Monthly Archives: July 2009

WashPIRG Supports Creation of Consumer Financial Protection Agency

Posted on July 28th, 2009 | Comments Off on WashPIRG Supports Creation of Consumer Financial Protection Agency

WashPIRG Explains “Game-Changer” Proposal To Reinstate Federal Financial Laws As Pro-Consumer Floor – Letter Shows Bankers Prefer “Failed Business As Usual System” —

Seattle, WA, July, 27 2009 – At the epicenter of the worldwide financial collapse was a lack of consumer protection that can best be remedied by establishing a “game-changer agency with only one job, protecting consumers” while simultaneously reinstating federal law as a floor not a ceiling of protection, according to WashPIRG’s State Advocate Blair Anundson.

At a tele-news-conference today, Mr. Anundson and WashPIRG’s Federal Consumer Program Director, Ed Mierzwinski, explained that the Congressional proposal to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency would also allow state attorneys general to once again vigorously defend the public against unfair financial practices. That authority had been drastically restricted by federal agency preemption rulings prior to the crisis.

“Since the financial crisis peaked in 2008, banks have been bailed out with billions of dollars of taxpayer funds but haven’t increased lending and haven’t stopped increasing unfair credit card and deposit account fees on consumers and small businesses,” said Anundson. “The solution is to create the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a game-changer agency with only one job, protecting consumers.”

“Banks and big corporations are mounting a massive campaign to preserve the failed business as usual financial system,” added Mierzwinski. “One of the top bank lobbyists says their goal is nothing less than “to kill” the new consumer agency. They don’t have the money to make loans, but they do seem to have enough money to lobby against what could be the biggest reform since deposit insurance in the 1930s.”

The proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency is based on an idea from Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren. If enacted, it would consolidate all consumer protection activities involving over 20 laws and at least 7 agencies into one agency only responsible for consumer protection, while also redefining federal law as a floor not ceiling of protection and re-establishing the right of state attorneys general to enforce federal financial laws.

“We have an agency to keep toasters from exploding, but we don’t have one to keep credit cards and mortgages from exploding,” concluded Anundson.

-30-

WashPIRG is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy group.
For more information, go to www.washpirg.org.

WashPIRG, the federation of state PIRGs, and U.S. PIRG are founding members of Americans for Financial Reform (ourfinancialsecurity.org) a 200-group strong coalition of the nation’s leading consumer, civil rights, labor, community and investor protection groups.

The above is a press release issued by WashPIRG yesterday.

see also:

Politico “Barack Obama to create Consumer Financial Protection Agency”

Seeking Alpha “Big Finance vs Consumer Protection: Partisan Sheds Some Light”

Do you want to see a Consumer Financial Protection Agency? If so then write to your Congressional Representative and to your Senators. Washington State’s two Senators are Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. Click on the links to send them an e-mail.

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Posted in Congress, Economy

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Mayor Nickels Supports Urban Forestry Commission

Posted on July 28th, 2009 | Comments Off on Mayor Nickels Supports Urban Forestry Commission

The Seattle City Council is currently in the process of passing legislation to create an Urban Forestry Commission. A bill introduced by Councilmember Nick Licata is currently before the City’s Environment Committee for a vote. It is expected to pass this afternoon and go before the full Council for a vote in 2 weeks.

Mayor Nickel’s has sent a letter to folks supporting the Urban Forestry Commission expressing his support. Below is the text of the letter.

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your letter and your support for Seattle’s urban forest. Maintaining and enhancing our urban forest is important to Seattle’s environment quality and community livability.

As you may know, I have adopted the goal of achieving an average of 30% canopy cover across the entire city. We recently reassessed our tree canopy and learned that after decades of tree loss, our canopy cover increased slightly to a current level of about 23% between 2002 and 2007. While we are pleased with our progress, we also are aware that more needs to be done to realize our vision of a thriving, sustainable urban forest.

I support the proposed Urban Forest Commission and look forward to working with its members. The majority of tree preservation and planting potential is on private property, and input from a commission will help inform the city’s overall approach to boosting the urban forest. Advice on any proposed legislation also will be a key role for the Commission. I look forward to hearing the Commission’s suggestions and input on a range of options before we move forward with a specific legislative proposal.

