Stop the madness 2

["JS M" <jbiggs50@hotmail.com>]

Have friends in Pullman?  Let them read this:

>From the Washington Secretary of State Online voter information:

I-695 doesn’t do what it promises. It is poorly drafted and contains a major 
loophole that makes our automobiles subject to the property tax, just like 
our homes. I-695 will remove a third of state funding for transportation. 
Last year, voters approved Referendum 49 to make major improvements in our 
transportation system. I-695 reverses this decision made by the voters. 
Transit will be cut by 25 percent. Thousands more cars will be added to 
freeway congestion during commute times.
I-695 will take more than $360 million each year from local programs like 
Medic One and police and fire departments in communities across Washington 
State.
There’s more. I-695 also takes money from other valuable local programs: 
transportation, child abuse prevention, senior centers, crisis family 
counseling, school safety and mental health programs.
I-695 is unfair because it gives the biggest tax break to wealthy people who 
own the most expensive cars. You can bet that government won’t be taxing the 
rich to replace lost tax money, they’ll tax working people.
I-695 GOES TOO FAR - VOTE NO.
I-695 does nothing to control government spending. We’d all like to pay 
lower taxes, but I-695 means that money for essential services must come 
from other sources. Most states with license tab fees as low as I-695 
proposes make up the difference with an income tax. Is that what the voters 
of Washington State want?
For more information, visit www.no-i-695.com


>From some concerns citizens:
I-695 will take money away from important state programs.
An early budget analysis shows that I-695 would force the state to cut 
spending by nearly $1.8 billion immediately. The motor-vehicle excise tax 
fees bring $2.2 billion every two years. This is money that would be almost 
completely eliminated.
How would we replace these losses? We wouldn’t at first. It could take years 
of bureaucracy and tax increases to attain a "pre-695" level.
On May 27, 1999, Transportation Secretary Sid Morrison said the plan would 
take $1.8 billion from the state road fund. House Transportation 
Co-Chairwoman Ruth Fisher said, "If 695 passes, I'm resigning the next day."

(From Seattle Times, January 13, 1999) "The business community is viewing 
this latest proposal with skepticism. ‘None of us like to pay taxes…but this 
is counterproductive to what we want,’ said Don Brunell, president of the 
Association of Washington Business and a member of the Washington 
Transportation Alliance, a coalition of business groups. ‘It would shoot a 
huge hole in the transportation budget.’


Wasted time, more bureaucracy results of I-695. Initiative hurts democracy.
By making every city and county in Washington hold elections to raise even 
the smallest fee or tax would lead to wasted time and money campaigning for 
and against everything. Both sides of every issue would be forced to 
mobilize for the elections.
For instance, if the city of Renton wants to implement a 15-cent fee for 
photo copies made at the library, that will have to be voted on by the 
public.
Voters will become increasingly confused, having to make decisions on issues 
we trust our elected officials to make for us. Voter apathy is at an all 
time high. Many voters stay home because they are not informed enough to 
vote. Voting on all tax and fee increases will only create more confusion. 
This initiative actually hurts Washington State democracy!
State Representative, Jim McIntire, D-43, says "It would be a horrendous 
experience," noting that up to 50 tax and fee proposals could show up on the 
ballot on election day. "Everybody'd need their own tax accountant just to 
go to the polls to try to understand what's going on."
Conservative talk-show host, John Carlson agrees. "Every tax, every fee has 
to be subject to a vote? So the city of Redmond raises its fees for renting 
a... park facility. That has to go on the ballot?" Carlson asked. 
"Micro-managing from a distance can be difficult." (Seattle Times, January 
13, 1999.)

Local criminal-justice programs would lose money
Most people probably think that all of the money from license tabs goes to 
transportation projects. Not true. If I-695 passes, local criminal justice 
programs would loose more than $81 million. Large portions of tab fees also 
go toward school funds and other projects.
>From the Seattle Times: (Seattle Times, July 3, 1999) King County 
Councilman, Rob McKenna, R-Bellevue, estimates that the county would be 
forced to cut it's criminal-justice budget by 10 percent. They would also be 
forced to cut the public-health budget by about 5 percent. "It would be a 
huge hit," McKenna said.
Cutting money for the criminal-justice system would be bad. Local 
governments would be able to hire less officers. Prisons will not have the 
money to expand or house prisoners. Some have called I-695 a "get out of 
jail free card" for many of Washington's offenders. I-695 will mean less 
jail time for criminals.
On May 27, 1999, the State Republican party and the more moderate, 
Mainstreem offshoot of the party declined to endorse I-695 (From The 
Associated Press, May 27, 1999). State GOP chairman, Dale Forman believes 
this initiative will be bad for state programs. "I didn't think it was in 
the best interests of sound transportation policy" to endorse the latest 
initiative, Foreman said in an interview. The measure would hamstring the 
Legislature and put pressure on other taxes, he said.
Phil Robins, chairman of the moderate offshoot of the party, the Mainstream 
Committee, said his group voted unanimously against endorsement. "This is 
not a good move," he said of the initiative. "While everyone would like to 
pay just $30 per car per year, it would only lead to a raise in some other 
tax or maybe even a new tax. It's just not realistic. "We strongly support 
tax reductions, but they should be practical."
Check out Republicans Against I-695.
Governor Locke has said he will not support I-695. "Virtually 100 percent of 
the license-tab revenue goes to our highways, ferries, buses and local 
criminal justice," Locke told the Associated Press. "Anyone who is sick and 
tired of sitting in traffic or bouncing over potholes and anyone who wants 
to make sure local law enforcement has the money it needs to protect 
families and property owners should think twice about supporting this 
initiative."
KVI talk-show host, John Carlson now says he will vote for I-695. However, 
in January, he said I-695 is counterproductive for Washington. Carlson has 
been quoted criticizing I-695 on his local call-in show.


Here is the growing, bipartisan list of those opposed to I-695:
Gary Locke - Governor of Washington
Dale Foreman - State GOP Chairman
Paul Berendt - State Democratic Party Chairman
Phil Robins - Chairman of the Mainstream Republican Party
Dan McDonald - State Senate Minority Leader
Sid Snyder - State Senate Majority Leader
Don Brunell - President of the Association of Washington Businesses.
Washington Research Council - An independent/nonprofit tax group
Seattle Times
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Spokane Spokesman-Review
Tacoma News Tribune
South County Journal
Eastside Journal



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