Recent Stories with tag education

Visiting family in Portland over the weekend, I got to witness firsthand the difference between how Oregon and Washington are handling their budget crises in the midst of a recession. On Tuesday, Jan. 26, Oregon voters look set to approve ballot Measures 66 and 67, reasonable tax increases on wealthy individuals and businesses, to help fund their budget shortfall and support crucial public services.

Measure 66 raises the state income tax (Oregon has an income tax but no sales tax) 1.8 percent on individuals making over $125,000, and households making over $250,000. The measure also lowers taxes on the unemployed by exempting the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits. Measure 67 raises the minimum business tax for the first time since 1931, from $10 to $150, and adds a 1.3 percent tax on corporate profits over $250,000. The measures are public referendums on bills passed by the legislature last year, and pollsters show both passing....

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"ah, nuts" courtesy of The SunBreak Flickr Pool member Nareshe

Tim Eyman has an I-1033 editorial in the Seattle Times this morning, and while there are many assertions he makes that you can--and should--take issue with, I want to start with his point that an earlier attempt to straitjacket government turned out great: I-747.

At the time, Big Business, Big Labor, politicians and the press went ballistic — they said it'd be "devastating" and "impossible." [...] It was neither "devastating" nor "impossible." Governments have repeatedly proved that they're much more adaptable than they're willing to admit.

What governments have proved themselves capable of adapting to is eliminating (or reducing) the quality of services, and having taxpayers make up the difference through other means. Emergency medical services and fire fighters simply resorted to special levies to keep operating. (Full disclosure: I still have a grudge against Eyman from I-695, which has so far raised the Seattle-Bremerton passenger-only fare from $3.35 to to $6.90, with no end in sight.)

In any event, it doesn't seem like Eyman has interviewed the family of anyone who has died or was permanently affected because of I-747 cutbacks to emergency services see if they feel it was "devastating" or not. He seems like a man who's burnt all his furniture for firewood crowing about how uncluttered his house is.

So who is benefiting? Danny Westneat points out that Eyman's simple attempt at fiscal discipline does great things for the wealthy. Bill Gates, for instance, could see a refund of over half his $1 million annual property tax assessment.

It's tempting to call Eyman an idiot or a tool--and I don't mean to argue that--but his initiatives succeed because he's able to bring up a pain point (property taxes, in this case) and a call to action: "Taxes are too high! Cut the fat!"...

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Forks, Washington, purportedly the rainiest municipality in the continental U.S., has become a household name over the last few years due to the popularity of Stephenie Meyers's Twilight series and their movie adaptations. Today, it even scored a profile from the "Cultured Traveler" Jane Margolies in the NY Times. "Visitors to this rainy town," she writes, "whose main industries are logging and two correctional facilities, have more than tripled for the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to the local Chamber of Commerce."

What's interesting about the article, though, is that it really doesn't have anything good to say about the town. Margolies runs through the obligatory rigmarole of Twilight-themed tours and hotel rooms, but doesn't say anything about the place itself, which isn't particularly surprising. In many ways, Forks is a very sad place, which is only reinforced by its embrace of a pop culture phenomenon... (more)