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Tea Party

Started 3 years ago by CallMeAl
Latest reply from Ken

CallMeAl
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It's Tax Day! Let's throw a tea party tonight at Alki Beach. Bring teabags.

Posted 3 years ago #
trensuela
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I second the call for some teabaggery at Alki. I for one am tired of my tax dollars going towards those corporate welfare queens.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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have a great time... but don't count on the tea party to do much for keeping tax dollars from the corporate welfare queens... this is mostly a conservative republican movement you know...

they only object to entitlements for people ;-0

Posted 3 years ago #
Julie
Member Profile

For a different perspective, see my post:

http://westseattleblog.com/blog/forum/topic.php?id=4579

I guess all these people with their "tea parties" don't use any of the amenities that taxes pay for? How do you get to your tea parties--build your own roads?

You'll never get a better bargain than the one you get when you pay your taxes. It's the price of civilisation. Personally, I'd like to buy more of it!

Perhaps we should turn the Boston Tea Party cry on its head: No Representation without Taxation!

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

we had dinner at Duke's last night and walked down Alki beach after.

my observation is that if there was a tea party there last night... CallMeAl is very young and fit :)

Posted 3 years ago #
AdamOnAlki
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LAME!

Posted 3 years ago #
CallMeAl
Member Profile

Very astute JoB! Did you see me?

Posted 3 years ago #
vincent
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I really can't tell if the self named teabaggers are serious or really that dumb all around. The sexual connotations of the name aside, and the fact its just a big Astroturf campaign for simple minds to grab onto. whats the point again? That the current president is somehow responsible for the deficit? hows that again? oh wait, its that people should not pay taxes because they don't like what deregulation did to the economy... wait, what?

or no I get it now, its about how this is all just like the boston tea party, where Americans protested english taxation without representation. Against a bailout of American banks.

NO WAIT I figured it out, its about buying millions of teabags and throwing them around, to protest wasteful spending.... OH MAN I GIVE UP.

Posted 3 years ago #
Ken
Member Profile

Compare the actual history of the Boston Tea Party and the real effect of the Tea Act of 1773 to the vapid heroic myth we were all taught in elementary or middle school. A tax reduction was given to the East India Tea company, effectively the first multinational corporation, which threatened to put out of business several Boston tea importers (as well as an unknown number of smugglers and gray market tax dodging private enterprises)and was actually designed to enhance the market for the crown chartered companies product in the colonies.

http://www.boston-tea-party.org/tea-act.html

So, in a way the current protest is similar. They are representing a tax decrease (on the poor and the middle class) as a tax increase for the purposes of political rhetoric.

The wingnuts understand so little history they are trying to also use Tom Paine as a role model when Paine opposed every single concept, ideology and nationalistic fantasy spouted by Beck, Limbaugh and congressional republicans just as he bitterly opposed (and was opposed by)conservative founder John Adams. However even John Adams said: "Without the pen of Paine, the sword of Washington would have been wielded in vain."

Tom Paine is the author of many incendiary and radical quotes a few of which can be twisted to fit the the tea baggers agenda, but he is most famous as the father of the minimum wage, adamant opposition to any mixing of church and state and as author of political documents that are credited with starting the discussions of turning the ideas of the enlightenment era into revolution both in the US and France.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine

In case any were wondering, I found the entire tea bagging episode hilarious and was most amused to see that nearly all of the protesters seemed to have been boycotting spellcheckers when they made their signs. The abuse of history is not new but has been proven effective by the religious wrong so it is not surprising to see the propagandist of the anti tax crowd wield it with abandon.

The most amusing photo of the day was of a "don't tread on me " flag being waved from the passenger seat of a new Porsche.

A few actual Paine quote for your edification and amusement:

"When it shall be said in any country in the world, 'my poor are happy, neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars; the aged are not in want; the taxes are not oppressive; the rational world is my friend, because I am the friend of its happiness'; when these things can be said, then may that country boast its constitution and its Government."
-- Thomas Paine
------------

"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.

"All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.

"I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe otherwise. They have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. But it is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving: it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe."

--Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason

---

Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.
-- Thomas Paine

Read the works of Paine online:

http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/Paine/Default.htm

Posted 3 years ago #
vincent
Member Profile

STOP TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF IT KEN your ruining the general effect for me.

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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At least Paine didn't condemn people with alternative thoughts.

