Adele Ferguson - Eyman sees Pandora’s Box tax if I-1053 rejected

I SEE, I told Tim Eyman, that the Elway poll shows support has dropped for your Initiative 1053 requiring a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to increase taxes, and a Seattle legislator got a piece published in the Times calling it “undemocratic, unfair and unwise.”

“It always breaks down to who turns out to vote,” he said. “People who have voted for it three times already and watched the Democrats suspend it to raise taxes and violate the will of the people will walk over glass to vote for it.”

If there’s anything that’s undemocratic and unfair, said Eyman, it’s for the majority to vote for an initiative three times only to see it overturned. Three times the people have said OK to requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to raise taxes and the Legislature weaseled out of it.

People forget that an approved initiative stands as is, untouchable and invulnerable, for only two years, after which lawmakers are free to make any changes they wish by a simple majority vote. I-960, for example, the previous time Eyman put the two-thirds vote to the people, worked in preventing tax increases in 2009 but this year, whoopee the two years are up, and so were taxes, $6.7 billion, he says.

“PEOPLE ARE FURIOUS with what they did with I-960,” he said.

Well, you got the Seattle Times endorsement this time, I said. They are not gung ho about endorsing ballot measures.

“We also got the Yakima Herald-Republic for the first time in 13 years,” he said. “The Vancouver Columbian endorsed I-1053 although they were against I-960. Newspapers are catching up with the people. There is a wave coming this election. People who haven’t voted in decades are turning out in the primaries. It’s a really active, engaged electorate this year.”

Nonetheless, whereas 65 percent in an Elway poll in June said they would probably or definitely vote yes on I-1053, a current poll puts that at 48 percent. And Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, slams I-1053 in a Times op-ed piece.

He claims it is unconstitutional and requires a two thirds vote to raise any user fee or revenue from any source for any purpose no matter how large or small.

“That’s wrong,” said Eyman. “It’s two-thirds for tax increases, and a simple majority for fee increases. If they can’t get that, they can take it to the people. We are in a constant tug of war, and always will be, with Olympia groups wanting to raise taxes. We have to always be on the other end of the rope. They have an incessant desire for as much money as they can take from our wallets. The voter is saying enough. Didn’t we vote for this before? It’s like mowing the lawn. It keeps growing back unless we keep after it.”

IF VOTERS REJECT I-1053, “it will open a Pandora’s box,” he said. “It will be horribly destructive, not just to family budgets but the state economy. Look at it as pure survival because we will all get royally screwed. If it doesn’t pass, Olympia will get more tax crazy. With the deficit coming up next year oh my God, there could be a sales tax of 13 percent. Business taxes would have to double. Higher taxes are insanely destructive.”

He feels good about I-1053’s chances, he said. “I’m excited. We have debated it. We have discussed it. We voted for it before so let’s bring it back again. A lot of people are joining our coalition. The swing has really been dramatic. They are saying we trusted you guys and how did you reward our trust? You raised taxes. I feel like a sucker. But no more.”

(Adele Ferguson can be reached at P.O. Box 69, Hansville, Wa., 98340.)