As usual with Mr. Taxcut this is a poorly thought out Initiative.
If we followed this man we'd be like California.
It appears that this person is a self-promoter whose only real goal is to keep milking the Initiative Process.
This is a poor attempt at legislation and we need to just say no as usual.
Chuck Glass
Sedro-Woolley

i can't belive you give this guy a place to speak. everything this guys able to pass we pay for many years. i never heard a issue of having a problem paying for roads until his car tab thing.
now our road system is collaping. this guys an enemy to our state.

I agree with Tim, my property tax went up 1400.00$ just this year and is to go up more next year. When is it ever going to end.

Eyman is out of control. I beleive he just wants to see himself in the media. Eyman does not feel the actions of his initiatives. I work in public service and the cuts we took when 695 passed were devestating. Eyman should try and run for public office and see how man vote for him. Didn't Eyman get caught stealing from his own campain fund ffrom his supporters?

I am concerned that Mr. Eyman really did not say a whole lot.

I have observed my property taxes fluctuate with the economy and in fact our property taxes have gone down as the real estate values have decreased.

I will vote no.

Yes, he's on the right track. Comparisons to other states is not necessarily a good measurement of the adequacy of our taxes we should be simply determining our needs and try to support that level. He's right that governments should not be able to budget all the revenue which becomes available, it should budget up to the levels needed, not add new services as more revenue becomes available.

While Tim's idea might sound good, the timing is terrible.
Property taxes are going down. King Co. finally got it right and lowered property values this year. 2010 taxes will be lower.
Agencies, such as Fire Districts, that are solely funded by property taxes will take big hits next year. They already did in Snohomish and other counties.
With values dropping 14 to 18 percent in one year, your taxes are all ready going down. Let the limits in place control the growth when the economy bounces back.
If your taxes are still going up, it's because your nieghbors approved increases for schools or other valued projects.

It is about time we handcuff Olympia. We the taxpayers have to live within our incomes. The old song and dance about the schools will suffer is getting mighty old. They always throw the schools will suffer in our face. How about this have the parents chip in more for their children they brought into the world. Do not get me wrong we should help out but at what cost to those of us who are paying the way with property tax on all of their social issues. Should retired people who are on SSI lose their homes because of Olympia???

It is about time we handcuff Olympia. We the taxpayers have to live within our incomes. The old song and dance about the schools will suffer is getting mighty old. They always throw the schools will suffer in our face. How about this have the parents chip in more for their children they brought into the world. Do not get me wrong we should help out but at what cost to those of us who are paying the way with property tax on all of their social issues. Should retired people who are on SSI lose their homes because of Olympia???

The reporter didn't do a good job, obviously letting her feelings and opinions get in the way.

For example, she repeated claims that this would cut government, which is blatantly and obviously false, since it grows government at the rate of inflation and population growth, which is level-funding of services.

Worse, she said "it turns out that we're not excessively taxed." That is opinion masquerading as fact, and worse, even if her claim that we're 38th in taxation is true, it's an illogical conclusion. I'll explain.

That we are 38th in taxation is not fact, it's analysis based on selective interpretation of the facts. That's how different groups can come to wildly different conclusions about the level of our taxation.

But even if we're 38th, that doesn't mean we're not excessively taxed, unless the 37 states in front of us are ALSO not excessively taxed. Comparisons alone do not prove we're better or worse off. This is obviously true.

So it doesn't "turn out" that we're not excessively taxed, Ms. Douglas: you're just stating your opinion that we're not, as fact. But it's not fact, at all, it's merely your opinion.

As to tom senner above ... oh come on. The guy's pushing an initiative that will be on the ballot and has a good chance of passage; why shouldn't KING5 hear from him? That's just silly.

But you, tom, and Greg, and Chuck ... you're just wrong. This is not a tax cut, or a revenue cut. Please get your facts straight.

The funny thing is that Eyman's basic reasoning -- that we need to smooth out the curves, so we don't spend too much in booms or cut too much in busts -- is exactly what Gregoire said in several State of the State addresses. The difference is that Gregoire didn't mean it, and Eyman does.

Washington will end up like California if they keep spending out of control. Prop 13 did not cause it it was over spending on being too pollitcally correct having to take care of over populated illegals

I'm all for the property tax initative. I don't consider taxes "spending" to help the government. The economy has hurt us all. We don't have the extra money the government "needs". Who do we tax to get the extra money we need?

Sam C

The description of I-1033 provided in this story isn't accurate. This story says that I-1033 "limits growth of property taxes" -- an initiative that voters approved in 2001 did that -- I-1033 is different.

