By Dave Workman
A viewer survey by Seattle’s KOMO shows an overwhelming majority of respondents expect the so-called “millionaire income tax” passed by the State Senate Monday will eventually be expanded to take money from all working Washingtonians, even while lawmakers are reportedly looking at dipping into the state’s Climate Commitment Act funds.
As this story was published, 92 percent of respondents believe the income tax will eventually engulf all wage earners.
The Seattle Times is reporting that state legislators are considering raiding the Climate funds because they “can’t find a better way to fill part of Washington’s perennial budget gap.” Critics contend the majority Democrats don’t have a budget problem, they have a massive spending problem. The tax on millionaire income won’t fill the gap, either, and there are already signals wealthy people are moving out of state to escape the 9.9% income tax on people making more than $1 million a year.
The income tax bill—an idea which critics complain is unconstitutional and has already been rejected several times by voters—passed on a 27-22 vote. No Republican voted for it. Two Democrats voted against it.
According to the Seattle Times, the $559 million proposed transfer is Gov. Bob Ferguson’s idea. The newspaper is reporting that the proposal to “transfer climate funds is legal but also a significant disappointment for those who hoped to safeguard that cash as a way to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels or to guard against natural disasters, especially as the federal government hastens its retreat on climate change policy.”
This puts the environmental community in a tough spot because they are virtually programmed to vote for Democrats, but the man they helped elect is now proposing to grab their money to pay for other things. As explained by the Times article, taking money from the CCA is seen as a “breach of faith” with voters who supported the Act, but also sets a “dangerous precedent.”
Former Gov. Jay Inslee is quoted as suggesting grabbing money from the ostensibly “dedicated fund” turns it into something of a “piggy bank.”
One Times reader commented the plan proves “the utter corruption of our legislature.”
Will this tax scheme and proposed raid of CCA funds bring about a shift at the polls in November? It would cause a political earthquake nationally, because Washington is considered a “blue” state, even though it has a significant conservative population, especially in southwest and eastern Washington counties.