Thank you again for taking the time to write. If you have questions, please contact Tracy Morgenstern in the Office of Sustainability at (206) 386-4595 or tracy.morgenstern@seattle.gov.

Sincerely,

GREG NICKELS
Mayor of Seattle

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Posted in Environment, Urban Forests

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Are Thowaway Bags Something to Get Worked up About?

Posted on July 27th, 2009 | Comments Off on Are Thowaway Bags Something to Get Worked up About?

On August 18, 2009 Seattle voters will have a chance to make a change in the way our society deals with throwaway bags. Will we be in the forefront of change or do we not have time to be bothered by the seemingly trivial issue? Will a $1 million advertising campaign by the American Chemical Society have an impact on the outcome?

Referendum 1, in an attempt to get Seattle consumers to use reusable bags, would impose a 20 cent fee on both plastic and paper bags.

So what the big deal?

Salon.com in a recent article entitled “Plastic Bags are killing us” gives a few insights into both plastic and paper bags and their problems.

-Every year, Americans throw away some 100 billion plastic bags after they’ve been used to transport a prescription home from the drugstore or a quart of milk from the grocery store. It’s equivalent to dumping nearly 12 million barrels of oil.

-Only 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled worldwide — about 2 percent in the U.S. — and the rest, when discarded, can persist for centuries.

-The problem with plastic bags isn’t just where they end up, it’s that they never seem to end. “All the plastic that has been made is still around in smaller and smaller pieces,” says Stephanie Barger, executive director of the Earth Resource Foundation,

-Bits of plastic bags have been found in the nests of albatrosses in the remote Midway Islands. Floating bags can look all too much like tasty jellyfish to hungry marine critters. According to the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, more than a million birds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year from eating or getting entangled in plastic. The conservation group estimates that 50 percent of all marine litter is some form of plastic. There are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

-In the Northern Pacific Gyre, a great vortex of ocean currents, there’s now a swirling mass of plastic trash about 1,000 miles off the coast of California, which spans an area that’s twice the size of Texas, including fragments of plastic bags. There’s six times as much plastic as biomass, including plankton and jellyfish, in the gyre. “It’s an endless stream of incessant plastic particles everywhere you look,” says Dr. Marcus Eriksen, director of education and research for the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, which studies plastics in the marine environment.

-It takes 14 million trees to produce the 10 billion paper grocery bags used every year by Americans, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

 

Change has to start somewhere. Let’s start here. Vote yes on Referendum 1.

Click here for the link to the Campaign website for GreenBagCampaign.org supporting Referendum 1.

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Posted in Economy, Elections, Environment, Initiatives

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Did Eyman Forget to Turn in all His Petitions for Initiative 1033?

Posted on July 26th, 2009 | Comments Off on Did Eyman Forget to Turn in all His Petitions for Initiative 1033?

I guess its time for another Eyman Initiative 1033 grassroots joke. In two separate comment threads over on Crosscut on Initiative 1033 Tim Eyman makes the following statement:

“out of 48,148 supporters who were mailed a I-1033 petition in February, an extraordinary 34,588 sent back a partially filled or fully filled petitions”

Over at the Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate, Andrew reported that:

“The Secretary of State’s office tells NPI that they received 19,317 petitions, not all of which are full. Eyman claimed to have submitted 314,277 signatures. “

So what happened to the remaining 15,271 petitions from his grassroots supporters? Did Eyman lose the extra petitions? Or is it again just another example of Eyman trying to falsely hype what is really a dismal grassroots effort? Didn’t Eyman get into trouble for something like this before? I think it was about not being paid when he was because he thought it sounded better to say he was working for free even when he wasn’t.

I’m sure Eyman’s not in any legal trouble on this, it’s just another one of many times that he is fast and lose with facts and figures, trying to put a spin on something to say what he thinks people want to hear or what he thinks sounds better for his self image. In this he is trying to convince people what a tremendous grassroots effort this campaign is when in reality it was mostly a paid signature gathering effort funded over 86.5% by 3 individuals.