Here's the official description of I-1033 as written by the Attorney General: This measure would limit growth of certain state, county and city revenue to annual inflation and population growth, not including voter-approved revenue increases. Revenue collected above the limit would reduce property tax levies.

Here’s what we’re debating with I-1033: how fast should the government grow and who should decide? I-1033 takes the position that the public sector should grow no faster than the private sector (with some reasonable exceptions) and it should be citizens, and not politicians, who decide.

I-1033 brings back successful policies and principles passed by the voters previously. In 1993, during tough economic times, voters approved I-601 which put reasonable limits on government’s fiscal policies. I-601 established a sustainable rate for government to grow.

I-601 worked very well for many years until the Legislature started putting loopholes in it, resulting in major deficits – $3.2 billion in 2003 – $9 billion in 2009. I-1033 reestablishes I-601’s same reasonable allowance for growth (inflation plus population growth) and includes a safety valve allowing higher increases with voter approval. I-1033 gets government off the “fiscal roller coaster,” allowing it to grow at a sustainable rate that doesn’t outpace taxpayers’ ability to afford it.

I-1033 puts a reasonable limit on how fast government will automatically grow. If government decides that I-1033's automatic increase isn't big enough, then I-1033 has a safety valve which allows them to go to the voters and ask for a bigger increase.

What happens to excess tax revenues that government collects above I-1033's limit? After a fixed percentage of excess tax revenues is transferred into the constitutionally-protected rainy day fund, the remainder of excess tax revenues is refunded back to taxpayers via lower property taxes.

Property taxes keep going higher and higher and government keeps getting bigger and bigger. The people are losing control. I-1033 allows the state, counties, and cities to grow, but at a rate that citizens can control and taxpayers can afford. I-1033 gets government off the “fiscal roller coaster,” allowing it to grow at a sustainable rate that doesn’t outpace taxpayers’ ability to afford it. I-1033 is needed now more than ever.

for more information on I-1033, check out our website: http://www.VotersWantMoreChoices.com

I have to agree with Tim Eyman on this property tax issue. Our property taxes are far to high. We pay over $200.00 a month on taxes on a simple 2,000 sq.ft. home. I do feel taxes have increased too high over the last few years. Why should we as tax payers have this burden to live in a modest home and worry that it will only continue to increase to God knows how high. And why should we see people, especially the elderly, forced out of their home because they are unable to pay exorbitant taxes. This is unconscionable in my opinion. Government continues to ask for more of our money and is not being responsible with their spending as well as their salaries. In regard to sales tax, I would rather cut the mandatory, larger fee of property taxes and address the smaller, somewhat optional, tax of sales tax later.

p.s. Have you noticed how high the cost of
building permits have come?

Sincerely,

Laurie Picard

Tim Eyman likes to take advantage of people who think that government is inefficient. His definition of efficiency seems to be, "do more than what I expect for less than what I'm willing to pay." This does not work in the private sector and it certainly does not work in the public sector.

Eyman's efforts to rein in that scary "big government" bogeyman promote the idea that if you cut revenue everything will fix itself. It's like trying to encourage someone to live a healthier lifestyle by making them sick. It creates a crisis.

As usual, Eyman proposes no actual fixes for overspending. He does not say which services should be cut or by how much. Home values and consumer spending are down due to the economy, so our state already has to make do with less revenue.

Eyman claims that his supporters say nothing about sales tax and complain bitterly about property taxes. That's because his supporters are wealthy folks with expensive homes. The least wealthy of our citizens spend four times as much, as a percentage of their income, on sales tax, as do the wealthiest.

And I take strong exception to the comment posted above that demands that parents pony up more money for education. Schools have several fundraisers each year to try to make up for the shortfall they already experience. It's easy for folks with no kids to say, "why should I contribute?" But the state of our public education system affects everyone. Think about it. Today's kids are tomorrow's adults. What kind of country do you want to have in 10 or 20 years?

We totally agree with Laurie, struggling working families and fixed-income senior citizens desperately need relief from our state’s crushing property tax burden. Washington shouldn’t be a state where only rich people can afford a home. I-1033 provides needed, long-overdue property tax relief.

And it does it by not slashing government revenues, but by simply controlling the growth of government, allowing it to grow at a reasonable, sustainable rate. And if government decides that the automatic increase under I-1033 is not enough, they can go to the voters and ask for a bigger increase.

That's fair, that's sustainable, that's what 315,444 citizens think is a better way to go.

This is still just a way for Tim to put another paycheck in his pocket.

