The AP reports on yesterday's state Supreme Court hearing on property tax limit measure I-747, which had been overturned by a lower court:
Attorney General Rob McKenna asked the state Supreme Court Tuesday to uphold a voter-approved property tax limit, saying that overturning I-747 would hamper the people's right to initiative.Oh wait, sorry, I copied that wrong. Here's what the AP article actually says:Opponents of the 826,258 voters who approved I-747, however, told justices that those voters didn't know what they were doing when they voted to limit their taxes.
Opponents of initiative promoter Tim Eyman asked the state Supreme Court Tuesday to throw out a voter-approved property tax limit, saying voters were misled about the tax cut's size.Attorney General Rob McKenna's statement is here. Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at May 09, 2007 09:46 AM | Email ThisAn attorney for the state, however, told justices that granting the request would "seriously undermine" both the initiative process and the power of state legislators.
Jim
Posted by: Jim Clark on May 9, 2007 10:54 AMHear, hear! Couldn't agree more.
Posted by: Palouse on May 9, 2007 11:04 AMHELLO sanctimonious Patty Murray... are you listening??
That witch actually was quoted in the Seattle Times as saying that exact thing back in 1993 when she was flooded with calls and letters NOT to vote for Slick Willies largest tax increase in history. She used that insulting comment to excuse her lapping up the slop Clinton was selling. Iv'e despised her for her dishonesty since.
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on May 9, 2007 11:10 AMNow you are starting to sound like a dyed in the wool member of the 21st century Democrat Party.
Posted by: huckleberry on May 9, 2007 11:12 AMWhen THE PEOPLE approved I-722, they expected the cap to be 2%. They specifically wanted to reduce it from 6%. When they approved I-747, they did the same thing, they wanted taxes capped at 1%.
Only two counties voted against I-747. Whitman and King. KC provided a little over 38% of the statewide No vote.
Posted by: SouthernRoots on May 9, 2007 11:15 AMAt the hearing, Justice Richard Sanders stole the show. After Whitman County's lawyer said he was simply "protecting the voters," Sanders offered this devastating response: "You want to nullify the voters. You're protecting a government that wants to tax people more. Isn't that who you represent?"
It was an incredible moment.
Their lawyers said voters were confused by the initiative. But they didn't (and I'm sure they couldn't produce) a single affidavit from anyone who voted "yes" but would have voted "no" if only they'd known "the real truth". No, they simply said there was a potential for confusion, and that potential was enough to strike down the initiative.
In November of 2001, 826,258 voters voted "yes" (58%) and 609,266 voters voted "no" (42%) on Initiative 747, a 200,000 vote margin. That means that Whitman County's lawyers want everyone to believe that over 100,000 "yes" voters were actually "no" voters (everyone knows that's a crock) and so the initiative should be overturned.
Taxpayers have benefited from I-747 to the tune of $1.6 billion in savings so far. And governments have adapted to the 1% limit. I-747 is working. It's been working for six years. Voters don't want this reasonable restriction diluted or taken away.
The Piper
Posted by: Piper Scott on May 9, 2007 11:35 AMThrow the bumbs out.
Posted by: Army Medic/Vet on May 9, 2007 11:44 AM"I am so sick and tired of people trying to tell me I didn't understand what I voted for."
I don't blame you. So am I. You will notice that when people vote for liberal programs or Democrats they fully understand what they're voting for and the election was the cleanest on record. We have an perfect example of that right here with a vote count that "any bank would envy." Only when a Republican/conservative candidate or conservative program wins were the people stupid or duped or the election stolen (Gore/Kerry vs Bush is a good example too).
It's standard leftist playbook stuff. Happens all the time, world-wide. Leftists fight tooth and nail for the smallest gains using any/every method available to them. Truth or morality is a completely acceptable causality of the ends.
On yeah - fire the bums, too!
Posted by: Libertarian on May 9, 2007 11:53 AMDemocracy is a great idea. We should try it sometime.
The sooner this disaster collapses and collapses horribly the better things will be. Yes, it sounds harsh and mean and nasty but when the demcong have lost their entire connection with reality and own the courts, judges and men with guns what else is going to work?
Sad, sad state of affairss :-(.
Posted by: fox3 on May 9, 2007 12:12 PMWithout raising taxes, I-728 lets schools reduce class sizes, expand learning opportunities, increase teacher training, invest in early childhood education, and build classrooms for K-12 and higher education."
• "We can afford to invest in our schools and our future without raising taxes or taking money away from other programs. I-728 is funded by lottery proceeds, surplus state revenues and by returning a portion of state property taxes to local school districts."
• "I-728 is both necessary and fiscally sound. It invests surplus revenues in education without hurting the state budget."
• "I-728 does not raise taxes. I-728 maintains ample reserves and funding for other state services."
Well, we've had to raise taxes to fund these initiatives. So many lies...so many people must've been misled and therefore the initiative is unconstitutional.
As stated earlier...we can have a new governor's election since the people were misled and were too stupid to know what the Queen would do. The counter argument could be that she really didn't get the most votes so there's no election to overturn...the ramifications could make your head spin!