I suspect the truth is that he sent out 48,148 petitions and only received back 34,588 signatures. That means that out of the final 315,444 signature count, the rest were probably from paid signature gatherers.

34,588/315,444 = 10.96% of signatures turned in from mailing to “grassroots”
Could it be true that only 11% of Eyman’s signatures were from the “grassroots” supporters?

Maybe as many as 1700 petitions came back if all were full. This seems like a much more realistic return rate based on Initiative campaigns I’ve been involved with.

Money wise it also seems accurate. 315,444 signatures total – 34,588 from grassroots leaves 280,856 he paid for. He spent $598,081 to get his signatures, including mailing, which is about $1.89 per signature for the total amount. This is in the ballpark for cost per signature in campaigns these days.

While we’re at it we should actually note that Eyman did not collect 315,444 valid signatures. A small point but I am tired of Eyman’s misrepresentations of fact. He had a 12% invalid rate which means that only 277,591 signatures were declared as valid. A minor point but lets keep our figures straight for the record.

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Posted in Elections, Initiatives, Washington State Legislature

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List Growing of Organizations Opposing Initiative 1033

Posted on July 24th, 2009 | Comments Off on List Growing of Organizations Opposing Initiative 1033

The list is growing of organizations opposing Eyman’s Initiative 1033 which will be on the November 2009 ballot. I-1033 is Eyman’s latest attempt to impose his Orwellian view of hogtying and limiting state, county and local government spending by ratcheting down revenues available every time there is a recession.

When times are good he will transfer funds mainly derived from sales taxes everyone pays, to reduce real estate taxes for the wealthy. The more property you own the more of a real estate tax break you will get. It’s sort of a reverse perverse Robin Hood scheme that benefits large corporate land owners like Boeing and Weyerhauser and shopping mall owners and real estate developers and owners of McMansions and second homes.

Here’s the latest list of organizations opposing I-1033. They would rather see our tax dollars go to provide services for everyone, not just wealthy property owners getting another tax break at the public’s expense.

AARP Washington
Amalgamated Transit Union 1015
American Federation of Teachers Washington, AFL-CIO
Alzheimer’s Association, Western and Central Washington Chapter
Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of King County
Central Washington Progress
Heart of America Northwest
King County Democrats
Lutheran Public Policy Office
Washington State Council of Fire Fighters
Fuse Washington
Futurewise
The Nature Conservancy of Washington
OneAmerica
Planned Parenthood Votes! Washington
Puget Sound Sage
Raising Our APA Representation
SEIU 775
Sahngnoksoo
Sierra Club, Cascade Chapter
Statewide Poverty Action Network
Surfrider Foundation
Transportation Choices Coalition
UFCW Local 21
Washington Association of Churches
Washington Bus
Washington Education Association
Washington Low Income Housing Alliance
Washington State Council of County and City Employees, AFSCME Council 2
Washington State Hospital Association
Washington State Labor Council

You can go to the No 1033 campaign website to add your organizations name to the list and learn more about the campaign.

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Posted in Economy, Elections, Initiatives, Washington State Legislature

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Campaign Against Seattle Bag Fee Tops $1 Million Dollars

Posted on July 23rd, 2009 | Comments Off on Campaign Against Seattle Bag Fee Tops $1 Million Dollars

It’s Plastics. For those who remember Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate it’s definitely plastics as to where the money is. Last Friday the American Chemistry Council dropped $500,000 into it’s Stop the Bag Tax campaign. And a day ago they added another $300,000.

Except for $10,000 from Seven – Eleven, The American Chemistry Council has now contributed almost all of the $1,042,794 targeted against Referendum 1.

Referendum 1 is about a 20 cent fee on paper and plastic bags in major grocery stores. The idea is to provide an economic incentive for people to use reusable bags. Referendum 1 is on the August 18, 2009 Primary ballot in Seattle.