All I know is that a lot of people who have never protested before, did.

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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HMC Rich...where were all these protesters last year? Why weren't they protesting the economic disaster then? Oh? Because the prez was one of them? This couldn't possibly be partisan, could it? Why, I just believe it might be. The question that arises in my mind is (and some really big "ifs") IF John McCain had won...and IF John McCain was implementing the same things, would there have even been a thought of a "tea party"...call me cynical, but somehow I doubt it.

Posted 3 years ago #
Julie
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Americans' Tax Burden Near Historic Low:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/15/AR2009041503371.html?wprss=rss_nation

Posted 3 years ago #
vincent
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We should abolish Canada, gravity and chicken fried steak while we are at it. Also I want a pony.

Posted 3 years ago #
Bayou
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Tempest in a Tea Party

I thought this summed it up perfectly. "Americans buy one million teabags to protest wasteful spending. Are you protesting wasteful spending or irony?"

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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I drink tea a lot. I'm trying to imagine the good that the money spent on a million tea bags could do...yeah, a well thought out plan. What a waste of time, space, money.

Posted 3 years ago #
KBear
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Buying all those teabags should help the Chinese and Indian economies, at least.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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if they really bought all those tea bags they wasted.. it should have had a small stimulus effect on the economy... and they get a huge bravo for that...

but the artificial demand will probably raise tea prices for those of us who actually drink the stuff;(

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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JanS. I am not certain but I bet they were watching the Primary's. They were looking for change. Gas was around $4.00 and people were complaining. Or maybe we were giving more money to Sound Transit or voting for some viaduct options.

Just like on November 4th of last year I saw proud, caring Americans and also unhappy Americans. I saw concerned citizens who like you mostly pay their taxes.

Lo and Behold, a year later, the Progressive agenda and big government hits high gear. Boom, like a cannon shot. It was bad enough under the Republicans and Bush but the Democrats are passing bills that they don't even read before voting. They feel that this money that you and I earn is actually theirs.

Lately, some people are in shell shock at how much money has been spent or earmarked for spending by the government in less than 100 days into the current administration with a mighty hangover from the previous administration. You know what, people who don't usually go out and protest are nicely letting the government know that they better get their act together or those politicians in 2 years and 4 years will be in the private sector (unless they get a job at Fannie Mae!).

Sooooo people are exercising their right to speak out, or is that only allowed by the progressives? Is that only allowed by the protests of Reagan and nukes? Is that only allowed for the Million Man march? Is that only allowed by the WTO activists who thought it was mostly just a way to look cool? Nope, it is available for everyone and across the country small and large groups met. This was a working class movement, this was middle America which most of you are part of telling our elected officials to take notice. Not many rabble rousers that I saw. Is it just me or was there not the usual amount of arrests. HMMMMM.

A lot of the signs were aimed at the current administration but many were not. Many took the government, Federal and State to task and both parties to task. Many did not allow politicians to talk. As you and others have said Bush and the Republicans spent too much. You got that right. Obama and crew are spending more. Stimulus and Omnibus and Budget are going to cost Trillions, not millions or billions. Let alone the problem of Medicare and Social Security looming on the horizon.

People are feeling left out of the process and powerless, and partly responsible for electing some of these bums. Pelosi can say it is astroturf but it was more of a grass roots movement. Some are trying to make political hay out of it, but many are just citizens saying Hey Olympia, or Sacramento, or Madison or Washington... We are here too and we don't say a lot usually but you had better listen to us once in awhile. Get your act together.
Is it so much to ask for accountability by the government?

People are concerned and exercising their inalienable right to speak out.

More importantly, how much government do you want? How much debt are you willing to put at the feet or our youngsters and possibly their youngsters. Government needs our money to do anything. They should be accountable to us at all times, not just when election time comes around. We as citizens need to pay taxes and just want them to be fair and as low as possible.

The tax code has about 60,000 pages, WTF? It has fluctuated from 1%-7% in the beginning to 90% for the wealthy during WWII and now it is in the 20%'s to 39% range currently. Add on local and state taxes and the government gets almost 1/3 to almost 1/2 of what we make.

BTW, Washington State is the 8th most taxed state in the union. But, we may lose the rest of Boeing. That means more unemployment. Other businesses will or already have followed. Why? because of unfriendly and oppressive tax policies.