Again, Tim Eyman is right on. We have useless gov't here eating "steak" dinners on us while we have drop to macaroni and cheese. Instead of firing off workers to be more competitive. Gov't workers want us to keep paying more taxes so they can stay "employed". Its the fox guarding the henhouse. Average people have seen unrelenting taxes on their house as a way for Gov't to raise taxes as we use the percentage system here. They were raking it in when the bubble economy on houses was running rampant. Its like hey lets say their house is worth 100k more this way we get another 1.25% out of them. The Gov't needs to reduce, fire off useless people/ managment etc and really get back to hiring ONLY people doing the work like schools, police etc. We are all eating macaroni an cheese Gov't need do as well. There should be lots of money really, stop spending all the taxes on military, or other initiatives and move say 10% of that to schools.
There needs to be more choice we can't "have it all". This sadly is the mentality. You have lived the hight life (school, fire, lots of easy gov't jobs) for too long. You must work with a lower budget like any citizen has to now. Many citizens are also losing their jobs so Tim is right on the mark!

As usual, Tim Eyman is barking up the wrong tree with his latest initative. Sure, property taxes are high --- so is the cost of schools and roads and everything else people take for granted in their daily lives. When the government makes buget cuts it needs to balance its bugets, it is the ones who don't want to pay for anything that complain the loudest about the cuts. Step uo and pay the piper for his services, or keep quiet while the serious people deal with the problems.

Eyman is more interested in being in the public eye and lining his pockets with money he 'earns' with initatives.

I would not buy a watch from him, and I certainly would not ask him for the time of day.

As usual, Mr. Eyman fails to recognize that WA has no state income tax. As always, he is programmed (by his money backers) to crow "cut taxes", but he has never had an original idea as to how to do it while providing the basic needs of education, etc.

Does anyone wonder who is bankrolling Eyman's efforts?

And another issue is why King 5 could not give us the opposing view with equal interview time. This presentation is very one-sided. Her questions in no way allowed for an equal presentation. We are left to wonder what the alternative view point is, though several comments here have stated it very well.

I agree that perhaps this initaive is in bad timing but although it may stretch things a little tight in the short term a chance to have our hand in the rate of government growth should not be passed up. Government will not come to a stand still, they will come up with the money they need. ( second highest sales tax remember? ) I will vote yes .

Although the dedicated excise tax based on the value of vehicles (car tab initiative) did hurt the ability to support road construction, I am leaning towards support of the current initiative. I think it is time to curtail the growth of government - in fact it is time to eliminate some government posisions. Why have state employees act as clerks in Liquor stores, provide janitorial or landscape services...? And how many supervisors oversee less than 10 employees? On the local level, how many assistant principals does a school need? And in todays paper there was an article about the continued incompetency showcased in the laying of curbing in the city of Seattle. Those that continually site the lower cost of service provided by government employees are not taking into account the cost of a lifetime retirement benefit.

As a senior citizen who never had a single child or grandchild use the school system here, I am extremely tired of seeing scholl levies (taxes)pass "For the Kids" year after year. Then on top of that is the practice of the school districts insulting my intelligence by saying that a levie (tax) that is about to expire would not be a "new" tax if we vote to extend it because it already was approved. This is BULL. A tax is a TAX! An extende tax, is from that date forward, a NEW tax. As educators, you would think they would know that.
I firmly believe that politicians should be held accountable for spending. They should "actively" seek new ways to limit the spending of "OUR" money. (yours and mine).
Instead, they seem to believe that it is their money and when they want something they just tax us for the additional money.

Tim is right. It's time for all of us to start saying NO to increased taxes of any sort. You will be surprised to see that services will continue.

An earlier post wrote: Does anyone wonder who is bankrolling Eyman's efforts?

response: As far as fundraising for I-1033 is concerned, we've received 2063 individual donations totalling $664,769 so far. 2063 -- that's really extraordinary -- it's clear that I-1033 has a very broad base of grassroots support. Supporter Mike Dunmire is a real rock star among our supporters -- he's inspired many to contribute because of his leadership and support. His $300,000 contribution, along with my $250,000 loan from a 2nd mortgage on my house, certainly helped a lot, but we value everyone who contributes to our efforts, especially during these tough economic times.

out of the 48,148 supporters who were mailed a I-1033 petition in February, an extraordinary 34,588 sent back a partially filled or fully filled petition, and 315,444 citizens signed a petition.

Thanks to all those people who worked so hard, the voters will have the opportunity to vote in November for lower property taxes by controlling the growth of government.

http://www.VotersWantMoreChoices.com

Carol, normally I would agree that the interviewer should interview people from multiple sides of the issue (like last week when they interviewed three people who were in favor of government health care, and none who were opposed).

In this case, however, the interviewer WAS the opposing side. Ms. Douglas is against the initiative, and argued against Mr. Eyman. No additional interviewee was needed.

And Dave ... wow. If someone disagrees with you and wants government to spend less, then they're not a "serious person"? Wow.