Here is some information on plastic bags from http://www.reusablebags.com/

•The production of plastic bags requires petroleum and often natural gas, both non-renewable resources that increase our dependency on foreign suppliers. Additionally, prospecting and drilling for these resources contributes to the destruction of fragile habitats and ecosystems around the world.

•Annual cost to US retailers alone is estimated at $4 billion.

•When retailers give away free bags, their costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

•When plastic bags breakdown, small plastic particles can pose threats to marine life and contaminate the food web. A 2001 paper by Japanese researchers reported that plastic debris acts like a sponge for toxic chemicals, soaking up a million fold greater concentration of such deadly compounds as PCBs and DDE (a breakdown product of the notorious insecticide DDT), than the surrounding seawater. These turn into toxic gut bombs for marine animals which frequently mistake these bits for food.

•According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)

Reusable bags will save consumers money and reduce waste. It may be a minor inconvenience to get used to remembering to take your bags with you when you go shopping but it is a step in trying to live more environmentally. Vote yes on Referendum 1.

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Posted in Elections, Environment, Initiatives

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Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033 Overtaxed Hoax

Posted on July 22nd, 2009 | Comments Off on Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033 Overtaxed Hoax

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.

These and other figures below are taken from data available at the Tax Foundation’s website and point out the misrepresentation of Washington’s tax situation as espoused by Tim Eyman and Initiative 1033.

The preamble of I-1033 claims that it is “to protect taxpayers by reducing our state’s obscene and unsustainable property tax burden by controlling the growth of government to an affordable level.” An another point it references “our state’s crushing property tax burden.”

Yet is it such a crushing burden compared to other states?

Analysis by the Tax Foundation showed Washington State ranking 23rd (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 values. Washington State had a value of .82% for 2007, which came in 23rd when compared to the other states.

Some other higher state values for comparison are Texas 1.84%, Ohio 1.3%, Pennsylvania 1.39%, Illinois 1.53% and Michigan 1.38%.

Two comparable neighboring states were Oregon at .80% and Montana at .82%. California came in at .50%, below the national average which might explain some of their budget problems.

Another table compared state spending per capita. In 2007 Washington State spent $5780 per capita. This ranked us number 19 (1 is highest). Again not an alarming figure.

Another interesting figure was looking at income per capita. Washington State ranked 8th highest in income per capita at $48,574 in 2008. Income is obviously an indication of ability to pay taxes.

Ironically Washington State does not have an income tax even though an income tax is a fairer tax than a sales tax or property tax. If you have no income you pay no income tax. But property tax you have to pay whether you’re working or not. This is also the case with a sales tax when you buy goods. And the business B&O tax is on gross receipts not net.

It is easy to demagogue issues like taxes which no one likes to pay. But taxes pay for basic services like police and fire protection, public safety, transportation, parks, education, health care for children, libraries, colleges, environmental protection, and help for the disadvantaged and elderly.

People want these services while not wanting taxes. But just like it costs money to maintain your home so it doesn’t fall apart, taxes help to maintain our society. While taxes may be a burden, it’s questionable whether they are an overburden for most people in Washington State.

We certainly could use a fairer tax system. An income tax is one you pay only if you’re making money but people like Eyman have demagogued against that and politicians are afraid to make a change. Yet it is fairer than a sales tax which hits lower income people the hardest.

But I-1033 is not the answer to tax reform. It only makes things worst because it transfers money collected by sales taxes everyone pays to reduce taxes on property owners. This includes reducing taxes for large corporations like Boeing and Weyerhauser and shopping mall owners and real estate developers. The more property you have the more you’ll benefit. I-1033 is basically another Eyman wealth transfer scheme from the poor to the wealthy who own property.

Eyman is correct when he says “during these tough economic times, struggling families and fixed income senior citizens desperately need and deserve meaningful property tax relief” The key word is “meaningful.” I-1033 is not meaningful property tax relief for working families or fixed income senior citizens.

Meaningful property tax relief would be targeted to help those that need help most. I-1033 doesn’t do that. The most relief goes to the largest property owners and those with McMansions and second homes.

Real property tax relief would be a targeted homestead exemption, exempting the first $50,000 or $75,000 of the property tax evaluation on your principal residence from taxation. Many other states do that.

