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Apology Requested for Erroneous Statements Made about Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Friends,

As a lifelong member of the Democratic Party in Washington State and a Peace Activist for more than 40 years, I am deeply offended by the false statements made by our State Party Chair Dwight Pelz against one of America’s leading progressive Democrats, Congressmen Dennis Kucinich. I have therefore written the following letter to our State Party chair Dwight Pelz requesting that he end his campaign of character assassination and issue a public apology to Congressman Kucinich.

We do not know whether Congressman Kucinich will run in Washington State. But what is certain is that Dwight’s lack of respect for Congressman Kucinich is having a chilling effect on many progressive members of the Democratic Party – at a time when party unity is needed if we are to re-elect President Obama, re-elect Senator Cantwell and elect Congressman Inslee to the Governor’s Office.

Article I, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants Dennis Kucinich the right to run for Congress in any State he chooses. It also grants the voters the right to choose whoever they wish to represent them in Congress. If there is one thing the Democratic Party should stand for, it is protecting the Civil Rights and the Constitutional Rights of All Americans.

If you agree with me that our nation needs to choose Peace and Prosperity over War and Austerity and that is important to keep Dennis Kucinich in Congress, please go to our website washingtoncitizensforkucinich.org and sign our petition. Hundreds of Washington State Democrats have already signed our petition. We hope you will join us.

If you agree with me that Dwight’s conduct is inappropriate and harmful to the unity of the Democratic Party, I urge you to email Dwight and let him know that you think he should reconsider his actions and the effect they are having on our Party.

Sincerely,
David Spring, M.Ed.,
Board Member of the Washington State Progressive Caucus,
5th LD Representative to the King County Democratic Party Central Committee,
PCO for Twin Peaks Precinct, North Bend and Member, Washington Citizens for Kucinich
springforschools@aol.com

April 17, 2012
 
To: Dwight Pelz,
Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party
PO Box 4027 Seattle WA 98194 (206) 583-0664
chair@wa-democrats.org

From: David Spring, M.Ed.,
Board Member of the Washington State Democratic Party Progressive Caucus,
5th LD Representative to the King County Democratic Party Central Committee,
PCO for Twin Peaks Precinct, North Bend and Member, Washington Citizens for Kucinich
springforschools@aol.com

RE: Apology Requested for Erroneous Statements Made about Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Dear Dwight,
I am writing to express my concern about three statements you have made in the press which appear to be a campaign of character assassination against one of America’s leading progressive Democrats, Congressman Dennis Kucinich. These statements are not only offensive to Congressman Kucinich; they are deeply offensive to many in the Progressive Caucus of the Democratic Party.

As you know, Congressman Kucinich is the former Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He is also a national leader of the Peace Movement, a national leader of the Workers Rights Movement and a national leader of the fight to protect Social Security and Medicare. These are all important components of the Democratic Party. Just in Washington State, there are nearly 200,000 union members, most of whom deeply appreciate the fact that Dennis has opposed the outsourcing of union jobs to sweat shops in China. There are at least 100,000 seniors who appreciate the work Congressman Kucinich has done in protecting Social Security and Medicare. And polls show that over 60% of all Democrats oppose endless trillion dollar foreign wars. We Peace Activists deeply respect the work Congressman Kucinich has done to promote and advance the cause of Peace in our nation.

Now is not the time to divide the Democratic Party by offending the hundreds of thousands of union members, senior citizens, peace activists and Progressive Democrats in our State who admire Congressman Kucinich. In making your offensive statements, you are dividing and harming the Democratic Party at a time when we need party unity to re-elect President Obama, re-elect Senator Cantwell and elect Congressman Inslee to the Governor’s office. None of these things will be possible without the grassroots support of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

Below are the three statements I believe were inappropriate and harmful to the unity of the Democratic Party. I am hoping you will review these statements, reconsider your position on these issues, end your attacks on Congressman Kucinich and issue a formal public apology to Congressman Kucinich and to the Progressive Caucus of the Democratic Party. .

1.      Your Statement that Congressman Kucinich was “rejected by the voters of Cleveland” is False and Misleading

Yesterday, April 16, 2012, you were quoted in several national newspapers as saying that Congressman Kucinich had been “rejected by the voters of Cleveland.” In fact, as the following Table from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Website shows, Congressman Kucinich got 73% of the vote in Cleveland. Almost three out of four Democratic voters in Cleveland voted to return Dennis Kucinich to Congress.
Unfortunately, thanks to Republican Party gerrymandering, Congressman Kucinich was forced to run in a Congressional District where the deck was stacked heavily against him. Instead of condemning Congressman Kucinich, you should be condemning the undemocratic gerrymandering of the Ohio State Republican Party.

KucinichResults.JPG

Your inaccurate statement was picked up and published in newspapers and other media sources all over the nation and has caused severe harm to Congressman Kucinich’s reputation. It is not appropriate for the Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party to be making false and derogatory statements about one of our nation’s leading Democrats. I therefore request that you immediately issue a public statement correcting the record and apologizing to Congressman Kucinich for the damage you have inflicted on his reputation.

2.      Your Accusation that Congressman Kucinich is a “narcissist” is False
 
On Sunday, April 15, 2012, in an interview by the Seattle Times, you accused Congressman Kucinich of being a “narcissist”. This is an extremely derogatory term which is only applicable to a person who is so mentally ill that they are unable to think of or act for the benefit of others. Congressman Kucinich has been a public servant for more than 30 years. He saved the public power system in Cleveland – despite threats against his life!  He stood up against unfair trade agreements that led to the outsourcing of millions of American jobs. He stood up for our civil rights in opposing the Patriot Act. He stood up to the Wall Street trillion dollar bailout and he opposed the $4 trillion dollar endless global war that has killed more than one million people. Congressman Kucinich has devoted his life to helping the poor and the elderly and the middle class. He is the exact opposite of a self-centered person. You owe Congressman Kucinich a public apology for this baseless name calling and reckless character assassination of one of the leaders of the Democratic Party Progressive Caucus.