I agree with pudge. While I think that an interviewer has a responsibility to ask tough questions, I don't know why Carolyn Douglas thought that it was her job to be the opposition to Tim Eyman. The fact that she became emotional during the interview says a lot about her personal position on this topic. I expect much more from someone who is leading a discussion on an important topic.

I really miss Robert Mak, though Allen Schauffler has been doing a very good job of keeping the program interesting. If today's broadcast was the future of the program, it is pretty bleak.

I'm a little surprised at you Pudge. Carolyn DOuglas presented the data the Tax Foundation has crunched and some how that is her opinion? Seems odd. I didn't notice Tim really answered those questions. If you sensed emotion, may be it was her frustration trying to get a straight answer. Frankly, I didn't hear that at all.

Carolyn Douglas was a very poor interviewer and let her personal feelings show in the questioning and reporting

When does Alan Schaeffer get back from vacation?

Alan chance of getting Robert Mak back if Nickels becomes Schnell 2?

for those of you who think time is right you seam to forget that you property taxes are tied to the value of your house. You also seam to forget that taxes help pay for the things we depend on. Schools, collage, roads extra.

It's about time we fought back. My property value has gone down 25% but my property taxes have only gone down 3%. What is that all about? Recently, I received a new property assessment and it states: "...do not assume that a reduction in your assessed value will result in a lowering of next year's tax blil." Why shouldn't I assume a tax reduction? Go Eyman...we're behind you all the way!!!!

Two years ago our property taxes were raised 30 percent after two, one million dollar homes were built in our neighborhood. We are retired. The state will tax us out of our home of 25 years.

Tim Eyeman is a coward who refuses to meet his oppositon and has done more to gut government than anyone in recent history combined with any other! I don't like taxes, either, but we pay a very small price for the right to live in this country. I would ask if we shouldn't pay more taxes. Who will build the roads and the sewers and the water systems and the schools if not the government? Was that baby his? Where is she going to go to school? Where are her children goint to go to school? If this insane initiative is approved by voters, the only government that citizens have the ability to change - that of their local jurisdiction - will be rendered useless. Tim Eyman is engaging citizens to destroy themselves. Let Tim Eyeman come up with some solid solutions to problems. Let Time Eyeman run for office so he can make changes while FACING constituents. Believe Tim Eyeman when he answers questions with statments that make sense instead of repeating hollow and senseless words that mean nothing.

Tim Eyeman is a coward who refuses to meet his oppositon and has done more to gut government than anyone in recent history combined with any other! I don't like taxes, either, but we pay a very small price for the right to live in this country. I would ask if we shouldn't pay more taxes. Who will build the roads and the sewers and the water systems and the schools if not the government? Was that baby his? Where is she going to go to school? Where are her children goint to go to school? If this insane initiative is approved by voters, the only government that citizens have the ability to change - that of their local jurisdiction - will be rendered useless. Tim Eyman is engaging citizens to destroy themselves. Let Tim Eyeman come up with some solid solutions to problems. Let Time Eyeman run for office so he can make changes while FACING constituents. Believe Tim Eyeman when he answers questions with statments that make sense instead of repeating hollow and senseless words that mean nothing.

Well my parents let their home fall into disrepair because they paid more in taxes than they paid on the mortgage when they had one. Retired, low income and fixed high taxes. Eventually I will pay for my home and taxes will be more per month that the mortgage. And they will continually rise until I have to move on. My wife and I make enough to live on now. Soon it will swing the other way. Society is structured to get the old out, and time moves on. I would love to see taxes reduced and put of the inevitable a few more years. This is a common theme.

Tim Eyman never said "trust me," he always says "read the text and vote for it." And he wins almost every time - his initiative does.

Tim Eyman MUST BE SHUT DOWN. California had the same DON'T PAY TAXES issues years ago and suddenly it can't pay for its services. Do you want the Washington State Police Dept's, Fire Dept's, Road's, Refuse, Water... to face the same?

As far as Schools... So, you never had a child in the school system. Did YOU attend public schools? Did YOU get an education. Do YOU go to a Doctor or nurse that received a basic education? Do YOU go to a grocery store, drug store or even WALMART and EXPECT the cashier to know how to give change? Do you EXPECT the people you have contact to HAVE A BASIC EDUCATION? THEN, expect to pay school taxes.

Do YOU want to drive down a pothole FREE street??? The expect to pay taxes.

GET RID OF EYMAN and his BULL.

