Analysis: Income Tax Initiative Will Transform 2010 Midterm Election, Hurt Republicans

By Trevor Griffey • on April 24, 2010

Just as health care reform will dominate the 2010 national mid-term elections, the income tax will dominate Washington state’s election this year.  All other issues will be sideshows. The culture wars no longer dominate American politics. Neither Christian conservatives nor multicultural liberals can win elections merely with their stands on issues

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Who is Behind I-1098?: A Survey of Some of the Major Players Who Launched the Campaign

By Trevor Griffey • on April 22, 2010

[NOTE: The income tax initiative has since been refiled and is numbered I-1098. The article title has been changed to reflect that, but the content of the article has been left the same since it was originally produced] Word went out on Tuesday, April 20 that “Bill Gates Sr. and Other Community Leaders” were about to formally announce the first

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Tax Relief Without Budget Cuts?: New Report Details How WA Taxpayers Could Save Hundreds of Millions

By Trevor Griffey • on April 15, 2010

Washington state taxpayers are paying hundreds of millions more in taxes than they need to, according to a new study from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and United for a Fair Economy. The report, “Leaving

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US PIRG Flunks WA State on Budget Transparency, But Downplays Local Progress & Budget Constraints

By Trevor Griffey • on April 14, 2010

The United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), a liberal consumer protection organization founded by Ralph Nader over three decades ago, gave Washington state’s government a failing grade on budget transparency in a report it released yesterday. The report, “Following

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WA’s Taxes on Soda and Candy Part of National Trend Among States

By Guest Writer • on April 14, 2010

Some states like the sweet taste of soda and candy taxes By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer [Originally published on Tuesday, April 13, on Stateline.org] Riders of the New York City subway got an eyeful — and probably a little indigestion — when they saw billboard

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Olympia Newswire Returns for Its Own Special Session

By Trevor Griffey • on April 12, 2010

The Olympia Newswire has some accumulated reporting and opinion to publish as the Washington state legislature moves toward completing its 4-week special session. Stay tuned this week for a “special session” of the Newswire that will reflect upon the 2010 legislative session and the state of Washington politics as we head into mid-term elections. AKPC_IDS

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Op-Ed: States Need to Drop the Budget Ax

By Guest Writer • on April 2, 2010

By Karen Kraut In the most shocking cut yet seen in the nationwide state budget cutting frenzy, 38,000 poor children in Arizona no longer have health insurance. Arizona policymakers eliminated the State Children’s Health Insurance Program–a first for any state–as a budget gap closing measure. Like many governors faced with a budget crisis caused

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Op-Ed: What Right-Wing Backlash?

By Robert Cruickshank • on April 1, 2010

Are Washington Democrats facing a voter backlash this November? If all you consider is the conventional wisdom emerging from Olympia in recent weeks, the answer is “yes.” The argument goes like this: by repealing I-960, which required a 2/3 vote of both houses of the Legislature to approve a tax increase, Democrats angered voters and unleashed

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Olympia Newswire Will Go On Hiatus Before End of Special Session

By Trevor Griffey • on March 30, 2010

The Olympia Newswire launched as a pilot project to cover the 60 day state legislative session in 2010. It was never perfect, but it accomplished a great deal given its humble origins, and the lessons learned from it will be invaluable for the development of a more sustainable and professional model of independent journalism in Washington state. But

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Trevor Griffey on KBCS 91.3 FM About Groundhog Day in Olympia

By Trevor Griffey • on March 30, 2010

Trevor Griffey was on KBCS 91.3 FM this morning talking about the 3rd week of the Legislature’s special session, and the “groundhog day” experience of waking up every day to have the Legislature stalemated on the same issues that have bothered it all session. There’s also a discussion of the soda tax vs. the sales tax in current

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