Hide your wallet

The Democrats in the Washington State Senate gave voters the proverbial “bird.”

On Monday, Senate Democrats voted 26-23 to ignore the voter mandated requirement of a two-thirds vote to approve new taxes and tax increases. Now if they have one more vote for a new tax than opposing it, we are going to pay.

In 2007, we voted for Initiative 960, the Taxpayer Protection Act, to make tax creation and increases harder. As a state, we told Olympia we are tired of seeing new and higher taxes to pay for increased state government spending.

Did they listen?

Only when it was comfortable.

Facing a $2.6 billion deficit, the Democrats in the Senate told voters where to go. And it ain’t Heaven.

They are looking to increase taxes at every turn to pay for the poor budget decisions. Taxes on bottled water to baked goods have been suggested. New and increased taxes are being placed on the same businesses the state “encourages” to create more jobs.

“The state has increased workers’ compensation by $117 million; (unemployment insurance) taxes for employers have spiked, for many employers who haven’t laid anyone off, by more than 300 percent,” Sen. Janéa Holmquist, R-Moses Lake, stated. “(Unemployment insurance) taxes alone will increase by another $690 million.”

The Democrats need to pay better attention to the public. We are hurting too, but you don’t see us buying luxury yachts when our income is down. We find ways to spend less.

The worst part is how they blatantly ignored an edict from the voters.

“The same government that ran up state spending by more than 33 percent in just a few years … (is) telling the public to ‘shut up and pay up — we know what’s best,” Holmquist stated.

It shows 26 Senate Democrats do not care about you or me, nor are they worried if we will remember this betrayal in November.

When it is time for candidates to file for election, as a newspaper, we will be glad to remind you of who ignored your vote for I-960 and who stole from your wallet to pay for more state government spending.

— Editorial board