Eyman is NOT right....the only people that will gain anything are those with excess money lining their pockets that feel they can sling his way...thats all Eyman cares about is lining his durn pockets....the heck with the people of Washington or how government runs...long as he can sucker some loser into stuffing his pockets with loads of cash Eyman is a happy camper....WAKE UP PEOPLE

I can understand the frustration of taxpayers wanting relief from high property taxes but I think the initiative process is out of control- we voted these folks into office, and intervention from people that have no credentials for running government is not serving us better. I believe it's the people's government ultimately, but not everyone who is pursuaded to sign initiatives are fully educated about the consequences of what they may do to affect people's lives directly.

it is about time we limit property taxes to inflation plus population. government is drunk over money and spending. the politicians have zero self control and this is the only way to reign them in.

for all those big tax and spenders out there. when this initiative passes, you should just practice what you preach and do the right thing. if you truly feel you are undertaxed, just do the right thing and send an extra check down to your county government with your property tax payment. but then again, i doubt that will happen,,right?

Tim Eyman is right on. Our property taxes are going up and up. Some homeowners have loans that require escrows to pay their property taxes, and when there's an increase, not only does the escrow payment have to go up to cover the increase, but, depending on when the analysis was done, it may have to increase an additional amount to cover the tax increase of the last year that was already paid. I know of homeowners that have a payment increase of $400 per month on their house payment because of this situation. Sales tax is not a problem...you can choose to not buy big ticket items if the sales tax is going to hurt you...or you can wait and save up and buy later. But you don't get that option with property taxes. You gotta pay, and you gotta pay now.

40+ years growing up in Renton/Bellevue and I have seen this area go from so beautiful to down right crap...Our school system's have had so much money thrown at them and yet the kids come out stupid and dependent upon their parents way to much...I have met public school teacher's who scare me with their stupidity. For the person who wonders where Tim will send his child to school....well if he's smart....private school or home schooling. The high school drop out rates keep going up and you expect me to throw even more $ at this administrative heavy/failing system? Get real!!! And the tax burden of excessive government spending has hit us...they are crying the blues because they overspent? Gee I do think its time to give them a credit card with limits don't you? I've never hit mine because i live within my means....has anyone ever heard of such a thing? People....more is coming down the pike so get real....when all the baby boomers are either to ill to work and have to retire....which 60% of them will be....where will the tax base be then??? Are we going to wait for the big boom to happen and them try to put a bandage on it....get back to the basic's and live a simpler life for starter's....less stress...less government....less needs. My ancestors pioneered this area and it sickens me how the people who have lived in this area can't even stay in the houses that they grew up in because of out of control taxation....Yes Tim was right we are taxed 8th in the country...King five reporter who read between the lines and spewed a less intimidating percentage out (not based on all taxation). Gee wonder why Boeing left and more business's to follow. Government will have fun when most business's have left and their stuck with a declining employment base....economics 101. Good luck Wa!!! Your gonna need it!

Supposedly there is a 1 percent increase per year limit on your property tax already which is fine and dandy, but there is no limit on the assessor's valuation of your property. Which means if your property valuation doubles, your taxes double(almost).
In the last few years, 2007-2008, property valuations in my area, the northwest quadrant of whatcom county, increased approximately 150 percent from 2006 valuations with corresponding increases in the taxes.
As of this year, my property taxes are over 10 percent of my gross income and about half as much as the mortgage payment was.
While I do not completely agree with Eyman's initiative, I will vote for it because it is better than nothing which is what we have now.

I hear alot of people say that we need an income tax for the following two reasons. The poor pay a disproportionate amount of the sales tax and an income tax would allow the state to have a more stable source of income. Both of these reasons are fallacies.

The poor pay little to no sales tax. A family of 3-4 with a $30k income probably pays less than $500 a year in sales tax. And the reason is simple. Almost all of their income is spent on goods and services that are exempt from sales tax. Rent, mortage payments, insurance, food, medical services are all exempt from sales tax. And they pay little to no federal income tax either due to all the credits and personal exemptions and deductions, etc. So exactly how is this group overtaxed? Should they not pay SOMETHING in taxes at the state and federal level?

On the income tax idea as a stable source of revenue for the state, one only needs to look nowhere else than California with one of the highest state income tax in the nation and its equally high sales tax...with its $24 billion dollar annual deficit and an absolutely fiscal disaster unfolding. Need I say more?

Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of Great Britain said it aptly: Socialism works fine.... at least until you run out of rich people. Sounds like California to me.

What Eyman and his supporters fail to acknowledge is that we in this state already have the means to reduce spending in Olympia. Perhaps they've heard of it - it's called an "election". If you don't like what your legislator does, then you can vote them out of office.

I thought Carolyn Douglas did a good job, providing some facts to challenge the nonsense that Eyman was spouting. Eyman is a con artist, and his fans are selfish, greedy, and short sighted.

