MajorityRules Blog

Big Oil loves Tim Eyman. They love him so much they’re have given him $200,000 this year to protect their corporate profits and tax loopholes from the Washington State Legislature. They love it that he helped them two years ago prevent the Legislature from asking them to help clean up oil polluted stormwater in our state. They love it that voters said the Legislature needed a 2/3 vote to tax corporations and end profitable tax loopholes they have.

Eyman is busy carrying their water as he scurries to pay his minions to get signatures on I-1185 his “son” of 1053. I-1053 was passed by voters in 2010 and said the Legislature needed to get a 2/3 vote in both houses to raise new revenue or close any tax loopholes. For 2 years after an initiative passes it takes a 2/3 vote of the Legislature to amend an initiative. After that it takes a simple majority.

So Eyman is trying to put I-1185 before the voters to reset the clock for another 2 years.

The 2/3 vote requirement initially was in I-601 and then in I-960. Both these measures barely passed 51% to 49%. Two years ago in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression and with high unemployment the measure passed with a 64% vote after opponents waited until the last few weeks to try to oppose it but it was too late.

Now voters can see the consequences of a no new taxes proposal which is what I-1185 is and what I-1053 is. Austerity so to speak is another w0rd for protecting corporate profits while cutting services to the elderly, the sick and young kids. Corporate interests like BP and Conoco Phillips continue to rack up huge profits and contribute to the increased concentration of wealth in the hands of the few.

On April 4, 2012 BP Oil out of Chicago gave Eyman $100,000. Eyman immediately passed it on to his buddy Roy Ruffino at Citizen Solutions out of Olympia. Citizen Solutions is paying signature gatherers $1.00 per signature and pocketing a fee for itself of course.

BP last year reported a net profit of $23.9 billion. $ 100,000 is peanuts to BP.

On April 20, 2012 Conoco Phillips added another $100,000, Small peanuts to them also that they can write off as a business expense. After expenses Conoco Phillips reported a 1st quarter Jan – March 2012 profit of $2.94 billion.

Isn’t it great that if you are a big corporation and you can buy yourself a place on the ballot and you can have friends like Tim Eyman to help you fool the public into supporting your corporate profits at the expense of diminishing public services that benefit the public.

Don’t sign I-1185! Don’t support Big Oil’s power grab of the Washington State Legislature. Big Oil is not concerned about the weel being of Washington State or its citizens. They are only concerned about increasing the bottom line of business and their shareholders.

Eyman’s Initiative 1185 is Road to Nowhere

Steve Zemke — Fri, 04 May 2012 18:27:32 +0000

Tim Eyman is out getting signatures on his latest initiative for gridlock in Washington State. It is nothing new but a recycling of a failed experiment – namely that blocking the Legislature’s ability to raise revenue or repeal non-performing tax exemptions is good for Washington State. That policy has been a dismal failure.

Initiative 1185 is an attempt to get voters to re-pass Initiative 1053 which was passed by voters in 2010. Initiative 1053 required Legislators to get a 2/3 vote in the House and the Senate for any measure that raised revenue to fund state services.

Not once in 16 years has the Legislature been able to raise revenue under the 2/3 voting requirement because only a 1/3 minority of Legislators in either House can block a revenue increase. This statement was given recently in a Superior Court case attempting to declare I-1053 and its 2/3 vote requirement as unconstitutional.

The reason Eyman is recycling his 2/3 vote requirement is so that the Legislature can not amend I-1053 without a 2/3 majority. The Washington State Constitution allows the legislature to amend initiatives by a simple majority after 2 years but requires a 2/3 vote for the first two years after passage. Re-passing I-1053 as I-1185 would reset the 2/3 requirement for another 2 years.

I-1053 was supported by Big Oil, Wall Street Banks and other corporate interests that didn’t want the state to repeal special interest tax exemptions and loopholes or require them to pay more for the benefits of doing business in Washington State.

