Oct. 29, 2001

Dear fellow citizens,

When the November revenue forecast for the state is issued next month, we'll
likely see that our state government is somewhere between $500 million and
$1 billion in the red.  The governor would have you believe that the reason
for our shortfall and for our state's dragging economy is the Sept. 11th
terrorist attack.  Not only is he wrong, but he's using our nation's tragedy
as an excuse to hide his own political failure.  It's the most blatantly
offensive act yet of his tenure in office, and he should be ashamed for
hiding behind this tragedy.

The worst is yet to come, however.  With our state's tax-and-spend Democrats
controlling the governor's mansion and the state Senate, and with a 49-49
split in the House (at least until the Nov. 6th elections, when control of
the House could shift either way) we're likely to hear loud calls for tax
increases of various sorts.  We've already heard from one Senate Democrat
about the "need" to raise the sales tax so the state can continue reaping
the benefits of our hard work.

Here's an idea: instead of worrying about the state first and the people
second, let's reverse that.  Last time I looked, it was the government's job
to serve us, and not the other way around.

Instead of raising taxes to keep the state's coffers full, now is the time
to follow in President Bush's footsteps and enact immediate tax relief to
jumpstart our state's economy.  Furthermore, we need immediate regulatory
relief so that businesses as large as Boeing and as small as our local day
care centers aren't "red-taped" to the point of bankruptcy.  Let's not
forget that Washington is already one of the highest-taxed states in the
nation and is considered by analysts to be one of the most expensive states
in the nation in which to do business.  Between excessive taxes and
incredible over-regulation, its no surprise that our economy is going south,
following our jobs to Oregon, California, and other states.

Rather than raise sales taxes, which would only keep people from spending
their money (what our economy really needs), we should cut the state sales
tax, cut the state property tax, and/or cut the state B&O tax (or other
business-taxes that make it so hard for businesses to succeed in
Washington).

The benefit of this action would be two-fold.  First, it would spur economic
growth and create new jobs and opportunity here in Washington.  Instead of
reading in the papers about the latest round of layoffs and rising
unemployment, we'd be reading about new jobs, falling unemployment and
greater consumer confidence.  Second, our state would take in more revenue
than it is today because, even with lower taxes, the increased level of
business activity would generate Gary Locke's "precious tax dollars" to fund
his bloated, intrusive state agencies and the throngs of Locke-bureaucrats
who spend their days looking for ways to protect government at the expense
of the taxpayer and property owner.

But passing tax cuts now, while our state inches toward recession, will take
more than a little courage.  It is, however, the only way to boost
Washington's economy in the short term while also laying the foundation for
long-term growth and prosperity.

There's a reason that the president's economic stimulus package doesn't
include tax hikes, but instead is centered around another much-needed
federal tax cut: YOU CAN'T TAX AND SPEND YOUR WAY TO PROSPERITY.

There's a whole other argument to be made for cutting state spending, but
I'll save that for another e-mail in the future.  In the meantime, call your
state legislators and tell them it's time to cut taxes.  It's time our
government learned to start working for us -- so we wouldn't have to work so
hard just to pay our runaway state government's gigantic bills.

Know who your legislators are? Give 'em a call, toll-free, at (800) 562-6000
and tell them it's time Washington citizens, families and businesses got a
tax cut.

The only thing raising taxes now will do is guarantee that Washington sees
as little relief as possible from the Bush economic stimulus package.  Tax
hikes are a sure-fire recipe for full-blown recession, plain and simple.

Sincerely,

--A concerned citizen

P.S. The same Democrats who are now, or soon will be, calling for tax hikes
are the same Democrats who wrote, passed and signed into law the state's
"unsustainable" budget which is the REAL reason our budget is in such
disarray (we would have been facing a serious budget crisis now even without
the terrorist attacks).  They are the same Democrats who also tried to raid
the pension fund of our police officers and fire fighters last year (and
cheers to Republican co-Speaker Clyde Ballard for stopping those larcenous
Democrats in their tracks!!!).  They are the same Democrats who will stop at
nothing to protect the government at all cost -- no matter how many jobs the
state loses in the process.  And they are the same Democrats who are
shamelessly hiding behind the terrorist attacks to mask their own colossal
failure with the state budget.

...... As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The price of liberty is eternal
vigilance."  Call the governor and call your legislators and let them know
you're watching.  God bless America.

Letter posted to the WGEN Board at http://www.voy.com/19385/

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only. [Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml]