A Light Shines Very Briefly in Olympia

December 28, 2010

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Moments of lucidity, however brief, are rare from our Democrat led state legislature in Olympia. We see them so rarely that once one happens, no matter how brief, it just amazes us. But, just as former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened,” we can rest assured those moments won’t last long.

In this case, an article originally appearing in The Spokesman-Review, As gasoline use drops, so does state revenue, leaves me nearly speechless that they didn’t know this would happen as they pushed for less driving and more dependence upon public transportation.

Our elected officials sent to Olympia, as well as the governor, have steadily raised gasoline taxes, called for less driving, called for gas conservation, forced public transportation on us and they just now realize that revenues off of the taxes goes down?

The article explains the drop more as, “Greater fuel efficiency is a big reason for the decline, along with the current economic recession.”

No mention of Olympia’s efforts to separate us from our cars and leave us dependent upon public transportation.

We also read, “the state will have unfunded transportation needs of about $175 billion to $200 billion through 2030…”

The light came on, no matter how dimly, and allowed them to briefly see the problem they have created. Raising taxes, writing a budget dependent upon those taxes raised while you discourage the use of the product taxes were raised on is a recipe for failure.

The answer ought to be fairly obvious, make taxes reasonable, allow people to use their vehicles freely (stop demeaning the car in favor of bicycles, that contribute no revenues for their use) and direct funds to maintain where the revenues come from.

Following what Churchill said, Olympia rapidly turns that dim light back off as their proposal comes down to, “cutting engineering and technical jobs, reducing ferry service and increasing ferry fares (Puget Sound Region), recommending switching from a flat gas-tax charge to an indexed charge that would increase with inflation (tax raise) and of course, Tolls,” which will add to the burden of already struggling taxpayers as they drive to work, for those lucky enough to still have a job or seek a job.

Much like they did when tobacco taxes were raised astronomically, supposedly to fund child health care, but also to discourage people from smoking, necessitating tax revenues come from somewhere else to fund child health care, they fail to look beyond the end of their liberal noses at the vicious circle they continue to perpetuate.

It was a little refreshing to see someone realize the problem they created in Olympia, but alas, once stumbling upon the truth, they picked themselves up and scurried away like they never saw it.

Tell ’em where you saw it. Http://www.victoriataft.com