Washington Liberals

Washington State has one of the most regressive tax systems in the nation.  Due to the lack of an income tax, due to tax exemptions for large corporations, due to the reliance on the sales tax, and due to decades of tax cuts for the well-to-do, the wealthiest 1% of Washingtonians pay an average of…

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…

The brightest moment in the Jan 3rd meeting with Senator Fraser, Representative Hunt and Representative Reykdal came when Chris Reykdal took the opportunity to talk about the impasse that exists with generating revenue for the State. Reykdal had campaigned for election to the legislature on tax fairness and he appears to be willing to make…

The Economics Opportunity Institute has produced this itemized list of how the state can generate $2 billion dollars in revenue.

Senator Fraser, Representative Hunt and Representative Reykdal all spoke on January 3rd about the “big achievement” of the recent Special Session that was able to cut 480 million dollars to reduce the budget deficit, about 25% of the amount that it is assumed will need to be cut. There was some sense of dread about…

“Despite the inevitable conservative complaints that President Obama is engaged in some kind of massive overreach by recess appointing Richard Cordray as the nation’s chief consumer financial protection watchdog, the truth is that Obama has used his recess appointment power very sparingly. …” See article.

If there’s a single lesson to be drawn from the events of 2011, it’s this: Democracy is based on acting and doing, not sitting and watching. The actions of a sole protestor in Algeria, magnified by thousands of others, toppled dictators in Algeria, Egypt and Libya. People did not just watch — they marched, they…

In 2012, the Environmental Priorities Coalition will be working with you to protect the things that are most important to Washington’s families – our kids’ health, rebuilding our economy, and maintaining our clean air and clean water. Every year, your voice helps to protect Washington’s environment. I hope to see many of you this Saturday…

I attended a meeting with the Thurston County legislators on Jan 3rd. The three legislators are not firebrands, but as a group, representing a community, they (Reykdal, Hunt, Fraser) are probably about as liberal a group as any one community could send to Olympia to develop Washington State public policy. But there is the problem:…

It’s the only type of trickle down that I’m familiar with.