Washington Votes Forum

 Right. The taxpayers are being asked to reward the incompetence of the legislature once again.

Even if this increased sales tax is temporary (which is highly unlikely) it will hurt the very people the bill supposedly is to help. The poor and working families.

I am on a fixed income. The more sales tax I have to pay the less I have for food and other essentials. I (and those like me) cannot afford another sales tax increase.

I hope if this does go on the ballot people will realize this bill will not help those it claims to help and a lot of people who are on fixed incomes will suffer even more than we/they are.

We already are stuck with a higher sales tax to pay for trains that I (and many others) will never use.

Please stop taxing us to death!

Just something for you to kindly consider...  :)  If you don't work anywhere near Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Auburn, Kent, Tukwila, Seattle, Edmonds, Mukilteo, or Everett, perhaps you never will ride a train and may be emboldened to believe mass-transit is for "someone else" but I'd like to remind you the whole point of mass transit is to REDUCE commuter POLLUTION.  You are therefore in a sense, using it every day.  Air and water quality is more important than anything we can buy with money, and I mean anything.

I'd also like to encourage you to see that no one is being taxed "to death."  (No offense intended here, but you may wish to look into identifying and eliminating your obvious use of inflammatory language.)  In my opinion, it is the administrative challenge of establishing, collecting, and distributing the multitude of taxes that is the unsustainable part of the current Washington state tax structure.

Best regards.

PS: "Food and other essentials" are available at a reduced or free rate at a variety of locations in King County.  When I was unemployed five years ago, I was a happy and grateful regular at my local food bank.  Even now, I enjoy salvaging dented boxes at the local discount grocery store.  You may not get a flat screen tv for free, but we were talking essentials right?  :)

juliefred: I am retired, thus on a fixed income.

I probably became an "environmentalist" before it became to mean what it means today (forcing humans into behaviors that benefit animals and the environment over and above humanity) as I have for my entire adult life (and as a child was taught by my parents) to grow my own fruits and vegetables, use natural products when possible,  save oil, gas, and electricity by not leaving lights on, wash using a full load and hang out clothes on a closeline, unplug appliances when not in use, buy fuel efficient cars, plan trips so that use of gasoline is limited, reuse, recycle, and buy used. Another my family did was barter. We traded foodstuff or my father's skills with tools for services we or he couldn't do. But this was in the days when families helped each other and neighbors helped each other rather than depending on the government for help. In other words, do as much for yourself, your family and your friends as you can.

When I worked I regularly donated food to food banks and always share the fruits and vegetables I grow with family, friends and neighbors. I only buy what is essential.

My opinion is that if the legislature and governor would take the time to investigate whether or not what the state currently funds is actually necessary, I believe they could eliminate a lot of waste and unnecessary expenditures and then maybe find they could spend what is necessary on those servicesindividuals, non-profits, or other organizations cannot provide.

I'd suggest you subscribe to the State Auditor's audit of state agencies service so you can see for yourself how much of are tax dollars are wasted.

Thank you for a much more encouraging post.  :) 

I will take a look at the audit (thank you for the tip) but am not likely to be any more outraged than I already am at sports cars, McMansions, and granite countertops.  (Those are real resources being wasted, not just money.)

I will naively continue to believe I live in a world where families still help eachother.  Take care and thanks for showing your compassion.

 juliefred: In order for people to live they need jobs and to have jobs people need to spend money for products and services. The money people spend for products and services also helps fund government programs and services.

If people don't buy sports cars, McMansions, and granite countertops, the people manufacturing them don't have jobs. The investors who invest in the companies that manufacture them can't create wealth they can use to help support themselves in the future. The companies that manufacture them wouldn't be in business to pay federal and state taxes which would decrease the revenue to the governments which in turn would decrease the amount of monies the governments provide to people who need their services.

So is it really a waste of resources and money to provide good jobs to people so they can support themselves and their families as well as pay taxes to support government programs and services?

Don't we constantly hear from government that it is important to get a college education in order to get a well-paying job? What's the point of getting a well-paying job if you aren't allowed to spend the money you have earned on the products and services you choose and can afford?