Eyman portrayed I-1053 as a measure to protect the average citizen taxpayer from big government but the reality is that 1053 is really a Corporate Tax Loophole Protection Act. Tax Loopholes exempt many corporations from paying taxes at the same rate as others. In essence it shifts the tax responsibility to other tax payers like working families.

I-1185, like I-1053, would require a 2/3 vote to repeal tax loopholes even if they are providing no benefit to the state. Tax exemptions only require a simple majority to pass in the first place. Meanwhile cuts to state services like education for our children and health care for seniors have been cut. Only a simple majority was needed to cut that funding.

I-1185 would continue tax protection for corporations while forcing more cuts in state services. As service costs increase due to inflation and revenue doesn’t increase due to a lagging economy more cuts will be necessary. Don’t sign Initiative 1185. It time to bring some sanity back to how we fund state services.

Feedback Wanted on Proposed WA Legislative Bill on Tax Expenditure Reform

Steve Zemke — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:06:17 +0000

Changes are needed in the ability of the Washington State Legislature to fund basic services like education and healthcare. The current state budget problems are made more difficult by the lack of flexibility of the Legislature to make decisions by a majority vote as directed by the Washington State Constitution and by a tax expenditure/exemption process that is shielded from legislative oversight by virtue of not being part of the normal budget process.

Many people are frustrated by the current stalemate in the legislative process and want more choices than just throwing up their hands and suffering more cuts in state services and more costs to working families. More options are needed for the voters than just saying we have no real choices.

Accordingly draft legislation has been written that could be a bill in the Legislature with a referendum clause for the voters or that could be a citizens initiative for the Fall ballot if the Legislature doesn’t act.. The legislation is called the Washington State Taxpayers Fiscal Reform Act. You can see a draft copy for comment located here: http://www.majorityrules.org/?attachment_id=814

We are now circulating this draft for public comment and revision. I would appreciate your review of this draft and any suggested revisions you might have.

The Taxpayers Fiscal Reform Act would:

1. Allow the Legislature to repeal tax exemptions by a majority vote by repealing the current unconstitutional 2/3 voting requirement.

2. Add tax expenditures into the biennial budget process.

3. Require the Legislature to rank all spending, including tax expenditures as high, medium or low priority in meeting state needs.

4. Require that the Legislature must act to reaffirm all tax expenditures after they have been audited by the state or they will sunset.

5. Limit any authorization or reauthorization of a tax expenditure to 10 years.

Please return all comments on the draft to Steve Zemke at the e-mail address below.

Thanks,

Steve Zemke – Chair

King County Democrats

stevezemke@msn.com

Eric Cantor and Republican Revisionist History

Steve Zemke — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:48:55 +0000

Republicans are great at continually revising history to fit their myth making. A prime example is their constantly using Ronald Reagan as the Great Tax Cutter. What is left out is that Reagan also raised taxes a number of times.

Widely circulated right now is the video of the 60 Minutes interview this last weekend with House Republican and Majority Leader Eric Cantor. When Leslie Stahl asks him about Reagan also being a compromiser and having raised taxes, Cantor falters as his press secretary off screen yells that’s not true.

One wonders where Cantor’s press secretary got his education. And Cantor seems to feel no need to be more responsive or truthful. It’s a prime example of right wing dogma trying to deny historical reality and rewrite history. 60 Minutes did the public a service by not editing out the press secretary’s comments but making them part of the story.

Here is the interview on Crooks and Liar’s entitled Eric Cantor’s Press Secretary Interrupts 60 Min to Claim Reagan Never Raised Taxes. It includes a a video clip of the exchange with Leslie Stahl, Eric Cantor and Cantor’s press secretary and a clip of Reagan noting the need to compromise.as a reason he raised taxes.

Crooks and Liars in fact goes further than 60 Minutes

“As has been noted here at C&L, the Republican myth about Ronald Reagan being unwilling to raise taxes is just not true. Heaven forbid, Reagan raising taxes 11 times, not just several as the 60 Minutes report stated, might get in the way of their talking points about St. Ronnie.”