Also circuit breaker legislation would provide relief, by also helping renters. Eighteen states have circuit breaker legislation to help lower income homeowners. Some 35% of Washington households are not owner occupied according to the Census Bureau.

Initiative 1033 is not the answer. It is not meaningful property tax relief for those who need it most. Vote No on I-1033 in November.

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Posted in Economy, Elections, Initiatives

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Waldo Woods Saved After 3 Year Battle!

Posted on July 22nd, 2009 | 1 comment

The following is a Press Release just sent out by the Maple Leaf Community Council:

Maple Leaf Community Council welcomes MMSC Day School
Historic Waldo Hospital and significant urban tree grove to be preserved

MAPLE LEAF, SEATTLE – The Maple Leaf Community Council, an organization representing over 3,700 homes and businesses in north Seattle, publicly welcomes Menachem Mendel Seattle Cheder (MMSC) Day School to the Maple Leaf community. MMSC closed purchase yesterday on historic Waldo Hospital (formerly the Camp Fire offices), which they will remodel into a school serving over 80 children and young adults. School officials have indicated they will preserve and remodel historic Waldo Hospital, built in 1924 for the purpose of educating new doctors, and preserve the significant urban grove of trees on the site.

“We welcome MMSC into the Maple Leaf neighborhood,” commented Maple Leaf Community Council Executive Board President Marc Phillips. “We have already had preliminary conversations and are very excited they plan to preserve the historic building and urban tree grove.”

The announced purchase closes a three-year effort by the Maple Leaf Community Council to positively affect planned development at the site. Original plans for over 40 high-priced townhomes would have removed nearly 90% of the trees on the site and potentially exposed the community to toxic dust. Despite multiple offers of alternatives to both the previous owners and the developer, which included securing a $300,000 King County Conservation Futures Grant to protect the grove of trees on the site, the project ended up in court where King County Superior Court Judge Timothy Bradshaw agreed with the Maple Leaf community’s position that neither the developer nor the City correctly followed state environmental protection rules.

“It is hard for me to overstate my excitement that MMSC plans to preserve both the building and the trees,” stated David Miller, Chair of the Maple Leaf Community Council’s Waldo Working Group. “Returning Waldo Hospital to its historical use as an educational institution is an amazing outcome.”

“I’ve spoken with MMSC,” continued Miller, “and they’ve indicated a strong desire to work closely with the community on student pick-up & drop off routing, permitting, and the possible addition of a new building to the grounds. We’re all looking forward to working closely with MMSC, working together with them to hasten the permitting process so they can open their school on time.”

Hundreds of people from across Seattle donated time and money to the three-year effort to save Waldo Woods and Waldo Hospital. This effort led directly to new tree grove protection rules, the first meaningful update to Seattle’s tree ordinance in over a decade, and a higher understanding of the need for lead dust policies in the City.

The Maple Leaf Community Council would like to particularly acknowledge the efforts of attorneys David Mann, Kathy George, and Charlotte Cassady, arborist Tina Cohen, architect Susan Boyle, the staff in the archives at the Chicago headquarters of the American Osteopathic Association, and the staff at the AT Still National Osteopathic Museum for their assistance at various times over the past three years.

The above press release is taken from an e-mail sent out by the Maple Leaf Community Council

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Posted in Environment, Urban Forests

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Hutchison’s Republican Media Consultant

Posted on July 21st, 2009 | Comments Off on Hutchison’s Republican Media Consultant

Susan Hutchison, running for King County Executive, claims she is nonpartisan.

Hutchison’s media firm, however, is the opposite of nonpartisan . A Google on Dresner, Wickers & Associates is unambiguous. “Dresner, Wickers & Associates is the go–to political consulting firm for Republican candidates, ballot initiatives, and major trade organizations.”

Their campaign work according to their website includes “strategic communication, media production and placement, polling and focus groups, DWA is a full–service agency”

A look at their present and past clients confirms their Republican credentials. Highlighted as “current” clients are:

Presidential Candidate and former Governor Mike Huckabee, Arkansas
US Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota.