JanS, You are a business owner. B & O tax good or bad? You tell me. If the government is more efficient and lets me keep some more of what I earn, then maybe I could spend it on your business. Some will fire back that many businesses don't pay taxes. They may be correct so tell our elected officials to throw out the tax code and make certain everyone pays their fair share.

Rossi kept saying that the state was going to feel a crunch, even before the recession hit. Gregoire was saying everything was fine. Now an 8.5 Billion dollar shortfall is upon our state. Excuse me but this state and the Governor have been mostly controlled by the Democratic Party lately, but many Republicans are just as guilty. She and they increased government and now can't pay for it. Tuition at colleges are sky rocketing. SR 99 viaduct could have been paid for if just replaced, but NOOOOOO they want a tunnel that will cost twice as much roughly. Monorail project takes hundreds to thousands of dollars from us and doesn't get built. 911 services have to be passed by a vote for a levy instead of being a budgeted item. King County wants to lay off Sheriff department personnel? Space Age porta-potties in downtown get sold on Ebay for pennies? The SLUT was built, but did I get a say in it? The Port has lost Millions of dollars and still they take more.

I ask again. How much government do you want? Whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Moderate, Conservative, Liberal these people are accountable to us and if they are called to the carpet for their actions by the electorate once in a while, I say good for us.

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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As far as tea goes. Iced Chai Tea Latte or English Breakfast in Glasgow Scotland. Yum

Posted 3 years ago #
Julie
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HMC: absolutely they have a right to protest, just as those of us who think their message confused and erroneous have a right to criticize their ideas.

I also point out it's not as if none of us has had any say in the spending of the taxes we pay: citizens on all sides of all these issues have contacted their legislators and even testified before committees.

I don't agree with all their choices, as you do not--although I suspect we disagree in rather opposite ways!

For one thing, I think if we all paid more taxes, not less, we could more cheaply buy more of what makes our society happier and more civilised. I think what I buy with the taxes I pay (even considering the spending with which I disagree) are the very best bargain I make, and I sure wish I could buy more of it!

I think we should institute a tax-day celebration that involves thanking our fellow taxpayers for all the wonderful benefits of our collective spending that surround us.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

HMCRich...

one of the articles linked above has a statistic you ought to pay attention to.. it said that it was project that 42% (if memory serves.. which is iffy this morning) of taxpayers paid no tax at all this year...

playing the tax card isn't likely to upset too many of them... so if only 10% of those who paid taxes are democrats.. it's time for the republicans to find a new hook if they want to stay politically viable...

complaining about those tax and spend democrats and their entitlement programs when states are cutting the budgets of all programs that assist the poor, disabled and medically needy .. not to mention education... while the US govt spends obscene sums on big business just doesn't have a solid ring to it.

perhaps it's time to step back, take a deep breath, look around and adjust the rhetoric to fit the reality.

President Obama and the newly democratic congress didn't dig this hole... President Bush and a largely republican congress did.

We can only hope that the guys left holding the bag spend enough to stimulate this economy so that it starts producing taxes again and can begin to bail itself out.

Even if that money goes to the blankety blank horses behinds whose unparalleled greed produced it in the first place...

republicans and their economic benefactors ;(

Posted 3 years ago #
Lucile 2
Member Profile

HMC Rich:

Thank you. I just don't have the energy to type as much as you do, so thank you.

Sure, there are anti-Obama signs, there are fair tax signs, but the are people from ALL classes and races, Repubs and Democrats, and those who are genuinely upset about lack of government accountability for spending. Some calling for term limits.
I was born and raised Libertarian/Republican, but I side with the Democrats and I am so socially liberal that my mother in law thinks I am the devil (but, come on, I think that might just be a rite of passage).
I have no political party affiliation, because I don't really think either party has it together. But I think the common thread here is that if we can protest the war, we can protest abortion, we can protest bailouts...then we can protest a government who we believe is unaccountable, and it doesn't matter who is in charge. This is not a Bush or Obama thing. It is citizens simply asking for accountability from their elected officials. We hired them based on how they said they would manage the "company" and they should be allowed to get a performance review by the hiring committee, and if necessary, fired.

Honestly, protests aren't my thing. And I had to work anyhow. If the government can't get it together and provide the level of care they claim to for my adult brothers with disabilities with then taxes I pay, then I have to work extra to do so.