. 3. Your Accusation that Congressman Kucinich is a “Carpet Bagger” is False
Several times in the past year, you have also been quoted in the media as claiming that Congressman Kucinich is a “carpet bagger.” This term is a very derogatory term which comes from one of the darkest periods in US history – right after the Civil War – when dishonest Yankee Republican politicians from the North would take a train to the South, run for office in a rigged election motivated solely by a desire to exploit the Southern States. These corrupt politicians when they were traveling often used a very cheap form of luggage called a Carpet Bag. Carpet Baggers enriched themselves through bribes, graft, theft, kickbacks and other despicable acts. This outrage led to bitterness and hatred in the south for the next 100 years. The term Carpet Bagger should not be used lightly – and it certainly does not apply to Congressman Kucinich.

HarpersWeeklyCartoon.jpg

 
You have claimed that the voters of Washington State would reject Dennis as an “outsider.” But it is a fact that one in three voters in our State is actually from another State. The voters are much more likely to care about where a candidate stands on the issues than what State the candidate came from. The fact that Jay Inslee had been defeated in Eastern Washington did not prevent him from moving to Western Washington and winning a seat in Congress.

In 2000, Hillary Clinton became the first former First Lady in history to run for the Senate. She moved from Arkansas to New York and won in a landslide. She too was subjected to character assassination and inappropriately accused of being a carpet bagger.

HillaryCarpetBaggerPoster.jpg


Despite being falsely accused of being a carpet bagger, Hillary Clinton was warmly embraced by the people of New York because they agreed with her position on the issues. The fact that she had moved from Arkansas to run for the Senate in New York was completely irrelevant to the voters of New York.In our own State, Cheryl Huff recently won an election in King County by a landslide after moving here from another county literally at the very last possible moment. No one cared where she was from – only that she was the best candidate for the job. Senator Slade Gordon also moved here from another State to run for office as did State Representative Roger Goodman. Darcy Burner is also from another State. We even have a candidate running for Congress this year who is from Nepal. The Democratic Party has and should continue to welcome any Democratic candidate who is legally qualified to run for office. There is simply no evidence that the voters care about where a candidate is from. All they want is someone they agree with on the issues.Dennis Kucinich is not corrupt and he is not interested in enriching himself. Instead, he is motivated by his deep desire to end war and spend the money creating jobs here in America. We do not know whether Dennis Kucinich is going to run in Washington State or not. But Article I, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants Dennis Kucinich the right to run for Congress in any State he chooses. It also grants the voters the right to choose whoever they wish to represent them in Congress. Calling Congressman Kucinich a carpet bagger is not only dishonest; it is a violation of his civil right to run for office where ever he wants and a violation of the civil rights of voters to choose their own representative. If there is one thing the Democratic Party should stand for, it is protecting the Civil Rights and the Constitutional Rights of All Americans!  I therefore request that you apologize to Congressman Kucinich for attacking his character and violating his civil and constitutional rights.

Conclusion
Dennis Kucinich is an inspirational speaker and progressive leader who has 16 years of experience and seniority in Congress. He is the ranking Democrat on the House Labor and Education Committee and also the ranking Democrat on the House Government Oversight Committee. But most important, he is the national leader of the Peace Movement at a time in our nation’s history when our nation is faced with the clear choice between Peace and Prosperity or War and Austerity. If Dennis Kucinich were to come to Washington State, it would help the Democratic Party by rallying thousands of progressive Democrats, union members, seniors and peace activists to turn out and vote. This would help us elect Jay Inslee, Maria Cantwell and Barack Obama.

Our party is supposed to be the party of the Big Tent. We value diversity and respect differences. We honor and protect the civil rights and freedom of all Americans. We believe in the democratic process. When a party leader attacks a respected member of the Democratic Party with lies and baseless accusations, it harms the entire Democratic Party. I therefore respectfully request for the good of party unity in this important election year that you reconsider your past statements, end your attacks on Dennis Kucinich and issue a public apology to Congressman Kucinich and to the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

Sincerely,
David Spring, M.Ed.,
Board Member of the Washington State Democratic Party Progressive Caucus,
5th LD Representative to the King County Democratic Party Central Committee,
PCO for Twin Peaks Precinct, North Bend and Member, Washington Citizens for Kucinich
springforschools@aol.com
Washingtoncitizensforkucinich.org

How money bought State Senate seats in the 2010 election

There were only a few competitive State Senate races in 2010. The Republicans won all of the close races with the exception of the 44th LD and 26th LD, where conservative Dems won by outspending their Republican opponents more than two to one. The following campaign spending figures are from the Public Disclosure Commission. (The figures do not include Koch brother spending in the 2010 WA elections, which has been estimated to have been over $300K against Oemig, Gordon and Kauffman. Much of the spending was on last-minute attack ads.  Interesting how the Koch brothers do not target corporate Democrats.)

Two Progressive Dems Senate races (Dems lost both)

In the 45th LD, $290,000 Eric Oemig (progressive D) versus Hill (R) $411,000. Republican won.

In the 41st LD, Randy Gordon (progressive D) 260 Versus Litzow 400. Republican won.

Total 2 progressive Dems: $550,000 average = $275,000 each

Total 2 opponents of progressive Dems $811,000 = $405,000 each

R’s outspent progressive Dems $130,000 per race.