The Raw Story carried the story in a post entitled “Cantor refuses to admit Reagan raised taxes” They note that:

After his huge tax cut in 1981 slashed all tax rates to 23 percent, sparking a budget crisis, Reagan realized he’d also have to raise taxes in the years that followed. He raised taxes four times between 1982 to 1984, increasing the payroll tax, broadening the base of Social Security payees, applying the income tax to higher earners and rolling back corporate and individual tax breaks.

Reagan’s historic tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, whose rate went from 70 percent to 28 percent during his administration, ultimately forced the president to raise taxes on more people than any other U.S. president during a time of peace, according to New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.

In total, Reagan raised taxes 12 times during his two terms in office.”

Republicans seem to have no limits these days to telling stories and making up history. It is important for the media to help sort out the myth making and revisionist history from the historical reality. And voters need to realize that a lot of what is said by Republicans these days is just campaign talk and not true.

Washington State Minimum Wage to Increase to $9.04 on January 1, 2012

Steve Zemke — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 02:16:04 +0000

On January 1, 2012 Washington State’s minimum wage will increase to $9.04. Once again Washington State will lead the nation in having the highest minimum wage. Oregon’s minimum wage will increase to $8.80.

The minimum wage level of Washington State, Oregon and 8 other state’s is indexed to inflation and the consumer price index. In 1998 Washington voters passed Initiative 688. It was the first state to index it’s minimum wage to inflation and set the standard for other states to follow rather than every few years waging battles to try to increase the minimum wage when inflation went up. The other eight states are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, and Vermont.

As CNNMoney notes, “Minimum wage rates in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington will rise between 28 and 37 cents per hour on Jan. 1 …Rates in these states will range from $7.64 per hour (in Colorado), to $9.04 (in Washington) in 2012.” Nevada does not raise its minimum wage until July 1st and Missouri, even with an adjustment, does not exceed the Federal minimum wage.

Increasing the minimum wage has positive effects on the economy. As CNNMoney noted:

”The small boosts for 2012 are estimated to tack an extra $582 to $770 a year onto the paychecks of full-time workers, according to the National Employment Law Project, a non-profit advocacy group.

What’s more, the increases could be a mini-boost for the economy. The expected rise in consumer spending as a result of the wage increases would add $366 million to the nation’s gross domestic product and lead to the creation of more than 3,000 full-time jobs.”

The Economic Policy Institute calculates the actual impact in even broader terms.

Across these eight states, an estimated 1,045,000 workers will be “directly affected.” These are workers whose current wages are between the existing state minimum wage and the new Jan. 1 minimum wage. In addition, another 394,000 workers will be “indirectly affected” by the increase. These indirectly-affected workers are those whose current wages are just above the new Jan. 1 minimum, and are likely to also see a wage increase as employers adjust their overall pay structures to reflect the new minimum (the “spillover” effect).

Despite the benefits of indexing the minimum wage to inflation, the national minimum wage is not indexed to inflation. Thus as the cost of goods like food and gas go up, the buying ability of minimum wage workers decreases. The current Federal wage is currently only $7.25. That’s just a little over $15,000 a year.

The federal minimum wage needs to be indexed to inflation. Congress has a dismal record of increasing the minimum wage. From 1997 to 2007, the minimum wage was stuck at $5.15 despite increases in inflation. In legislation passed in 2007 it went up to $5.85 in June 2007, then to $6.55 in June 2008 and then to $7.25 in June 2009. No further increase have been made in the last 2 1/2 years.

Barack Obama, as part of his transition team agenda, said he would work to raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation. We need to hold him to his promise and to put Democrats and Republicans on the spot as to standing up for helping low income workers make it in this economy. Republicans will voice all their usual objections but there is no better way to convince voters of whose interests they really represent than to challenge them to support working Americans by raising the minimum wage for the lowest paid workers.

And progressives in the states that have initiatives would be wise to run minimum wage initiatives with an inflation index in 2012. With all the attention on the vast disparity of wealth distribution in this country that has gotten worse, its time to put on the ballot measures that work to redress this imbalance and that point out the differences between the goals of Republicans and Democrats. Democrats have joined with Labor in working to help raise the pay of lower wage earners. Republicans have not.