Posted 3 years ago #
CallMeAl
Member Profile

KBear,

Are you implying that only the Chinese or Indian communities teabag? True, the Chinese have teabagged for many a century, but what about Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan? Sometimes I add milk after my teabag.

Posted 3 years ago #
KBear
Member Profile

Al,

China and India produce half the world's tea. I'm sure they don't care if we drink it or dump it, as long as we keep buying it. The original protesters, of course, didn't pay for the tea they dumped into the harbor. And the current protest has absolutely nothing to do with the situation that caused the original protest, except that taxes are involved. But tax protesters are adept at oversimplifying any issue and blaming any problem on high taxes. And the ones that howl the loudest are usually the ones who would be hurt the most if taxes were cut.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

kbear...

i still don't get why people who make so little that they don't even pay taxes are worried about "overtaxing" those with incomes...

the only way those taxes will ever effect them is if they win the lottery..

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
Member Profile

To make a protest about teabagging is like a blow to the chin of our government. If the people don't teabag, who will?

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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so tea-bagging.. when we are fighting a war to save our economy is good...

but protesting the war we were sold a bill of goods on in Iraq was unpatriotic?

hmmmm???????

Posted 3 years ago #
KBear
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JoB,

That was my point.

Posted 3 years ago #
Ken
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You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
-- Inigo Montoya

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea-bagging

Posted 3 years ago #
alki_2008
Member Profile

Uhm...doesn't everyone (regardless of income) pay sales tax and other 'non-income' taxes?

I think there are plenty of folks not thrilled with the proposed (or is it law already?) increase to our local sales tax...which, as a regressive tax, hurts the 'poor' more than other income groups.

Property tax is another one. I'm sure there will be some folks out there arguing that 'if people can afford to own a home, then they shouldn't complain about paying property taxes'...but from another perspective, increased property taxes might lead to increased rental rates for non-homeowners and can also be a burden for folks on fixed incomes.

It's not just "income" tax that gets people riled up...so it would be nice to discuss more than just how 'rich people shouldn't complain about paying taxes on their high incomes'. Maybe it's just me...but that mantra is starting to get really old.

EDIT: This isn't for or against the tea bag protest stuff. I don't really care about all that...however, I do like "no sales tax" sales. ;)

Posted 3 years ago #
CallMeAl
Member Profile

I don't think anyone was implying that teabagging is unpatriotic.

Oh, good Heavens! Thank you Ken for enlightening me on the slang usage.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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We say "té embolsado" in my country. This is very patriotic to us!

Posted 3 years ago #
alki_2008
Member Profile

OKay, now that I've read all the posts on Page 1...

letting the government know that they better get their act together or those politicians in 2 years and 4 years will be in the private sector (unless they get a job at Fannie Mae!).
Maybe Rahm can go back to making almost $400k in two years at Freddie Mac...as a board member that required maybe a week of meetings over two years.

has a statistic you ought to pay attention to.. it said that it was project that 42% (if memory serves.. which is iffy this morning) of taxpayers paid no tax at all this year
Actually, it said that 43% of filers would not OWE taxes for 2008, and in the next paragraph added that many of them probably still PAID federal taxes due to payroll taxes. I suspect that the percentage of filers that didn't work and didn't owe taxes is much smaller than 43%.

President Obama and the newly democratic congress didn't dig this hole... President Bush and a largely republican congress did.
What is the rule for how long this type of argument is valid? Are we going to be using this same excuse in 2 years, 4 years, 6 years?
Can't we concentrate our energies on how to fix the problem, instead of dwelling on how it started? Personally, I'm not sure that spending trillions of dollars is going to make everything rosey, and I don't see how the government's going to pay for all the proposed spending while still maintaining it's pledge not to raise taxes for folks making less than $250k.

Green tea is my favorite...with honey and a hint of lemon.

Posted 3 years ago #
villagegreen
Member Profile

The funny thing to me about bitching about paying taxes is that the only way I'm able to save any money each year is by paying taxes. Then at the end of the year I get a pretty good refund. I know people will say that if I only invested that money instead of giving it to the government to hang on to for the year, I'd make even more.

But the fact is, most people are too uninformed or lazy to figure out how to invest their money - that's why they have other people do it for them. It's quite obvious that the 'let me keep my money and I'll decide how best to use it' argument just doesn't hold water. Most people won't invest their money, but will simply spend it on stupid stuff, like Starbucks and the lottery. I for one thank god I have taxes taken out of my paycheck!