 

By comparison, four conservative Democratic Senator races (Dems won three and lost only one)

In the 6th LD, Chris Marr got 557 versus Baumgartner 450K Republicans won

In the 26th LD Derek Kilmer got 366 versus his opponent only getting 35

In the 44th Steve Hobbs 366 versus an R opponent at $188

In the 43rd Ed Murray $180K versus no opponent at all

Total 4 conservative Dems: $1.5 million average = $367,000 each

Total 4 conservative Dems opponents: $673,000 average = $168,000 each

Conservative Dems outspent R’s by $200,000 per race.

 

Middle of the road Dem Incumbent Senate Race: (Dems lost)

In the 47th, Kauffman 400K versus Fain $380 – Republicans won.

 

Total of all 7 Senate races described above: Dems lost four and won three.

But keep in mind that all seven races had Democratic Incumbents.

Pre-2010 election: 2 progressive Dems, 1 middle of the road dem, 4 corporate Dems. 0 Republicans

After 2010 election: 0 progressive Dems, 0 middle of the road dems, 3 corporate Dems, 4 Republicans!

 

Funding was PLUS $200,000 for conservative Dems per race to MINUS $130,000 for progressive Dems per race… for a total difference of $330,000 per race!!!

It is amazing what $330,000 per race will get you.

Progressive Dems lost in the 41st and 45th by just a handful of votes. On a votes per dollar spent basis, both Eric and Randy did far better than their Republican opponents and far better than any corporate Democrats running in competitive races. Had the funds been more fairly or evenly distributed, for example by moving $100 K each from Murray and Kilmer to Gordon and Oemig, we rank and file Democrats would not have been at the mercy of the “centrist” Road Kill Caucus in 2011 and we would not be in danger of losing the majority in the Senate in the 2012 General Election.

Report on Washington Investment Trust hearings in Olympia

On January 25 and January 26, 2012 there were hearings in Olympia on SB 6310 and on HB 2434, the bills to establish the Washington Investment Trust (WIT), a publicly owned state bank. This report includes a refutation of the testimony of the State Treasurer, Jim McIntire, who is funded by the big banks and is now opposing the Investment Trust.

Both hearings are available on TVW on the Internet:

Hearing SB6310 http://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2012011204

Hearing 2434 http://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2012011233

The hearing rooms were full of Washington Investment Trust supporters and many people testified. The many different reasons people gave in support of the Washington Investment Trust reflected a high level of understanding about the concept of publicly-owned state banks. It was an inspiring display of citizen activism. The ONLY testimony against the WIT on both days came from the state treasurer, Jim McIntire. He stated, “Safety, liquidity, and return.  This bill violates these principles.”

 However, not one word of McIntire’s claims have any relationship to the truth. The truth is that an Investment Trust would be much safer than the risky manner that McIntire currently invests State funds. Second, liquidity of State funds would greatly INCREASE if we have an Investment Trust. Third, an Investment Trust would offer a dramatically higher rate of return than we are now getting from McIntire’s policy of handing over all of our State taxpayer’s money over to Wall Street bankers.

First, let’s look at SAFETY:

McIntire claims that the investments made by the Washington Investment Trust to local school districts and other public agencies for infrastructure projects like building schools would not be safe. However, over the last 100 years, not a single infrastructure loan in the state of Washington has defaulted. So, it stands to reason that since the Washington Investment Trust will  primarily loan funds to infrastructure projects of counties, cities, school boards, etc, the loans will be repaid as there hasn’t been a single default over the last 100 years. The Public Bank of North Dakota has also been in business for nearly 100 years and they have been rated as the SAFEST BANK IN THE ENTIRE NATION. Claiming that an Investment Trust would be risky is dishonest and inexcusable.

 

Now let’s look at how McIntire currently invests State Funds.

A copy of the Retirement System Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) can be found at: http://www.drs.wa.gov/administration/annual-report/cafr/. This report shows that the Retirement System has a net balance of $52 billion. The current asset allocation is

35% gambling in the overseas stock market

25% gambling in the US stock market

14% in the real estate market

11% in the corporate bond market and

Less than 5% in US Treasury bills (the safest form of investments).

 

Our State paid $12 million in commissions just on stock trades in 2010. Clearly our public funds are not currently being put to work creating jobs in Washington State. Instead, for the most part, they are invested creating sweat shops overseas. Even worse, as recently as the stock market crash of 2008, our State funds lost hundreds of millions of dollars from gambling in the US and overseas stock markets. It is absurd for McIntire to claim that our public funds are safer invested creating jobs in the overseas stock market than invested creating jobs in school districts and cities here in Washington State.

 

Second, let’s look at LIQUIDITY.
McIntire claims that the state does not have sufficient cash flow to both pay the state’s bills and to invest money in the Investment Trust. Darel Grothaus, who has had many years of experience in banking and was on the Washington Investment Trust task force, refuted McIntire’s testimony. Grothaus stated that the Treasurer has enough liquidity to support the creation of the Investment Trust based upon information given to the task force by the Office of the State Treasurer (OST). To explain, OST has two investment portfolios. One is the liquid portfolio and the other is the core portfolio. The core portfolio, over the last ten years, has never gone below 1.2 billion dollars.  In fact, the average time money is tied up in the core portfolio is about 4 years. According to Grothaus, just a portion of money from the core portfolio would be enough to capitalize the Washington Investment Trust. So the Treasurer’s liquidity argument is false. See the chart in attached PDF and on the HOME page of our website: wapublicbankproject.org

 

How about RETURN ON INVESTMENT?

McIntire claims that he is getting a high rate of return on State funds with all of his gambling in the overseas stock market. However, a simple direct comparison of the rate of return of Washington State funds to the Bank of North Dakota confirms that the public Bank of North Dakota has consistently gotten a higher rate of return – as much as double the rate of return as the funds under McIntire’s control.