Where are the Election Night Parties for King County Democrats Tonight?

Steve Zemke — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:06:14 +0000

King County Election Night Parties: November 8, 2011

If you want to share the results and the evening with your political friends here is a list of some of the King County Election Night Parties for candidates and issues endorsed by Democrats.

NO on 1125
Where: Fadó Irish Pub and Restaurant (801 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98104)
When: Starts at 7 PM

NO on 1183
Where: Fx McRory’s (419 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104)
When: Starts at 7 PM

YES on 1163
Where: King Street Bar and Oven (170 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104)
When: Starts at 7 PM

Richard Mitchell for King County Council
Where: Crossroads Bar & Grill (15600 NE 8th St, Bellevue, WA 98008)
When: Starts at 7:30 PM

Claudia Balducci, John Stokes, John Chelminak (Candidates for Bellevue City Council)Where: Tap House Grill (550 106th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004)
When: Starts at 7 PM

Streets for All Seattle (Yes on Proposition 1)
Where: Great Nabob (819 5th Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109)
When: Starts at 7 PM

Jean Godden, Seattle City Council
Where: Farestart (700 Virginia St, Seattle, WA 98101)
When: 7:30 PM

Bobby Forch, Seattle City CouncilWhere: The Diller Room (1224 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101)
When: 7:30 PM

Families and Education Levy – Seattle
Where: Elysian Fields (542 1st Ave S, Seattle WA 98104)
When: 7:30 to 9:30

Jessica Greenway for Kirkland City Council
Where: Greenway home – 110 15th Ave
When: 7:30 PM

Kate Martin for Seattle School Board
Where: Rosita’s (7210 Woodlawn Ave NE, Seattle)
When: 7 PM

Joe McDermott for King County Council
Where: West 5 (4539 California Ave SW, Seattle)
When: 8 PM

Dean Willard for Port CommissionerWhere: Fado Irish Pub and Restaurant (801 1st Ave S, Seattle)
When 7:30 PM

MDC Election Night Party with Pete Holmes
Where: Arctic Club (700 3rd)
When 5-8:30 PM

Bruce Harrell for Seattle City CouncilWhere: Four Seasons Restaurant (714 S King St, Seattle)
When: 7 – 10 PM

32nd District Democrats Election Night Party
Selena’s Mexican Kitchen (14622 15th Ave NE)
When: 7 – 9:30 PM

Where are Drop Boxes for Ballots in King County – Nov 8, 2011?

Steve Zemke — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:12:00 +0000

Election Day is upon us Tuesday, Nov 8, 2011.
What if you first realize after 5 PM that you forgot to mail your ballot?
Well there is one last thing you can do. Put it in a dropbox for voting by 8 PM!
You can also put it in a mail pickup box by 5 or 6 PM depending on the location. Ckeck for the last pickup time before you put it in a Post Office Pickup Box. It must have a stamp on it.
King County Elections Dropbox locations (no stamp needed) are listed below:
You can also go to King County Elections for locations and maps of drop boxes.Locations include:
Crossroads Shopping Center
15600 NE 8th Street
Bellevue, WA 98008
Federal Way City Hall
33325 8th Avenue South
Federal Way, WA 98003
Issaquah City Hall
130 East Sunset Way
Issaquah, WA 98027
King County Elections
919 SW Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Lake Forest Park City Hall
17425 Ballinger Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155Regional Justice Center
401 4th Avenue N.
Kent, WA 98032
Redmond City Hall
15670 NE 85th Street
Redmond, WA 98052
Tahoma School District Office
25720 Maple Valley-Black Diamond Rd SE
Maple Valley, WA 98038
King County Administration Building
500 4th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
Magnuson Park
6344 NE 74th Street
Seattle, WA 98115
Ballard Branch Library
57th Street & 22nd Avenue NW
Seattle, WA 98107
Remember -all ballots must be placed in Balot Drop Boxes by 8 PM today

Why Initiative 1053 needs to be Overturned by the Courts

Steve Zemke — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:08:03 +0000

The 2/3 vote requirement rule for the Washington State Legislature to act on revenue measures imposed by Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1053 needs to be overturned. Everyone acts as if it is law, including most of the Washington State Legislators, but it is unconstitutional. The issue is before the Washington Court system and needs to be resolved.

