax returns should not be affected.

Stefan’s assumption that DC shutting down indicates the government has shut down as well displays either a profound ignorance about how our federal system works or an incredible willingness to mislead those who read his blog. I’ll leave it to you to decide which it is.

Post by Carl

Since there are liberals don’t like football, no liberal should be allowed to make a football metaphor.