 

Chart on the rate of return from http://www.stateinnovation.org/Initiatives/State-Banks-Materials/CSI-Washington-State-Bank-Analysis-020411.aspx

Chart also posted on attached PDF and on the HOME page of our website:

Wapublicbankproject.org

 

Moreover, we are losing billions of dollars due to our current state borrowing system which affects our bottom line rate of return. Under the current system, the State Treasurer goes to Wall Street Banks to buy bonds at 4%-5%. At 5% interest over 20 years the taxpayer ends up paying $1 billion in interest for every $1 billion the treasurer borrowed for infrastructure projects. Currently Washington taxpayers are paying $1.5 billion in interest payments every year to big Wall Street banks.  The State of North Dakota does not pay any interest at all to the big banks as the Bank of North Dakota has helped the State of North Dakota to become entirely self-sufficient. Thanks to the revenue generated by the Bank of North Dakota, the State of North Dakota has almost no debt. So there is no question that the State tax payers would make more and save more by investing in our local economy than by putting ourselves at the mercy of Wall Street banks.

 

McIntire makes two other false claims. He claims that our State can already do everything that an Investment Trust could do. This is not true. Our State currently has no access to near zero interest funds from the Federal Reserve – we would if we had an Investment Trust. Nor can our State currently leverage assets in order to offer school districts and other public agencies low interest loans. We and every school district in our State are at the mercy of whatever Wall Street wants to charge us.

Finally, McIntire repeats the false claim that the only reason North Dakota is doing so well is that they have oil revenue. McIntire conveniently ignores the fact that 7 other States have more oil revenue than North Dakota – yet all of them suffered a severe collapse of their local economies because they did not have a publicly owned bank to keep the economy going after the big banks left their States small businesses in the dust. It is also a fact that in the past 10 years, the Bank of North Dakota has returned MORE revenue to the State of North Dakota than the oil industry.

Why is McIntire coming out against an Investment Trust, even though the Investment Trust would save local tax payers billions of dollars and create tens of thousands of local jobs?

The answer is that his re-election campaign in being paid for by the very bankers and wealthy corporations that benefit from keeping our State in debt to big Wall Street bankers. See the table in attached PDF). Of McIntire’s campaign chest of $39.5 thousand for 2012, $24,050 comes from institutions or individuals connected to the financial industry. This is just the beginning of buying the Treasurer’s Office. In the 2008 election, McIntire raised and spent nearly $300,000 – far more than any other candidate for State Treasurer – to buy his way into office. We need a State Treasurer that works for the people, not for the big banks.

Do not fall for the false claims of Jim McIntire. An investment trust would be safer and offer a better return on investment than the current system controlled by Jim McIntire and the big banks.

ACTION ITEMS FOR ACTIVISTS: Please go to www.leg.wa.gov  and urge your State legislators to support creating an investment trust in Washington State!

Thanks for supporting the Washington Investment Trust!

You friends and fellow citizens at the Washington Public Bank Coalition.

To learn more, visit our website: www.wapublicbankproject.org

Justice delayed is justice denied, for one million children

Our Supreme Court refuses to enforce our State Constitution…

and turns their backs on one million children

David Spring M. Ed. Director, Fair School Funding Coalition springforschools@aol.com

On Thursday January 5, 2012, the Washington State Supreme Court issued an opinion in the NEWS Education Funding Lawsuit, essentially upholding the Trial Court decision that the State legislature has failed to meet its Constitutional “Paramount Duty” to amply fund our public schools. Education Funding advocates predictably hailed the Court’s ruling as a major victory. In fact, however, the ruling was a severe defeat for our State’s one million school children.

The problem is that while the lower court severely criticized the Education Reform Act (HB 2261), specifically noting that it was unacceptable for the legislature to delay school funding for 6 more years to 2018 and demanding that the legislature comply with the Constitution as soon as possible, the Supreme Court seemed fine with HB 2261 which allows the Legislature to kick the can down the road for six more years and allows the legislature to knowingly break the law by failing to comply with our State Constitution for another 6 years. The Supreme Court claimed it would be too difficult for the legislature to comply with the law in a single year. In fact, if the legislature wanted to, they could solve the problem in a single day.

On a personal note, my daughter is a 6th Grader. She will have graduated by the time the Supreme Court demands that the legislature comply with our Constitution. But there is a worse danger than the legislature not complying until 2018. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Thirty years ago, the Supreme Court also stated in a virtually identical ruling that the legislature failed to adequately fund public schools. Since then, the legislature has conducted more than one dozen studies – none of which came up with any actual funding for our public schools. They all kicked the can down the road. Like all the earlier “reform” bills, HB 2261 again kicked the can down the road by appointing yet another commission to study the problem. It is therefore likely that the legislature will not comply with HB 2261 in 2018. Instead, they will do what they have done countless times in the past- they will appoint another committee to study the problem and kick the can further down the road..

Naturally, there will be another lawsuit. Then the Court will again agree that the legislature is failing to comply with the Constitution. Then the Court will give the legislature yet another 10 years to comply with the Constitution. This is not leadership – this is fraud. It is actively participating in an illegal theft.

Imagine treating a bank robber this nicely. After all, the legislature is stealing billions from our children to give billions in tax breaks to wealthy corporations like Microsoft – who rewards their corporate legislators by paying for their re-election campaigns. Anyway, imagine a bank robber stealing more than one billion dollars per year from our State’s one million school children – robbing our children of their future – and forcing them to endure the largest class sizes and lowest school funding in the nation.

Now imagine our Supreme Court agreeing that this robbery is against the law. But then only asking the legislature to stop robbing from our children 6 years from now. This is a great deal for the bank robbers. They get to continue stealing from our children for 6 more years!!! The real question is how much longer the voters will put up with this open law breaking.