I can't believe that people keep falling for this song and dance man's simplistic crap.
I have to agree with Eliot that we have elected representatives and we should let them represent...opr vote them out. The endless emotional appeal of Eyman is an embarrassment to thoughtful democracy.

I think the whole motivation behind this initiative was exposed in Eyman's last statement, in response to the question about how Washington State is not exorbitantly taxing its property owners:
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"For 12 years our supporters have asked us, I mean, in fact, begged us to go after property taxes..."
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Eyman's supporters are those who fund his campaigns. This includes the proverbially-maligned deep-pockets in Washington State, primarily those with large private or corporate land holdings. They wouldn't give any money to Eyman's efforts if there wasn't a huge upside to that contribution/investment.
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The insidious nature of Eyman's ongoing campaigns is the illusion that his efforts are going to benefit the average Washingtonian. Much like the Republican party, he is working to lower the tax rates for the extreme upper class and shift the state's revenue onto wage taxes and taxable transactions.

Be careful when you hear him talk about his 'supporters'. Eyman does not make a living helping people who can't give him money. It's quite the contrary. While I doubt he's getting rich doing it, he could only afford to constantly campaign if he was funded by those who would stand to gain very much from his victories.

to: James Roche (previous post)

I wrote this earlier, maybe you didn't see it:

As far as fundraising for I-1033 is concerned, we've received 2063 individual donations totalling $664,769 so far. 2063 -- that's really extraordinary -- it's clear that I-1033 has a very broad base of grassroots support. Supporter Mike Dunmire is a real rock star among our supporters -- he's inspired many to contribute because of his leadership and support. His $300,000 contribution, along with my $250,000 loan from a 2nd mortgage on my house, certainly helped a lot, but we value everyone who contributes to our efforts, especially during these tough economic times.

out of the 48,148 supporters who were mailed a I-1033 petition in February, an extraordinary 34,588 sent back a partially filled or fully filled petition, and 315,444 citizens signed a petition.

Thanks to all those people who worked so hard, the voters will have the opportunity to vote in November for lower property taxes by controlling the growth of government.

http://www.VotersWantMoreChoices.com

I have no issue in paying taxes, however its what the government does with the money once they get it. I think Eyeman has done a wonderful job. The car tab originally "ALL" the money was suppose to fund roads, but when Eyeman passed the $30 tabs the government shut down other projects not roads because the money went to the General fund. Another issue on top of this is ORV or ATV tags, we have to tag the ATV's in order to ride but now they are shutting down all the most popular trails to ride on. That money is suppose to pay for that, but in a budget crunch the State decides to take that money and keep collecting it from uneducated people. You wont find my ATV's tagged.... Eyeman is good for our State, he keeps legislation on their toes and makes them "WORK" for their jobs. His next project should be DSHS and crushing them at their core, with a plan to restructure. That would save our state TONS. Oh and BTW did anyone know that the Pierce County Housing (Section 8) is in Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Talk about missmanaged. Freakin Retards.

If you want the same thing that happened in California...tax protests... NOW, no money for ANYTHING. Then vote for Eymans "stuff".

You MUST realize why the money is needed and what the money goes to provide. If you don't want roads, schools, sewers, electricity, water... MOVE TO RUSSIA. Wait, that was communism and everyone paid everything. So, go to Europe...wait, they are taxed even more than we are under Socialism. So, go to Montana. There aren't that many roads there, poor roads at that, everyone has a gun to protect themselves since there isn't any law... Yeah, send Eyman to Montana.

Please tell Eyman that I will vote for this one if we can somehow get our leaders to revoke the ridiculous car tab initiative that has crippled our budget.

I have another idea. Please allow Eyman to never pay taxes again. However, he may not drive his car on our roads, send his kids to public school, or receive any other services that we all contribute to.

Washington state taxes are out of control.
Tim Eyman is a hero.
Understand this. You only have a finite time on this earth. A large portion of that time is devoted to earning money used for necessities, extras and saving for retirement.
When the government confiscates your money they taking away your life energy.
The more the government taxes you, the lower quality of life you have, and ultimately the worse your retirement will be.
I will be voting for Tim Eyman's Initiative.

We need to support this and here is why. A lot of newer homeowners have no idea of how much their property taxes are. They are usually hidden and included with their mortgage payments. However, ask somebody that has struggled to pay that mortgage for thirty years and then finds out that huge payments go on forever. As a family living on a fixed retirement, property taxes are a major budget crisis. If I can't afford sales tax I can opt to stop buying non-food items until I have the money to pay the tax. If I can't afford property taxes, I lose my home, no options.

We desperately need to put a rein on our Kitsap county officials who never find a project that is not worth throwing more of our money at.

