Here are a few reasons why I am so very proud to support I-695:

1. I'm proud to glibly spew inaccuracies and pass them off as "facts", such as the popular 2% myth. I always somehow forget to mention that the 2% is accurate only when considered with state, local, municipal, and many federal tax revenues.

2. I'm proud to have a system of what they call "representative democracy", a system in which we elect people to run the government. In theory, if we don't like our representatives, we throw 'em out. (But this essentially goes away when 695 passes.) Snohomish County will get to spend $600,000 that it costs to run an election all the more often.

3. I'm proud to buy into the huckster's plan that cuts my truck tab fee from the oppresive $59.25 to a world-saving $30.00, but gives many, many hundreds of relief to my economic superiors driving new vehicles.

4. I'm proud to continue to refer to the rainy day surplus as if it were immediately accessible, which the law (the initiative we passed a few years ago) clearly disallows.

5. I'm proud to continuously refer to the existing budgetary surplus as the replacement of the upcoming revenue loss. Even if this were available as a replacement source of revenues, it would last about 1.5 years, after which the MTITM (man in the moon) will have to show up and fix everything.

6. I'm proud that I learned so much in the early '80s, when we elected this happy old fellow who promised that that he would cut taxes, double the military, and balance the budget. Pay no attention to the fact that it took about 18 years to undo some of his damage and balance few parts of the budget.

7. I'm proud that I can't name any of my state representatives or senators. After all, some people might actually write a letter to these folks or even work against them in the next election if I don't like them! But not me. Takes too much work, I guess.

8. I'm proud to have voted for Referendum 49 recently, and am now going to delete the revenue source to PAY for it! I really don't mind having the 6th worst traffic in the USA. It gives me lots of relaxing time to listen to the radio. (Probably KVI.)

9. I'm proud to have learned my new poem: "Don't tax you--don't tax me; Tax the fellow behnd that tree."

10. I'm proud to live in a state that taxes business on revenue, NOT profit. As a small business owner, this one is especially brilliant, and really helped me during the first few years when things wee so easy to get started.

11. I'm proud to have been in contact with my very conservative state rep, who reminded me that the state GOP supports 695, but not the Republican leadership.

-- John Q. Proud (Proud@proud.com), October 24, 1999

Answers

Mr Proud

I hope you paid P.R. flacks make a TON of money off the big bucks anti-taxpayer crowd.Getting paid by the word?

Anyway you should be able to fly back to your home state first class when this is over.

"when you tell the truth,you never have to remember what you said."

Ricardo

-- Ricardo (ricardoxxx@home.com), October 24, 1999.

Nope. Sorry. Will stay right here in Everett.

-- (private so I won't get too much junk flame) (Proud@proud.com), October 24, 1999.

Obviously in posting this, "prouds" phone line got static or something... so I've taken the liberty of posting the corrected version:

***************************************

Here are a few reasons why I am so very proud to support I-695:

1. I'm proud to glibly spew inaccuracies and pass them off as "facts", such as the popular 74,000 job myth. I always somehow forget to mention that the 74,000 jobs are accurate only when considered with state, local, municipal, part-time and seasonal jobs.

2. I'm proud to have a system of what they call "representative democracy", a system in which we elect people to run the government. In theory, if our representatives dont take the actions weve demanded, we can run initiatives. (And this essentially is reinforced when 695 passes.) Snohomish County will get to spend practically nothing to run finance measures with regularly scheduled elections. 3. I'm proud to buy into the populist plan that cuts my truck tab fee from the oppresive $59.25 to a world-saving $30.00, but gives many, many hundreds of dollars relief to my economic equals driving new vehicles.

4. I'm proud to continue to refer to the rainy day surplus as if it were immediately accessible, which the law (in spite of the initiative we passed a few years ago) clearly allows, in the form of the declared emergency, and 2/3ds vote of the lehgislature. 5. I'm proud to continuously refer to the existing budgetary surplus as the replacement of the upcoming revenue loss. Combined with cuts in government, such as rolling back the teachers pay raise, reorienting the $250 million dollars from the tobacco settlement, and rewarding government budget managers for finding the fat in their budgets, I know that there will be no appreciable cuts in services.