In response, the Governor said she wants to protect corporate tax breaks by raising sales taxes on the poor and middle class by a billion dollars. State Representative Ross Hunter, a former Microsoft Manager, wants to protect corporate tax breaks by raising property taxes on middle class homeowners by a billion dollars. Keep in mind that our State already has the most unfair tax structure in America. Our middle class pay State taxes at a rate which is 20% above the national average – while our children attend schools funded at a rate which is 20% to even 30% below the national average. Both of these regressive tax proposals would make our unfair tax structure even more unfair, And by robbing the middle class – also suck one billion dollars out of local communities – costing thousands of local jobs.

The problem is NOT that our middle class is paying too little in taxes. The problem is that the very wealthy in our State are not paying hardly any taxes – less than one third of the national average. Ditto with wealthy corporations like Microsoft. Check this out. Last year, Microsoft had record sales of $73 billion – on which they made a record profit of $23 billion. Had they paid a one and one half percent Washington State Business and Occupation tax, like any other respectable business, they would have paid one billion in State taxes. This would not have harmed Microsoft because they could have deducted their State taxes from their federal taxes.

But instead, since 1999, our legislature has effectively exempted Microsoft from paying State taxes by going along with a charade whereby Microsoft evades paying taxes by claiming that they are really located in Nevada – a State with no Business and Occupation tax.

As a consequence of this corporate welfare, our State loses one billion per year in revenue (nearly all of the entire budget shortfall) which forces schools to fire about 10,000 teachers and forces class sizes to be way higher than the national average.

Even worse, nearly all of this billion dollars per year in windfall corporate welfare goes to only three people – all of whom are billionaires and who are already evading paying State taxes by living in a State without an income tax on high earners. Our legislature is literally sacrificing the futures of one million school children just so three billionaires can buy bigger boats.

Our Supreme Court may be okay with continuing this charade for 6 more years. But I am not.  I have a better idea. Instead of increasing the tax burden on families already close to bankruptcy, we should demand that the legislature roll back all corporate tax breaks passed since 1996. This was the last year school funding in our State was above the national average. This simple act would generate several billion dollars per year. And allow us to restore school funding and class sizes back to the national average – which is where school funding was in our State when the massive corporate crime wave took over Olympia.

I urge you to email your legislators. Let them know that you are opposed to any tax increases on the poor or the middle class. We are already paying far more than our fair share!!! Let them know that it is time for wealthy corporations and billionaires to start paying their fair share of State taxes. Let them know that it is time to stop making excuses and stop hiding behind Tim Eyman. Our State Constitution gives the legislature the power and the duty to repeal corporate tax breaks by a simple majority vote.

And if the legislature fails to roll back the massive corporate welfare this year – then it will be up to the voters themselves to throw the bums out. That too can be done by a simple majority vote. For more information on the real problems with school funding and our State Budget, please visit my website: realwashingtonstatebudget.info.  

Response to Dwight Pelz Redistricting Statement

The Redistricting Commission has just posted their Redistricting Plan for Washington State’s 10 Congressional Districts. Dwight Pelz has also just issued a statement commending the Commission and claiming that this plan is a great deal for the Democratic Party. I have reviewed the maps and I disagree completely with Dwight Pelz.

In fact, the new Congressional District Map is the worst kind of gerrymandering in that it was drawn up NOT to preserve communities of interest, but solely to protect the INCUMBENTS in both political parties. It follows other gerrymandered maps in States like Ohio and Texas. In several ways, it is a disaster for the Democratic Party and a disaster for the people of Washington State.

Washington State Congressional District Boundaries agreed to in December 2012

Go to   http://wa-demchairs.org/2011/redistrictingproposals.php to see the map.

First, the boundary for the 8th Congressional District (shown in red above) breaks the Cascade Curtain – making it impossible for either political party to organize and combining populations with completely different and often opposing interests. The Democratic Party and the citizens of our State should have insisted that the break in the curtain occur along the Columbia River valley where it currently exists. There is an important reason that communities of interest organize along water ways. The citizens who live along the Snoqualmie and Cedar Rivers have little in common with the citizens who live in the Wenatchee and Columbia River basins.

Second, the 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts are drawn in a crazy north to south alignment running from the Canadian border to Interstate 90 in King County – and thereby dividing and splitting up hundreds of communities of interest – including my home town of North Bend. These two Congressional Districts should have been divided up along an East West alignment which respected county lines, river basins and communities of interest. Instead, this insane plan has a single Congressional District cutting north –south across several counties and a half dozen major river basins. East King County in particular has been carved up like a turkey into 4 different Congressional Districts!!! The manner in which this map was drawn up confirms that the leaders of both political parties do not give a damn about the people of Washington State. All they care about is preserving the political power of the status quo.

Third, it expands the 7th Congressional District north to include Shoreline – thus making a heavily Democratic District even more democratic. This concentration of Democratic voters essential disenfranchises hundreds of thousands of Democrats who deserve two Democratic Congressional Districts and not one.

Fourth, by moving Olympia from the 3rd to the new 10th Congressional Districts, both parties turned swing districts into non-swing districts. The fact that the new 10th District will be a Democratic District is a steep price to pay when one considers the bigger statewide picture. The Republican Party is now assured four safe seats in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th Congressional Districts. The Democratic Party only has 4 safe seats in the 6th, 7th, 9th and 10th Congressional Districts. The two remaining districts, the 1st and 2nd will now become swing districts. This means that even though nearly 60% of the voters in our State historically vote for the Democratic Party, the Republican Party could have a 6 to 4 majority in our State’s Congressional delegation after the next election.