Let's redo I-912 since it was an "EMERGENCY" to pass it and we really need the money to fix the viaduct and 520....but now it's just more money in the breeze. Obviously the voters were confused by the anti I-912 (pro tax) people!
Let the Supremes uphold this and let the lawsuits flow!
Posted by: drw on May 9, 2007 12:15 PMI send him money on a regular basis because I know he's fighting for me as a taxpayer. Yes, I know he takes a salary off the top - but right now my taxes pay for a mountain of people on government payroll that work daily to find ways to further increase taxes. I would hope that others would too.
Posted by: johnny on May 9, 2007 01:45 PMNone of the money that supporters donate to this year's I-960 goes to compensate me, Jack, or Mike. We don't "take the salary off the top." 100% of the dollars that are donated go toward I-960's signature drive. After the drive is over (July 6th), we'll ask supporters to donate to a separate, stand-alone compensation fund for the three of us that will compensate us for our time and effort (not just for I-960 but for other pro-taxpayer efforts). Again, the campaign fund for I-960 is kept separate.
As far as I-747's court case is concerned, it's important to consider the consider the nightmare scenario. If the state supreme court overturns I-747, we're in for absolute chaos. For six years, local governments (counties, cities, ports, library districts, fire districts, cemetary districts, parks districts, etc.) have been held to a 1% levy each year. If I-747 is negated, local governments will suddenly have the unused taxing authority that they've accumulated over the past six years (5% per year -- 6% instead of 1%). That means that each local government will have the power to jack up property taxes 30% this fall without a vote of the people (I-747 required voter approval -- but if I-747 is overturned, voter approval will no longer be required). And they'll know that if they don't take advantage of the situation and unilaterally increase taxes using this unused taxing authority, the Legislature in 2008 will surely take that authority away. They'll have to "use it or lose it." Don't believe a local government would ever raise property taxes that much in a single year? In 2002, the Port of Seattle jacked up their property tax levy an astonishing 37% using unused taxing authority - they got heat for it but they never repealed it. Again, we're talking about pigs at the trough if I-747 is overturned. That is the nightmare scenario.
http://www.TheTaxpayerProtectionInitiative.com
My taxes alone went up $700 in just the last year in that county.
That is why I747 is so necessary and important, and that is why it was voted in by the people of this state.
I sincerely hope they are required to send us a refund when I747 is upheld.
I don't get an 11.4% raise this year of any year!
Island County shouldn't either!
Posted by: GS on May 9, 2007 03:31 PMAn electoral college for counties would obviously require a constitutional amendment. But I hear what you're sayin'.
Do they or are the elections that fixed here?
One has GOT to wonder (heh).
Posted by: fox3 on May 9, 2007 07:49 PMAnd the first guy I'd start with is al Quida's favorite Washington State Senator, Eric Ahmadinejad Oemig, D - Fallujah, who purported in his campaign literature and in the voters' pamphlet to be a bi-partisan centrist who would focus on education, transportation, health care, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah.
What did Sheikh Eric do, however, once he got to Olympia? Even before his first trip to the senatorial privy? Why, he introduced a frothing-at-the mouth memorial resolution calling for an investigation into grounds for impeachement of Dubya and Dick. And he's running all over Hell's half acre trumpeting how it's only to investigate, on the one hand, but impeachment is necessary, on the other.
Just how many sides of his mouth has this bird (Byrd???) got??? He seems to talk out of all of them at the same time.
I've confronted him on this publicly telling him how it both insults my sons (army staff sergeant and Marine lance corporal), and absolutely endangers all who serve. He argues his way out by claiming his "integrity" forced him to do it?
Oh, really??? Where in the blankety-blank-blank was his freakin' integrity when he was campaiging? And when he was canoodling with hard left, gay rights organizations and taking their money. See
http://www.crosscut.com/olympia/2826/ for details.
If any group of voters was tricked, hoodwinked, deceived, sucker-punched, prevaricated upon, lied to, ripped off, sold down the river, and screwed it's us poor schnooks in the 45th District.
But I'm reminded of the great marching song of the the people from Les Mis:
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes
Do these lyrics not stir all of you to action? It's time for us peasents - we among the great unwashed...we, the people - to grab our pitchforks, torches, tar and feathers...Who will join me at the rampart?
The Piper
Posted by: Piper Scott on May 10, 2007 09:08 AMThe time is coming and coming in a lot of places, but I suspect it will hit here first. The dims have become no better than the slave owners of yesteryear and arguably worse. They routinely sell anything the non-elite hold dear and the non-elite are getting tired of it.
Many(!) of my friends who were also lifelong democrats are getting disgusted with what goes on here, what does that tell one?
With the collusion of the press in these horrors there are still people who are not aware of what is really going on, but they are increasingly turning to outlets where they get real facts, God bless the blogsphere.
I long for the (comparatively) clean and honest politics of Chicago, never thought I would say something like that.
Sad, SAD state of affairs...
Posted by: Fox3 on May 11, 2007 09:13 AM