6. I'm proud that I learned so much in the early '90s, when we elected this horny young fellow who promised that that he would raise taxes, give us the highest trade deficit in our history and balance the budget. Pay no attention to the fact that it took a Republican controlled Congress to control his damage and balance few parts of the budget.

7. I'm proud that I can't name any of my state representatives or senators. After all, some people might actually write a letter to these folks or even work against them in the next election if I don't like them! But not me. Takes too much work, I guess. Pity I dont have the sense to find out.

8. I'm proud to have voted for Referendum 49 recently, and I am prouder now that I am sending a message to government at every level. I really don't believe that mind the 6th worst traffic in the USA will be effected by this initiative one iota. It gives me lots of relaxing time to listen to the radio. (Probably KVI.)

9. I'm proud to have learned my new poem: "Don't tax me--don't tax you; cause Ill drop an initiative to put government agencies into the poo.

10. I'm proud to live in a state that taxes business on revenue, NOT profit. As a small business owner, this one is especially brilliant, and really helped me during the first few years when things wee so easy to get started. I know that another initiative to address this is under development, and Ill support that one with equal strength.

11. I'm proud to have been in contact with my very conservative state rep (who, a few short lines ago, I said I didnt know), who misinformed me that the state GOP supports 695, but not the Republican leadership.

There. All fixed!

BTW, Proud, I admire your show of the courage of your convictions.

Gutsy move.

Westin

"Don't tell me how bad it's going to be without car-tab revenues; explain how you defend the current tax. If a tax is unfair at its core, a free people have the right to repeal it."

Westin

-- Westin (86se4sp@my-deja.com), October 24, 1999.

I like the corrected version much better.

Notice how "Proud" proudly fails to provide a truthfull name.

-- William Sheehan (wsheehan@billsheehan.com), October 25, 1999.

"Notice how "Proud" proudly fails to provide a truthfull name. " At times I wonder if all the alleged anti-695 people (jeff, Patrick, dbzv, etc.) aren't just Jeff in his differing pseudonyms. I sure hope not, that poor kid'll flunk for the quarter if he's spending full time on politics. And trying to make converts on the pro-695 site is tough and unrewarding work at best. Stick with the linguistics, Jeff.. PS: The DAWGS were incredibly lucky Saturday.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), October 25, 1999.

Next time you need 911 call Tims house, he will be glad to come right over and help ya out, he'll also fix those pot-holes in the road on the way, and put your car on his back and get ya across the sound, and when the road rage picks up, Well you guessed it SUPER (I HAVE SOME FREE TIME ON MY HANDS TIM) will solve all your problems..People, get a clue, theres a reason for these taxes, were all just living in this dream land of me, me, me, and Tim Something is showing us this $30 plan that will save us from the big tax man (RIGHT)..

-- theo (twatsan@hotmail.com), October 26, 1999.

theo/Chez

It's not me, me, me, it's my, my, my, as in my money

Ed - chez, your to predictable

-- Ed (ed_brigdes@yahoo.com), October 27, 1999.

theo,

Now there's a mass citizens' action to demonstrate against the stupidity of politicians if there ever was one. And hey, since Timmy ("forgot all that totally weird Econ 101 stuff, but gotta 3.5 in Frat House Keggers 101") Eyman struts himself out as the champion of the "little guy", I'm sure he won't object to all the Wa. state citizens (not "faceless bureaucrats", but *citizens*) who find themselves lacking those services dialing him up for help from them thar evil bureaucrats who are surely to blame for the post-695 mess.

Count me in to help prove a point if this rich man's tax break disguised as a break for the "little guy" passes.

And since even a "schizophrenic" can't dial hundreds of phones all at once, it would surely prove the maddjak army's theory about a certain chez being the only person in the whole state who actually opposes Me-Me-Me-695 to be wrong wrong wrong!

-- Martin "Robespierre" Rood (chez@u.washington.edu), October 27, 1999.