The people of the State of Washington and the grassroots members of the Democratic Party would have been far better served by simply NOT caving in to this terrible plan. This would have put the plan in the hands of our Supreme Court, who then would have likely done what they did 10 years ago in handing the job over to a non-partisan professor at the University of Washington. This professor would have certainly preserved the Cascade Curtain and created 10 Congressional Districts which would have give 3 Congressional Districts to the Republican Party (the 3rd, 4th and 5th) and given 4 Congressional Districts to the Democratic Party (the 6th, 7th 9th and 1st) and created three swing districts (the 2nd, 8th and 10th). This in turn would have increased the chances that our communities of interest and county lines (current political boundaries) would be preserved. It would have also greatly increased the chances of the Democratic Party having a 6 to 4 majority – or at least a 5 to 5 split in our State’s Congressional delegation.
As it is, we the people of the State of Washington will have to live with this horrific gerrymandered Congressional Plan for the next 10 years. Hopefully, when the issue comes up for review in 2021, there will be better leaders in the Democratic Party who will insist on a better, more representative plan for the people of the State of Washington.
Regards, David Spring
KCDCC 5th LD

Washington State Democrats Respond to Redistricting Proposal

In response to the redistricting proposal that the Commissioners Tim Ceis and Slade Gordon revealed on Wednesday morning, Dwight Pelz, Chair of the Washington State Democrats, issued the following statement:

“We are inspired that this new proposal presents opportunities for Democrats to expand the number of dedicated representatives who will fight for the interests of Washington’s middle class in Congress. The Washington State Democratic Party will work harder than ever before to capitalize on these opportunities, and build a grassroots network of activists and volunteers who will propel our candidates to victory in 2012. We thank the commissioners for their hard work and dedication in ensuring that Washingtonians receive fair and equitable representation in Congress.”

Please see below for commentary on specific districts:

1st Congressional District

“Washington’s newly drawn 1st District is ugly but lovable. Stretching from King County to Canada, the First will be a Democratic leaning district.

“We are fortunate that the 1st District has already drawn a slate of exciting, high profile Democratic candidates who will sharpen their skills, message and campaign organizations in advance of the general election. There is talk that the Republicans will trot out John Koster once again, but voters in the new 1st District are sure to reject his extreme, Tea Party policies in 2012.
10th Congressional District
“The newly drawn 10th District provides Democrats our best opportunity to send a true middle class champion to Congress. We are already on our way with Denny Heck, who will stand up and fight for families, fairness and economic opportunity.”

3rd Congressional District
“A redrawn district will not help Congresswoman Herrera Beutler hide from her record of serving as a rubber stamp for Speaker John Boehner’s partisan gamesmanship and Tea Party politics. Democrats will fight to ensure that Washington’s 3rd District is represented by a true champion of Washington’s middle class, not a politician who has abandoned her promise of creating jobs in favor of advancing an extreme, out-of-touch agenda.” 12/28/11abandoned her promise of creating jobs in favor of advancing an extreme, out-of-touch agenda.”  12/28/11

Resolution to cut corporate tax breaks instead of cutting school funding or increasing sales taxes

Whereas the State Revenue shortfall for the current biennium is now about $2 billion and may rise to over $3 billion by June 2012 and

Whereas Governor Gregoire has proposed increasing the sales tax which would increase taxes on our poor and middle class by $500 million per year and

Whereas our State already has among the highest sales tax rate and the most unfair tax structure in the nation due to the regressive nature of the sales tax and

Whereas high sales tax rates also make it harder for local small businesses to compete with larger out of State businesses and

Whereas the voters have repeatedly rejected an increase in the sales tax by an average margin of 60% to 40% and

Whereas Governor Gregoire has also proposed $2 billion in cuts to our public schools, colleges, universities and other essential State Services and

Whereas firing thousands of teachers would harm the future of one million school children and

Whereas our State is already 47th in the nation in school funding as a percent of income and our children suffer from the third-most overcrowded classrooms in the United States; and

Whereas the “paramount duty” of the legislature according to our State Constitution is to provide adequate funding for our public schools; and

Whereas the legislature has already cut more than $2 billion in Education Funding in the past two years – while not a single penny has been cut in tax breaks for wealthy corporations; and

Whereas State tax exemptions for wealthy corporations cost our State billions of dollars every year; and

Whereas according to the 2008 Tax Exemption Report from the Washington State Department of Revenue, the cost of tax exemptions has risen from about $22 billion per year in 2000 to about $50 billion per year today and

Whereas the majority of these tax exemptions benefit the most wealthy citizens in our State and

Whereas continuing to give billions of dollars in tax exemptions to wealthy corporations while failing to adequately fund our public schools is contrary to our State Constitution, therefore be it

Resolved that we request our Washington State Legislative Representatives and Senators to sponsor legislation to protect schools from destructive budget cuts and protect working families from unfair tax increases by rolling back all corporate tax exemptions enacted since 1996.

Respectfully submitted by

David Spring M. Ed.,
springforschools@aol.com
5th LD Representative to the King County Democratic Party Central Committee

For more information visit Realwashingtonstatebudget.info.

Time to Close Corporate Tax Loopholes to Save Jobs

Last week our Governor released her “Budget Roadmap” for cutting another $2 to $4 billion from the State Budget. http://www.ofm.wa.gov/reductions/alternatives/all_budget_alternatives.pdf

But Hoover proved long ago that we can not cut our way to prosperity. Each billion in cuts equates to the loss of 10,000 public and private sector jobs. Firing public workers in the middle of a recession is how Hoover caused the Great Depression. Do we really want to make the same mistake twice?

The following table describes some of the 160 programs being cut, along with the number of jobs lost.


