Washington state government agencies and politicians have stated that if Initiative 695 passes, the projected loss of revenue could only translate into the cancellation of new transportation projects and reductions in public safety. Those reductions in services are examples of the type of political terrorism being practiced by your lawmakers. In order to sustain their plush lifestyles with lavish spending and outrageous taxation, state politicians prefer to frighten voters into turning this initiative down.

Transportation and public safety are not the only two items in the state budget. There are vast unknown state agencies and programs ripe for elimination or budget cuts. The state must publish its balance sheet for public review. Voters will then realize how much of their taxes are being wasted on nonsense, and that transportation and public safety are not the only areas eligible for budget cuts.

Keep in mind a loss is referred to as less earnings for a time period in comparison to the same time period one year earlier. For example if Boeing states earnings for a quarter represent a "loss", it means the earnings were less than the same quarter one year earlier. Boeing still had sales and still had revenue coming in, it just happened to be less. When waste in government is eliminated, less taxes are required to support the state. A smaller budget would require less tax money, thus no "loss of revenue". Remember politicians are not economists, they are lawyers. When was the last time you believed in what a lawyer had to say? Thank you.

-- James Feczko (jimfive@hotmail.com), August 26, 1999

Answers

The state publishes the annual budget. State programs are initiated by legislative mandate, through the give and take of a political process. Politics does not need to be a dirty word, when elected officials respond to the needs of their constituents. We have a part- time legislature, of people who mostly work for a living in the real world. They do the best they can balancing interests, and making reasonable decisions. Are state expenditures only foolish waste when they are programs you don't agree with, or do you recognize some programs you benefit from as foolish waste too?

As for the impact of state government programs, that is the least of the concerns. The state can cover their own losses. The initiative also cuts county, city and other local government revenues; some of which don't have a lot of options or reserves. The effect of requiring an election for every monetary increase in any tax, is a huge expense in election costs alone. Do you want to vote on the CPI adjustment needed to keep the library district running, every single year?

-- dbvz (dbvz@wa.freei.net), August 26, 1999.

"Do you want to vote on the CPI adjustment needed to keep the library district running, every single year? "

Yes

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), August 27, 1999.

"Do you want to vote on the CPI adjustment needed to keep the library district running, every single year? "

Yes

Westin

(Who doesn't see the idea of voting on increases as being any more "taxing" then the people of Colorado do.)

-- Westin (86se4sp@my-deja.com), August 27, 1999.

dbvz, be assured, there's plenty of just plain waste--by anyone's definition. Local governments are full of waste as well. I used to be a little sympathetic to local "plight", thinking that perhaps state legislators ought to be certain to make up local government I-695 losses by reconfiguring State spending to make up local shortfalls with just State waste. Probably local governments have less of what everyone would call waste and a little more of just what I would call waste. All the same, I'm now perfectly willing to believe that local government can eat the difference and still provide "essential" services.

-- Greg Holmes (kholmes@ior.com), August 29, 1999.

Holy macaroni! We can cut the cost of government by much more than the tiny I-695 cuts if we but start to run our government in a businesslike manner. Our state auditor has proposed Performance Audits, which can save us billions without cutting ANY programs. But the #$%&@*&# legislature has blocked this initiative.

If there are any adverse impacts resulting from I-695, it will be due to deliberate inaction of the legislature, not to be blamed on a long overdue citizen tax revolt.

-- Art Rathjen (liberty@coastaccess.com), August 30, 1999.