I know this argument doesn't speak to the money that I actually do pay the governement, but I'm happy to pay that money as well (and I'm definitely not rich - I live paycheck to paycheck). I'm not sure about specifics, but I'm pretty sure Americans pay a much lower portion of their income in taxes than most countries.

These tea-baggers are most likely the same people who are buying up firearms in droves because they believe Obama is somehow going to outlaw guns. A certain portion of Americans still manage to shock me with their ignorance in so many ways.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

alki_2008

ok.. i am all for short political memories... but this one really gets a prize for short.

the reason to remember who dug the hole and how they went about digging it is to keep our elected officials from digging another that is deeper.

I am not among the barely over half of this nation who voted those clowns in and then turned a blind eye to their malfeasance...

nor was i one of those who bought the idea that even though George W Bush hadn't kept any of his campaign promises in his first term we should elect him for another just to see if he would.

nor am i among those who think we should just sweep all that mess.. economic fraud, torture, unauthorized wiretapping of US citizens and much more under the rug and return to politics as normal.. the republicans trying to undercut any fulfillment of the promises made in this election.

Sorry.. that is what got us where we are right now... and as a game plan for recovery... it won't produce anything other than more of the same.

Posted 3 years ago #
alki_2008
Member Profile

Yeah - learn from the mistakes made in the past. That's great. I don't think anyone's saying we should continue what was done before, so I'm not clear why the comment "and as a game plan for recovery... it won't produce anything other than more of the same" was made.

If Democrats can learn from the mistakes made in the past (regardless of who made the mistakes), then so can Republicans...or at least, let's hope so. The fact of the matter is that there will always be a mix of Dems and Reps in government, and both sides should be accountable for what happens (good or bad). Together, they form "our government" - and together they allowed our country to reach its current state. The blame game doesn't do anyone any good.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
Member Profile

Maybe with the focus on teabagging we can begin to heal as a nation and join together to make right these things?

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

alki_2008

"The fact of the matter is that there will always be a mix of Dems and Reps in government, and both sides should be accountable for what happens (good or bad). Together, they form "our government" - and together they allowed our country to reach its current state"

LOL... someone forgot to tell the republicans this when they were exercising power...

in fact.. if their performance in the House and Senate so far this term is any indication... i don't think they've been told yet... ;->

perhaps you could email them? for the most part they have yet to show up for anything except trash talk;(

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
Member Profile

I am going to dial back most of my rhetoric for a moment.

My wife wanted, since she was British, to personalize a license plate. She drinks a lot of tea. She thought "tea-bag" was cute. You should have seen her look when the "new" meaning of the term was.

Ideologically, I will show you my view of what the government would do concerning the issue of the Tea-Bag.

Democrat, Tax it, make it a victim and start a government program.
Republican, Scream about the lack of morality, and then vote for it to show some bi-partisan support
Conservative, scream about the break down of society and go on Fox News to complain.
Libertarian, Do nothing and grant free will for all who decide to involve themselves.
Anarchist, Add chocolate syrup then beat to death with a baseball bat.
Greens, understand sensitivity and respect for diversity with decentralized government and grass roots movements.
Communist, Let them help you overthrow the government then line them up and shoot them.
Fascist, Strong dicktatorial control by the government.
Oligarchy, sanctioned by the ruling class but outlawed for the rest.
Theocracy - Pray, baby Pray, arrest those who participate in the violation of God's laws.

JoB, Right now nationally and in especially in our state, the Republicans have very little power. That is why the Dems are moving so quickly. Someday in the future it will be the other way. All Republicans can do right now is gripe, just like 1994, congressionally speaking, for the Dems.

A few days ago Americans shouted at the government on a day where the Government takes your money. Unfortunately, people like Janeane Garofalo calls them racists and Homeland Security calls them possible Extremists. Sad but JoB, since you have an FBI file, the irony must be interesting. Now I am a racist and an extremist! Wow, I thought I was just exercising my constitutional rights.

The wheel of time seems circular. Old becomes new and new becomes old. I will always love The Who's song "Won't Get Fooled Again". Very appropriate.