The total possible budget cuts listed in the Governor’s Proposal is $4.2 billion. Ironically, it is possible that ALL of these cuts will be required during the next couple of years unless something is done to roll back tax breaks for wealthy corporations. This is because even $2 billion in cuts is based on the assumption that State revenue will only drop from $32 billion to $30 billion. But as I have shown in previous articles, State revenue is likely to remain between $28 to $29 billion – meaning even more cuts are coming in the next few months.

 

As a reminder, all of these billions of dollars in new cuts are on top of $4.6 billion in cuts in the last legislative session which ended just a few months ago – and on top of $10 billion in cuts during the past 3 years. Another $2 to $4 billion in cuts will bring the total cuts to between $12 billion to $14 billion and the total jobs lost to between 120,000 to 140,000.

The Other Option: Closing Tax Loopholes for Wealthy Corporations

According to reports from the Washington State Department of Revenue, tax breaks for wealthy corporations have skyrocketed from $20 billion per year in 2000 to $50 billion per year in 2010.

Tax breaks for major corporations in our State have skyrocketed 250% during the past 10 years: Over 90% of these tax exemptions benefit the richest one percent, with much of this wealth being shipped out of State and even out of the country, creating jobs overseas instead of here in Washington State. None of these billions in tax breaks resulted in any jobs in our State. Instead corporations used these windfall profits to outsource jobs out of Washington State.

 

These billions in tax breaks for the super rich have shifted the tax burden from the rich to the middle class – giving the State of Washington the most unfair tax structure in America. In shifting the tax burden to our middle class, and causing the firing of thousands of public servants, these massive tax exemptions for billionaires do not create jobs. Instead, they cost jobs.

 

Wealthy Corporations can afford to pay State taxes!

Some have claimed that wealthy corporations are struggling right now and can not afford to pay taxes. This is simply not true. First, because State business taxes are deductible from federal business taxes, it would not harm wealthy corporations to pay their fair share of State taxes.

Second, wealthy corporations are not struggling right now.

 

Let’s use Washington State’s most wealthy corporation as an example of their ability to pay their fair share of State taxes. This past year, Microsoft recorded a record profit of $20 billion dollars on record sales of $60 billion dollars. Had they paid a normal 1.5% Gross Receipts Business Tax like any other business in our State, they would have paid about $1 billion in State taxes. This entire amount could have been deducted from their federal taxes – meaning they still would have recorded nearly $20 billion in profits – the greatest profit in the history of our planet.

 

Microsoft is not alone in experiencing record profits. The following chart confirms that corporate profits are near an all time high. http://www.chartoftheday.com/20110916.htm?A

Since its First Quarter 2009 low, S&P 500 earnings have surged (up over 1000%) and currently come in at a level that is greater than what occurred at the peak of the dot-com bubble and very near what occurred at the peak of the credit bubble.

Given that these wealthy corporations are making record profits by getting billions in tax payer bailouts and shipping our jobs overseas, isn’t it time that they at least start paying their fair share of State and federal taxes?

“Enough is enough. We’ve already slashed more than $2 billion in funding from Washington’s public schools in the last few years. Washington’s students need a quality education more than big businesses need tax breaks.”

Washington Education Association President Mary Lindquist

 

Firing Thousands of Workers only Worsens our Economic Crisis

Public Sector Workers, like teachers and health care providers, who lose their jobs not only lose their homes, their health care, their life savings and their sense of dignity, they also lose the ability to shop at local small businesses – which in turn only leads to further job losses.

 

This leads to a downward economic death spiral in which everyone loses. Home foreclosures are already at a record high in our State. The value of the average home has already fallen by over $100,000 – wiping out the life savings of nearly all middle class families.

Do we really want to make things much worse just so a few billionaires can buy bigger boats?

 

Tax Breaks for Wealthy Corporations are not merely economically unwise, they are Unconstitutional

Article 9, Section 1 of our State Constitution requires the State legislature to provide ample funding for our public schools. It is therefore illegal to cut billions of dollars in funding for our schools simply to give these same funds away in billions in tax breaks for wealthy corporations.  For more information on the illegality of corporate tax breaks, visit the section on Record Corporate Welfare in the Main Menu.

Some have claimed that the legislature can not close tax loopholes due to the Eyman Initiatives. But this is nonsense. Our Constitution states that the legislature can repeal tax breaks with a simple majority vote. This process can only be changed with a Constitutional Amendment – not by merely passing an Initiative. For more on this, see my article Eyman versus our State Constitution: http://realwashingtonstatebudget.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=77
It is time to end the phony excuses and close tax loopholes for wealthy corporations instead of cutting billions in funding for schools and health care. Our State’s one million school children are already suffering under the burden of the lowest school funding and the highest class sizes in the nation. Instead of firing thousands of teachers and nurses, we should be hiring them by the thousands. Putting teachers and nurses back to work would allow them to save their homes, stabilizing home prices for everyone. Putting everyone back to work would also help restore spending – saving thousands of local small business. Restoring spending in turn is the ONLY way to increase State revenue.

Every month we continue with Hoover Economics, we will continue to receive more bad news. Until the insane corporate welfare is stopped, we will not have an economic recovery. Feel free to email me back with your questions and comments.

Regards, David Spring M. Ed.

Springforschools@aol.com

Originally published here.

 

Washington State Revenue Declines by another $1.4 billion, while tax breaks for the rich soar

The Washington State Revenue Council just released their revised revenue forecast admitting for the first time that State revenue will only be $30.3 billion – a $1.4 billion decline from their prior forecast in June of $31.7 billion. 

But here’s the REAL Washington State Budget…Billions of Tax Payer Dollars are diverted every year to Out of Control corporate tax breaks for some of the richest corporations in the history of our planet! Over two hundreds million dollars a year is given away in corporate welfare to Boeing – and another one billion a year is given away in tax breaks to Microsoft!

