• Press Release

Washington State Taxpayers Alert!

  • By: FW Staff
  • 02/26/2004

WASHINGTON TAXPAYERS ALERT: Governor Locke and the League of Education Voters want you to sign an initiative supporting a billion dollar tax hike!

Why you should DECLINE TO SIGN the P-16 Initiative:

There’s a better way…

No one spends someone else’s money as wisely as he spends his own. Let taxpayers keep more of their hard earned money and invest in our economy rather than give it to the government for expanded programs.

Let free market policies prevail. Remove government regulatory barriers and encourage businesses to invest in Washington and create more jobs.

Encourage people to shop in Washington. The Governor’s proposal will raise the state sales tax from 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent making it the highest in the nation. In certain cities the combined state, local, and special sales taxes will be over 10 cents on the dollar and will drive people to purchase goods in sales tax-free Oregon and over the internet.

Audit education programs to ensure that each dollar currently being spent is spent wisely. The 2003 state budget was written under the concept of Priorities of Government (POG). Under POG, state agencies identified core government functions and priorities then submitted them to the governor for review. The K-12 education establishment did not participate in this process however.

Give our citizens a chance to get back on their feet. Washington has suffered worse job losses in the manufacturing sector than any other state over the past five years and continues to struggle with one of the highest overall unemployment rates in the nation.

  • The state lost 26 percent of its manufacturing jobs from 1998 to 2003 (93,000 jobs).
  • Overall job growth has been negative over the past two years. The Seattle-Everett area lost 33,600 jobs in 2002 and 2003 while the rest of the state added 31,400 for a net loss of 2,100 jobs.

    • We can’t spend our way towards prosperity. Washington’s chief economist and revenue forecaster, Chang Mook Sohn, predicts Washington’s recovery will be much slower than the nation’s, and much slower than past recoveries. Just last year, Locke opposed an increase in the sales tax saying it would not help struggling families and businesses. Nothing has changed! A billion dollar tax increase is still the wrong way to help Washington achieve economic growth.

    Encourage our elected officials to prioritize and cut spending rather than promote expanding entitlement programs. The state will face a projected revenue shortfall of nearly $1 billion during the next biennium. Government must act responsibly and live within its means just as taxpayers do.

    Help Washington’s educational challenges by returning control to parents and giving them a voice in where their child attends school. Choice and competition will increase the quality, innovation, and diversity in the education system. Giving parents the choice among the widest possible array of schools will provide all schools with the incentive to create the best education for all students regardless of where they live or what their parents earn.

    Washington CSE • Jamie Daniels, Director • PO Box 8030 • Lacey, WA 98509

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