Initiative 1033 is a another Eyman reverse Robin Hood scheme to benefit the wealthy. Last year 57% of state tax revenue came from the sales tax. Everyone pays sales taxes, which are a regressive form of taxation. Rather than propose a reduction in sales tax when revenues go up, Eyman proposes to transfer these funds to benefit property owners.

The more property you own, the larger tax break you would get. So if you own a second home or a mansion your benefit will be larger. If you are a mall owner or real estate developer with lots of property who will benefit from this wealth transfer. Some 40% of property tax is paid by commercial interests.

Also only 65% of homes in Washington state are owner occupied according to the US Census Bureau.
I-1033 only benefits property owners. Transferring sales tax revenue from everyone to only benefit property owners is special interest legislation to benefit those able to own property. Its a big tax loophole for the wealthy.

Vote no on I-1033. I's rather have my sales tax dollars go to fund services like police and fire protection or transportation or education rather than providing a tax break that mostly benefits the more wealthy.

I was curious how Eyman's number of individual donations doesn't match up with what the Public Disclosure Commission has.

The PDC reports Eyman raised $664,769 through June. This is the figure he uses above. Yet the PDC website lists only some 897 contributions. Some contibutors gave 2 or 3 or 4 times so the numbers of contributions is more than the number of contributors.

The PDC in addition lists without names or amounts some $20,345.56 Eyman reported as small contributions so I'm sure that this is where his 2063 "contributions" come from.

The funny part is that under named contributors he lists one person as giving 5 cents four different times. (That's 4 contributions?) Another gave 7 cents 2 different times and a third contributor gave 2 cents.

So number of contributions is obviously not the same as contributors. And recording people giving 2 cents as a contributer makes it easy to inflate the number of contributions made.

But in the end the reality is that 3 people have funded the bulk of the I-1033 campaign so far. Michael Dunmire of Woodinville gave $300,000. Tim Eyman borrowed $250,000 and loaned it to the campaign. And Kemper Holdings LLC of Bellevue owned by Kemper Freeman who owns Bellevue Square Mall gave $25,000.

The top 3 donors in the campaign contributed 86.5% of the total cash raised. This hardly sounds like a grassroots campaign to me. Especially since they spent %598,081 to get the signatures. That's an average of $1.89/signature.

You can read more about the No on 1033 position by going to http://www.no1033.com/

The campaign against I-1033 is just gearing up now that it is on the November ballot but alrady has received support from a large number of organizations opposing I-1033. Here is the most recent list of organizations opposing I-1033.

AARP Washington
Amalgamated Transit Union 1015
American Federation of Teachers Washington, AFL-CIO
Alzheimer's Association, Western and Central Washington Chapter
Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of King County
Central Washington Progress
Children's Alliance
Heart of America Northwest
King County Democrats
Lutheran Public Policy Office
Washington State Council of Fire Fighters
Fuse Washington
Futurewise
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
The Nature Conservancy of Washington
OneAmerica
Planned Parenthood Votes! Washington
Puget Sound Sage
Raising Our APA Representation
SEIU 775
SEIU 925
SEIU 1199
Sahngnoksoo
Sierra Club, Cascade Chapter
Statewide Poverty Action Network
Surfrider Foundation
Transportation Choices Coalition
UFCW Local 21
Washington Association of Churches
Washington Bus
Washington Education Association
Washington Federation of State Employees
Washington Low Income Housing Alliance
Washington Stand for Children
Washington State Council of County and City Employees, AFSCME Council 2
Washington State Hospital Association
Washington State Labor Council
Washington State Senior Citizen's Lobby

Go to www.No1033.com to add your organization's name to the list.

Well... you get what the majority of folks in this state vote for... politicians that only have their own personal interest at heart! Personally, the politicians that I vote for never get elected. "YOU" always elect the folks that couldn't run a hotdog stand properly!

It's important to keep in mind that I-1033 is basically a measure that will reduce government services over time. The State Legislature cut spending this year and services for seniors and education and the like because of reduced revenue from sales taxes and other revenue. Next year under I-1033 they could not restore any of these services lost because the measure fixes the base line spending each year based on the previous year's level.

Any increase for inflation and population growth only keeps this spending level at the previous year's level adjusted for the new cost of maintaining existing funded programs. Every time there is a recessionary cycle, government services will be ramped down. To refund any lost programs will require public votes.

This is a very inefficient process, requiring public votes for every increase which delays the government's ability to help the economy grow by refunding needeed services as money becomes available.

This tying of the hands of government to respond to current economic needs is part of what created the crisis in California. This restriction on the powers of the Legislature to act resulted in a disaster in Colorado. We don't need to repeat something that failed elsewhere to know it wouldn't work here.