As a consequence of these massive tax breaks, school funding in Washington State is now at its lowest level, as a percent of income, in the past 30 years… and near the lowest in the entire nation!

Despite diverting more than $2 billion dollars away from our public schools in the past two year, the budget shortfall for this coming year is going to be billions of dollars more than has been reported to the media… Learn why our State is heading for a financial meltdown… and what you can do to stop it!

What the corporate media failed to point out is that tax breaks for wealthy corporations have skyrocketed from $20 billion per year in 2000 to $50 billion per year in 2010.

10 Year of Out of Control Corporate Tax Breaks

State Revenue compared to Tax Exemptions (to nearest Billion)
Washington State OFM, 10 Year Financial Trends, Schedule 5: Near General Fund. Annual Tax Breaks extrapolated from DOR Tax Exemption Reports. See also http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/Oversight/histongf.pdf  

Corporate tax breaks soar

Tax breaks for major corporations in our state have skyrocketed 250% during the past 10 years (from $22 billion per year in 2000 to $50 billion by 2010): Over 90% of these tax exemptions benefit the richest one percent, with much of this wealth being shipped out of State and even out of the country, creating jobs overseas instead of here in Washington State.

In shifting the tax burden to our middle class, and causing the firing of thousands of public servants, these massive tax exemptions for billionaires do not create jobs. Instead, they cost jobs. None of these billions in tax breaks resulted in any jobs. Instead corporations used these windfall profits to outsource jobs out of Washington State.

Example: Microsoft

This past year, Microsoft recorded a record profit of $20 billion dollars on record sales of $60 billion dollars. Had they paid a normal 1.5% Gross Receipts Business Tax like any other business in our State, they would have paid about $1 billion in State taxes. This entire amount could have been deducted from their federal taxes – meaning they still would have recorded nearly $20 billion in profits – the greatest profit in the history of our planet.

However, because Microsoft millionaires dominate Olympia, Microsoft was not required to pay their fair share of State taxes. According to Representative Orcutt, Microsoft should not be required to pay taxes because they are “struggling to put people back to work.”

In fact, of Microsoft’s 60,000 employees, less than 1,000 are actually from the State of Washington. So we are giving them $1 million in tax breaks for every person they hire from our State. If this is not insanity, I do not know what is.

Microsoft is not alone in experiencing record profits. With second-quarter earnings largely in the books (99% of S&P 500 companies have reported for Q2 2011), today’s chart provides some long-term perspective to the current earnings environment by focusing on 12-month, as reported S&P 500 earnings. http://www.chartoftheday.com/20110916.htm?A

Since its Q1 2009 low, S&P 500 earnings have surged (up over 1000%) and currently come in at a level that is greater than what occurred at the peak of the dot-com bubble and very near what occurred at the peak of the credit bubble. It is interesting to note that the original run up in real earnings from Great Depression lows to credit bubble highs took over 78 years. The current spike has taken 26 months.

For more information, see Washington State Revenue Declines by another $1.4 billion and visit  Real Washington State Budget Info (http://realwashingtonstatebudget.info/)

Why 90,000 Democrats in New York City Failed to Vote

Republicans are hailing their special election victory in the heavily Democratic 9th Congressional District in New York as a sign that the voters have rejected the policies of Barack Obama. But the actual vote totals tell a much different story:

As of 11 a.m. today, with 459 of 512 precincts counted, The Associated Press reported that Turner had 32,446 votes to Weprin’s 27,699, for a 54-46 percent winning advantage.

Keep in mind that the average Congressional District in the US has over 600,000 residents. Typically about half or 300,000 vote in competitive Congressional races. Even in 2010, which was a very low turn out year for Democrats, 67,000 turned out to vote for Anthony Wiener in the 9th CD with 43,000 voting for Republican Bob Turner for a total of 110,000 voters.

2010 election results
2010 election results

The 2004 election was a truer measure of the actual number of Democratic voters in the 9th Congressional District being more than 110,000:

2004 election results
2004 election results

In 2004, the total vote was nearly 160,000. So a total of only 60,000 votes in the 2011 Special Election means that as many as 100,000 voters simply did not vote in the 2011 Special Election. Even more important, this 100,000 included 90,000 Democrats and independents, and even 10,000 Republicans who failed to vote! The real message here is that the majority of voters are so disgusted with BOTH political parties, that they are expressing their disgust by not voting at all.

This is also what caused the landslide defeat of Democrats in the 2010 election. In nearly every case, Republicans did NOT get more votes than they got in 2008. Rather Democrats got far fewer votes in 2010 than in 2008 – as Democratic voters were so disgusted that they simply stayed home.

The cause of this disgust, or disillusionment with the leaders of the Democratic Party, was that Barack Obama ran as a Progressive FDR Democrat in 2008, but has served as a pro-corporate Hoover Republican ever since. So the real message is that if Democrats want to win future elections they must honor the promises Obama made in 2008 and stop caving to the demands of Wall Street Bankers and Corporate Lobbyists. The public has rejected the policies of Barack Obama – but the policies they rejected are his claims to be a populist in his speeches, while turning our country over to the very Wall Street crooks who destroyed our economy in the first place.

The public wants jobs, not budget cuts. The public wants accountability and an end to political corruption, not more loopholes and corporate welfare for the super rich. The way to win elections is to change the direction of the Democratic Party – not by turning it into another version of the Republican Party – but by returning to Progressive Democratic Party values which will create jobs and restore our economy. The way to get Democratic voters to vote again is for the leaders of the Democratic Party to start acting like Democrats again – and give Democratic voters something worth voting for – not by repeating the failed trickle down economic policies of the Republican Party. For more information on ways Democrats can create jobs and rebuild our economy from the bottom up, visit our website: coalitiontocreatejobsnow.org