I-1053 has created a crisis for our state. It has limited the options of our state government to address our current financial crisis. The result is that the state is being forced to continue to cut basic services like education and health care. It is driving the crisis into a downward spiral.

The state has already cut it’s budget by $10 billion and is facing another $2 billion in cuts just to balance its current budget.

The I-1053 campaign is just another example of misguided anti-government legislation that unfortunately has an opposite effect from what many voters thought they were voting on. They bought the rhetoric thinking it was good for the average citizen in this state.

However it was Big Business and Corporate interests in this state that saw the measure for what it was - another opening to consolidate their power over the State Legislature. Corporations like the Bank of America and BP saw that this so called rule gave them virtual immunity from the threat of seeing their special interest tax exemptions being repealed once Eyman’s definition of a tax increase included repeal of tax exemptions. Voters missed this.

The Legislature over the years has passed special interest tax exemptions with a simple majority vote of 50%. These tax exemptions now exceed revenue from collected taxes. These tax exemptions are really expenditures of state money that if not in place could be used for other purposes like educating our youth and creating jobs. I-1053 has essentially grandfathered existing tax exemptions in permanently. That is because a 2/3 vote in both houses is needed to repeal them. This is almost impossible to do, considering that special interests only need to secure the votes of 17 Legislators out of 147 to stop a revenue measure being passed.

I-1053 also makes it almost impossible to raise any taxes on business. So the State is left with essentially one option to pay its bills and balance the budget – cutting programs. Unfortunately for Washington residents, cutting means ending services and jobs that benefit the majority of Washington voters, especially the middle class and working families.

It’s time to take back the Legislature from the special interests and reject the 2/3 voting requirement. There is a basic constitutional issue here. What has happened is that on revenue issues, I-1053 is saying that if Legislators are for revenue increases or repealing tax exemptions, their vote only counts as half a vote, rather than a full vote, in trying to pass measures. Nothing in the Constitution says that this is the case or that this is allowed.

I-1053 was an initiative, not a constitutional amendment. You can not change the constitution with an initiative. The Washington State Constitution says that bills shall be passed by majority votes, not by 2/3 votes. I-1053 is unconstitutional and the courts need to reject it so the state can address it’s financial problems without special interests calling the shots.

The people also need to reject any further measures by Eyman trying to reaffirm I-1053. He will be running another one in 2012. The reason for this is that for the first two years after an initiative is passed, it takes a 2/3 vote of the Legislature to amend it. After that it is a majority vote. By passing another 1053 type initiative, it would extend for two more years the inability of the Legislature to amend the 2/3 vote requirement. Voters need to understand that I-1053 style initiatives requiring a 2/3 vote to pass revenue measures benefits special interests a lot more than the average voter.

It’s time to reject the 2/3 vote requirement and take back the Legislature from the special interests.

Press Release – Balance Budget by Ending Tax Breaks and Raising Revenue

Steve Zemke — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:24:37 +0000

NEWS RELEASE

October 27, 2011

CONTACT: Anne Martens

206-902-7181

BALANCE BUDGET BY ENDING TAX BREAKS AND RAISING REVENUE

Coalition calls on lawmakers to cut corporate welfare

instead of cutting our jobs and our families

In response to Governor Gregoire’s report on the devastation expected from another $2 billion in state budget cuts, members of the Our Economic Future coalition are asking lawmakers to stand up for Washington families by ending unfair tax breaks and raising revenue. (People affected by the cuts will be available for comment outside the Governor’s office in Olympia between 10am and noon)

“It’s not fair to balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable. These cuts hit hardest on those most at risk and set our state down a path of deepening poverty and increased homelessness,” said Rachael Myers (206-442-9455) of the Washington LowIncome Housing Alliance.