Vote No on I-1033 this November and let the State Legislature do its job under the laws set up by the Washington State Constitution. If you don't like what they do then vote for new Legislators. Otherwise let them do their jobs.

Opponents want higher taxes and a state income tax -- they think taxpayers are UNDERTAXED. I-1033 brings back the successful fiscal discipline of I-601, policies that Gregoire and the Democrats got rid of in 2005, resulting in a $9 billion deficit. I-1033 reinstates a reasonable limit on government's growth and if government thinks the automatic increase allowed by I-1033 isn't a big enough increase, then they can go to the voters and ask for an even bigger increase.

raising taxes and imposing a state income tax, the fervent desire of I-1033's opponents, will only make things worse. I-1033's fiscal discipline will make sure that government doesn't face a $9 billion deficit ever again.

http://www.VotersWantMoreChoices.com

I-1033 will result in first freezing government spending at the current level and during times of recession, reducing spending even more.

Any programs cut in the current recession like decreased school funding, children's health care, teacher's pay raises, reduction of classroom size and the like would all be frozen at the current level by I-1033 because each year spending is set at the previous years funding level. When revenue decreases like during the currwnt crisis, the next year's spending level ratchets down even further even if revenue increases the next year.

Only allowing increases for inflation means the spending in real terms is frozen. To only adjust for inflation costs and adding costs related to population growth means no new programs. Any attempt to again pay for programs abopve this would require a vote of the people under I-1033.

I -1033 is just another attempt by Eyman to foist his anti-government anti-tax approach on everyone. It would apply to not just the state but also cities and counties. It would take away local control and tie budget considerations to elections.

Any attempt to add police or firemen for example when the economy improves will require a vote of the people because it will be a new cost above the inflation adjustment which would just maintain the status quo.

Numerous elections cost money and delay governemnts ability to respond to changing economic situations. Vote No on I-1033 and keep
the ability for cities and counties and the state to act in the manner in which the state constitution gives them the authority.

I-1033 is an attempt to end representative governemnt and your right to elect people to make budget decisions based on local needs, not some made up formula that was tried in Colorado and failed.

Interesting article - provides an interesting perspective:

What Nobody Tells You About Washington's Permanent Tax Revolt

How Come the Sky Doesn’t Fall?

http://www.yourhealthcaretoday.com/home/1167-what_nobody_tells_you_about_washington_s_permanent_tax_revolt.htm

Initiative 1033 is a clone of a constitutional amendment Colorado voters passed in 1992 known as TABOR or Taxpayer Bill of Rights. I-1033 is not a constitutional amendment but as an initiative its impact would be the same.

TABOR imposed the same limits on spending as proposed in I-1033, namely allowing only an increase for inflation and population growth being added to the previous year's spending level. It also applies to both state and local government spending.

The results proved disastrous for public services in Colorado. State spending for K-12 education went from 35th to 49th in the country. Higher education funding decreased 31%. Teacher's pay relative to other jobs fell, roads went unrepaired, childrens' healthcare funding dropped 50%, childhood vaccinations dropped.

The reduction in public services is caused by the fact that the use of the consumer price index is based on consumer spending. Many of the costs for public services like healthcare under Medicaid and education increase much faster than the consumer price index.

Also I-1033 does not take into account demographic factors like the increasing number of senior citizens as a result of the Baby Boomers getting older and needing more public services.

Voters in Colorado recently suspended TABOR to allow public services to return to a more reasonable level. Washington State does not need to repeat the Colorado experiment.

Check out a video done on the Colorado version of I-1033 here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v#kbF3_CiOtoM

Protect local control of our public services. Vote No on I-1033 this November 3, 2009.

The youtube link above got changed when it was posted so it doesn't go directly to the link. Let me try again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbF3_CiOtoM

Here are the key words of the fiscal impact of I-1033 according to the fiscal impact statement done for the voter's pamphlet:

"The initiative reduces state general fund revenues that support education; social, health and environmental services; and general government activities by an estimated $5.9 billion by 2015. The initiative also reduces general fund revenues that support public safety, infrastructure and general government activities by an estimated $694 million for counties and $2.1 billion for cities by 2015."

Here's the link to the original document -"Fiscal Impact Statement by the Office of Financial Management" so you can read it yourself.

http://www.ofm.wa.gov/initiatives/i-1033_fiscal_impact.pdf

VOTE NO ON I-1033 IF YOU WANT THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN OUR STATE TO REMAIN BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY, AND SOUND. VOTE YES IF YOU WANT IT DEVASTATED AS IT IS IN CALIFORNIA. BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT GET SOMETHING WITHOUT PAYING FOR IT. OUR TAXES ARE VERY LOW FOR WHAT WE RECEIVE.