They claim as a current issues advocacy client the Building Industry Association of Washington.

Their international list of clients includes Vladmir Putin of Russia.

As past clients listed they include:

Attorney General Ken Eickenberry, Washington
US Senator Paula Hawkins of Florida
Governor Pete Wilson, California

Their past advocacy work also includes two Washington initiative campaigns, representing those opposed to medical malpractice suits and the BIAW.

In 2005 two measures were on the ballot regarding medical malpractice. DWA worked for “Doctors , Nurses and Patients for a Healthy Washington “running with the slogan “stop the greed, vote yes on 330, no on 336. ” As Komonews.com noted “Insurance agencies and doctors wrote the measure (I-330), claiming skyrocketing legal fees jury awards are killing the medical profession.” The other side of the medical malpractice issue was Initiative 336 pushed by the Trial Lawyers. In the end both measures lost at the ballot.

The second Washington measure they were involved in was working for “Workers Against Job Killing Rules” to pass Initiative 841 which tossed out the state’s ergonomic rules that protected workers from injuries. Over half of the $1.4 million dollars to pass I-841 came from the BIAW.

Again the reality belies the myth that Hutchison is nonpartisan. She has contributed money to both Huckabee and the BIAW for example. Yes its guilt by association. You know her by her friends. Just as Rob McKenna was supported by the BIAW and then hired BIAW employees for his staff , expect that the BIAW will have representation in the King County Executives Office if she is elected.

Hutchison knew she couldn’t win running as a Republican in King County. That’s why she supported and worked for the effort to make the King County Executives Office nonpartisan.

Without the Party label, its much easier to deceive voters as to your real politics. But don’t be taken in by her phony nonpartisan claims. She’s a Republican and conservative to boot.

 

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Posted in Elections, Republicans

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Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033 Grassroots Joke

Posted on July 20th, 2009 | 3 comments

We all love a good joke. Tim Eyman told one the other day on KING 5 News Up Front Blog. He was bragging about how much grassroots fundraising support Initiative 1033 had gotten.

Initiative 1033 is Eyman’s latest wealth transfer scheme. This one is to transfer state tax revenue, of which 57% comes from the state sales tax, to commercial and residential property owners in the form of reduced property taxes. The more property you own, the larger your tax break or loophole.

Anyway, twice on the Up Front blog comment thread Eyman couldn’t resist claiming I-1033 has “a very broad base of grassroots support.” He claims that he has “received 2063 individual donations totaling $664,769 so far. 2063 – that’s really extraordinary…”

What’s extraordinary is that how big a misrepresentation of the facts this is. The fact is that only 3 donors contributed some 86.5% of the money raised for I-1033.

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 Freeman who owns Bellevue Square Mall gave $25,000.

These top 3 donors in the campaign contributed 86.5% of the total cash raised. This hardly sounds like a grassroots campaign to me. Especially since they spent $598,081 to get the signatures. That’s an average of $1.89/signature.

I was also curious how Eyman’s number of individual donations doesn’t match up with what the Public Disclosure Commission has.

The PDC reports Eyman raised $664,769 through June. This is the figure he used in his comment. Yet the PDC website lists only some 897 contributions. A closer look revealed that some contributors gave 2 or 3 or 4 times, so the numbers of contributions is actually more than the number of contributors.

The PDC in addition lists without names or amounts some $20,345.56 Eyman reported as small contributions so I’m sure that this is where his 2063 “contributions” come from.

The funny part is that under named contributors he lists one person as giving 5 cents four different times. (That’s 4 contributions!) Another gave 7 cents 2 different times (That’s 2 more contributions!) and a third contributor gave 2 cents.

Manipulating numbers is so much fun. The number of contributions is obviously not the same as contributors and can easily be manipulated. And recording someone giving a nickel to I-1033 four times makes it easy to inflate the number of contributions made.

Have one person give me $25.00 in pennies one at a time and I’ll have more grassroots support than Eyman. What a joke!

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Posted in Economy, Elections, Initiatives, Washington State Legislature

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