“More cuts add insult to injury,” said Jon Gould (206-324-0340 x 19) of the Children’s Alliance. “With 58,000 more children in poverty in our state – enough to fill 2,320 classrooms – these cuts couldn’t come at a worse time for our state’s kids.”

During the last legislative session, the coalition pushed for eliminating tax breaks like the ones that benefit out-of-state banks and private jet owners. Since regular session ended, both an official legislative audit committee and a citizen’s committee agreed that Washington hands out too much corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks, and that many of those loopholes should be closed.

Two-thirds of legislators would have to work together in order to close any tax loopholes. Because such cooperation is considered unlikely, the coalition may ask for a referendum to the people.

“We are the 99 percent,”said Anne Martens, spokesperson for the coalition. “Are tax breaks for big banks more important than our children’s future? Most people would say no.”

Coming on top of the $10 billion that has already been slashed from our public services, this latest round of cuts will have devastating effects on Washington families and on our ability to recover from the recession.

“Child care providers like me make sure that parents can go to work,” said Kathy Yasi, a small business owner and SEIU925 member. “Cutting programs like Working Connections forces parents to give up their jobs and pushes them to rely even more on public programs. It’s backwards.”

While slashing public services appears to save money in the short-run, in fact it adds to the rolls of people who need those services, at a time when both our families and our public services are already overstretched.

“Everyone feels the effects of this economic crisis, but some of our neighbors—particularly children of color–feel it worse. Lawmakers need to take a balanced approach to the state budget, with a plan for revenue, to make sure our families can survive this economic crisis,” said Mr. Gould.

“It’s time to find revenue solutions if we want to make sure that parents can continue to work and rebuild our economy,” said Ms. Yasi.

People all over Washington are finding it harder and harder to get services or support because prior budget cuts have already closed health clinics, raised tuition, and cut off access to job training, environmental protection and public safety. With few good jobs and an economy still designed to benefit special interests, these service cuts are hitting hardest on those least able to afford it.

Peter Sanderson, a community mental health therapist and SEIU1199NW member, agreed. “So many of the youth I see have lost their mental health care already, and many have become homeless after trying to make it on their own. They are trying so hard to create a positive future, but we leave them on the street. In this kind of economy, we should be investing in programs that help people get back on their feet instead of cutting help when they need it most.”

Ms. Myers notes that, “thousands of families are sleeping on the streets every night and people who never thought they’d need help with housing are now facing the reality that they can’t make ends meet.”

Randy Revelle (206-216-2515) of the Washington State Hospital Association adds that, “these cuts will be felt for years to come. People with serious disabilities and mental illnesses will lose their health coverage. People living with diabetes, congestive heart failure, and psychosis will lose coverage for essential medications. Rural areas could lose all access to obstetrical services, ambulances, and inpatient hospital care. The impacts are staggering.”

An additional $2 billion in cuts could mean:

· Tuition at community colleges and four-year universities goes up even more.

· More teachers are laid off and Washington moves towards the biggest class sizes in the nation.

· All community health clinics will be closed.

· 18,000 home care workers lose their jobs, and the elderly and disabled they care for lose their care and their homes.

· 7,400 criminals are put back on the streets with no supervision.

· 55,000 people lose their alcohol and substance prevention treatment.

· 80,000 people lose their mental health, long-term care and disability services.

While ending unfair tax breaks would not fill our gaping budget hole, it would ward off the worst of the cuts and provide sparse public services for the most vulnerable among us.

In order to really invest in schools, colleges, small businesses and public services that support a strong economy, we need to have a serious discussion about raising revenue.

###

The Our Economic Future Coalition represents more than 150 organizations concerned about deep budget cuts to core services. The Coalition is calling on lawmakers to find a more responsible and balanced approach to closing the current budget gap that includes closing tax loopholes and identifying new sources of revenue. www.oureconomicfuture.org.