Tempest in a Teapot

It’s time for Democrats to back off on their idea to raise taxes, and it seems they may have had a jolt of reality strike them right between their tax-thirsty eyes.

The overwhelming number of citizens who joined in the Tax Day Tea parties along with some new polling numbers have them pouting and spouting.

For example, last week at the conclusion of a hearing on his bill that would ask voters to raise the state sales tax Rep Eric Pettigrew spouted "If voters do not pass this legislation, people will die." How pathetic is that?

The Everett Herald called it taxpayer blackmail in a recent editorial and made some excellent points:

If Pettigrew and his colleagues who share this view -- and that includes House Speaker Frank Chopp -- care that much about health-related programs for the poor, they should fund them. Instead, they propose leaving their survival to a vote of citizens who are scraping to make ends meet and are highly skeptical of Olympia's priorities.

Proponents will plaster images of the state's most vulnerable citizens on billboards and television screens, turning the guilt screws hard.Voters are smarter than Pettigrew seems to think. They'll see through this blackmail, and many will resent lawmakers for punting some of the tough decisions they were sent to Olympia to make.

If this one gets to the ballot, we bet the voters will kick it right back.

Families throughout the state are struggling. Draining more money from an already anemic economy could extend the downturn, undercutting the very revenues Pettigrew and Chopp seek to enhance.

Taxpayers are so done with taxes, and to their own peril legislators will ignore the tempest in a teapot.