The next step now that 695 has passed is to stop the bureaucratic retribution that is bound to follow: i.e. cuts to or elimination of essential services. Is anyone willing to take on a referrundum that will mandate funding of essential services before a penny is spent on special programs such as art programs, sports programs, etc... By "essential services" I mean police, fire, emergency medical and perhaps even schools. Thanks, BC

-- Bill Chunn (vashonbill@msn.com), November 04, 1999

Answers

What??? You don't think that gay big brother little brother seminars are ESSENTIAL? I suppose you'd rather they used public restrooms?

-- (zowie@hotmail.com), November 04, 1999.

zowie

Whats wrong with public restrooms? George Michael uses them.

Ed - holding it till I get home.

-- Ed (ed_bridges@yahoo.com), November 04, 1999.

I agree... I would be willing to help if something like this comes about. The government should be spending money on essential services and not on "feel-good" programs to support this or that group. For crying out loud, King County was just entertaining ideas of spending 3.2 million dollars to change the county logo to a picture of Martin Luther King Jr! I have nothing against the principle of the thing, just that my tax dollars would have to pay for this frivolity(sp?).

If you really want to scare yourself sometime, sit down and figure out just how much you really pay in taxes. Include everything: taxes on hotel, gas, services, federal, state, local, cell phones, sales, etc. It'll really open some eyes.

Thanks, Teren

-- Teren Bryson (systemic@mciworld.com), November 04, 1999.

Teren

"If you really want to scare yourself sometime, sit down and figure out just how much you really pay in taxes. Include everything: taxes on hotel, gas, services, federal, state, local, cell phones, sales, etc."

I've been doing this for years and trying to convince other people to. If the Feds took our money in one lump sum (like the MVET) instead of out of our paychecks or hiding it in other cost, I think we would have had a National Yes on I-695 type thing years ago.

Ed - I couldn't be a politicians, I've got too much common sense

-- Ed (ed_bridges@yahoo.com), November 04, 1999.

Essential Services huh!, Programs like Condoms for Whores and Needles for Addicts would be a good choice to drop!

-- Michael Jackson (mejackson@home.com), November 05, 1999.

With the passage of I-695, our job has only started. Eyman made a statement indicating that the government must now treat us as customers. As customers, we need to tell the government what we want.

Just as if we were customers in a restaurant and would tell the waiter/waitress what we wanted and how we wanted it, we need to tell the government what we want them to do. We need to direct them on what takes priority and what funding is acceptable.

Waiting until election day to tell the government that one tax proposal is good and this other one is bad would be like having the waiter/waitress bring out each dish on the menu for us to decide if we wanted it or not. If you want something, you had better speak up.

Each of us needs to contact our representatives. We need to get those around us to contact their representatives. Our representatives need our input to help set project and budget priorities.

I-695 is forcing change. It does NOT direct where this change will occur.

YOU NEED TO TAKE ACTION... By letting your representatives in the various government jurisdictions (state, county, and city) what you want them to do. By ensuring that your representatives are actually representing your interests.

You can kick out the current government and the next and the next, if they do not represent your interests. But unless you actually tell them what you want, do you really expect them to deliver it?

-- Gene (Gene@Gene.com), November 05, 1999.