Posted 3 years ago #
dhg
Member Profile

HMC Rich: Hah! Here's where we can get to the heart of this. With Bush and a Republican Congress, there was a strong push for internal security. The creation of Home Land Security and warrantless wire tapping was put forth as a necessary tool to protect us. Of course, they immediately started monitoring the Democrats and any leftist organizations because they might be "dangerous". But it is a double-edged sword and now that Homeland has turned on the extreme righties perhaps now you can see how civil liberties should trump security. We need to get the Constitution restored. Wiretaps should be sanctioned by a dispassionate court. Homeland Security needs to focus on external threats. As it stands now, they have so little to do that they take down anyone with a tan who photographs the Ballard Locks.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

dhg...

i couldn't agree with you more.. i would like to start with getting the constitution restored..

and i don't think that is going to happen without a fight...

the abuses are just plain too useful to whoever is in power...

and as long as we can be distracted with purely bipartisan bickering and will buy the idea the the election of whatever party we think we want in power is the most important thing...

the political pressure to restore our constitution won't happen.

Maybe if we all concentrated on something that matters instead of focusing on political labels.. we could get something worthwhile done. maybe.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
Member Profile

I make a photo at the locks. Should I be careful enxt time? I go there for teabagging but there was not a teabag in the place.

Posted 3 years ago #
c@lbob
Member Profile

Tigre,

If you are taking pictures at the Crittenden/Ballard Locks and your skin color is darker than say, Michael Imperioli of "The Sopranos"

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0408284/

be prepared to show ID.

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20040714&slug=locks14m

Posted 3 years ago #
c@lbob
Member Profile

HMC Rich said: "Right now nationally and in especially in our state, the Republicans have very little power. That is why the Dems are moving so quickly."

They're moving very quickly with their tails between their legs. Seems to me they are trying to out cut Republicans in Olympia.

Posted 3 years ago #
c@lbob
Member Profile

Alki_2008 said: "I don't think anyone's saying we should continue what was done before..."

Congressional Republicans are still calling to extend tax cuts to wealthy individuals and to cut government spending. These are two wholly counterproductive things to do in the deep recession we are in.

Posted 3 years ago #
c@lbob
Member Profile

If we can all get beyond the Tim Eyeman belief that government spending is out of control and needs to be prohibited with ballot initiatives, we might be able to have a rational discussion of taxes.

Government spending, state taxes and expenditures are, and have been, steadily declining both per capita, and more importantly, as a percentage of the total economy since 1983.

The problem is that Washington has a regressive tax structure, where the bottom fifth of households pay 17.6% of income in state and local taxes while our top 1 percent pay only 3.1%. The problem isn't taxes, it's the mix of taxes we have.

If think a state income tax needs to be implemented with adjustments to business, sales and property taxes that bring in enough revenue and spread the tax burden fairly among the populace.

That really isn't utopian, it's just not what big political contributors want. Which means that labels have to be dropped and replaced by dollars and cents. Take a look a what roads, schools, transit, water, parks, voting systems, sheriffs and police, jails, judiciary are worth to you, and decide what you should pay for them.

If you calculate that they are worth nothing, maybe you should move to Idaho and let the rest of us be.

Posted 3 years ago #
Julie
Member Profile

Catlbob, I'm with you. The piece that stumps me is getting this idea across through all the sound and fury.

One stumbling block is the absurd but firmly lodged notion that government can always do what it does more cheaply, no matter how much we reduce its resources.

Another is that the benefits of our collective spending tend to be taken for granted, and many of those benefits are for all practical purposes invisible to superficial understanding.

Another is the reflexive negative reaction to even the term "income tax", which makes it very difficult to shift our tax structure to a more progressive one--despite the fact that many more people would find their tax burdens lighter in such a system.

So, how do those of us with this understanding best convey these ideas?

Posted 3 years ago #
CallMeAl
Member Profile

With credit given to this week's "The Stranger"

I just wanted to say to all you folks who were at the Westlake Park "teabagger" protest—what the hell WAS that?! Even I don't understand you guys. And "teabagging"? I don't think you REALLY know what that means. Let's just say, where I live now, I'm much closer to the "bag" than the "tea." My friends, teabagging is not the solution; teabagging is the PROBLEM.

Posted 3 years ago #
Ken
Member Profile

Just a note on the Ballard locks. After the story broke, I went down to the locks on several weekdays and one weekend with my camera and tripod to try to get arrested. As a fiftyish white guy with short hair, I was apparently not suspecious enough even though I did everything but lurk in the bushes.
I left my ID in the car and carried nothing but a copy of the constitution and the bill of rights.

Posted 3 years ago #

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