Comments

1
We need a ballot initiative that says 100% of tax revenue generated in each county is spent in that county. I'm tired of funding roads, police, etc for those parochial asshats
2
And yet unions are convinced, every time, just give them what they want and we all keep our jobs.

Bullshit. But that's what I said last year.
3
Goldy, did I ever tell you that you're a cute little bitch when you're mad? There'll be no property tax levy, you poor thing.
4
@1, better make sure that no King County residents attend any Washington state colleges or universities located outside the county, or go to any parks outside the county, or use any roads outside the county, or send any convicted criminals to prisons outside the county.
5
So Goldy, when you declare war on cars, don't be surprised when we fight back. Next up: You shitball mayor. We're going to flatten his fat ass right into the asphalt.
6
@4 There are two ways of calculating where the money is spent: the physical location of the expenditure, and the home location of the person being served. OFM calculates both of these. An initiative could just specify the latter method.
7
Come to the Transit Riders Union meeting this Monday, July 1, 6:30 - 8:30 at the Labor Temple Hall #6, 2800 1st Avenue. It's time to get organized.

http://transitriders.org
8
@7 I'll try to be there. None of us should accept defeat on this. This can be overturned. Scream bloody murder and raise holy hell in these legislators' districts and demand Inslee call them back into session to give us our bus funding. Do not take no for an answer and do not take this lying down.
9
@3,4,5
First rule of trolling, if it takes you multiple posts in a row - you're failing. Please try again later. Thank you for playing.
10
Where was Ed Murray when we needed him? Oh, that's right, he was in Seattle touting endorsements. If Ed is so good at building coalitions and collaborating with people, why couldn't he get this done? Ed Murray has a lot to answer for on this.
11
I would totally support a local property tax to fund Metro. Property taxes are among our least-regressive options. And all homeowners benefit from good transit, whether you ride a bus, a bike, a gas-powered car, or an electric vehicle.

Let's do it.
12
Its time all the left wing politicians from Seattle start proposing to cut services in rural Washington. Give these assholes a taste of their own medicine.
13
I like my job. I don't want to drive in Seattle, and the bus has been my friend, but the ones I take are on the chopping block. So I have a choice: find another job (because that's so easy), or drive to work. Yay.
14
"The legislature has adjourned. Senators Tom, Fain, Litzow, and Roach—all representing King County districts—voted with colleagues in blocking last minute effort to move MVET bill."

I sure hope their constituents send them packing at the next opportunity.
15
These clowns not only fucked King County, but they also shut the door on transportation projects in Clark County (CRC), Pierce (SR 167 extension) and Spokane counties.

They ignored a good percentage of their constituents in favor of their caucus pals.

The News Tribune produced two excellent editorials on the 26th and 28th on this subject that are worth a read.

16
@10
The R's were doing all they could not to vote on whether to vote. Senator Murray went to the mat so the shameless cowards who betrayed their home districts were at least held accountable.
17
Rodney Tom fucked HIS OWN KING COUNTY DISTRICT for the sake of his Republican overlords. Incredible.
18
@13, no one is going to end bus service. Fares will go up as they ought to. Excess service will be cut. And who knows, maybe KC Metro will get its shit together, God forbid.

Goldy can huff and puff all he wants to (and he does want to) about Eastern Washington, but it won't matter. And there isn't going to be a property tax hike for the transit. For one thing, and this might be wrong, I believe the deadline for a November initiative has passed. So you'd better get ready to take your medicine, children.
19
@13

I'm almost in the same boat. I take the bus, but wouldn't call her my friend. The other day I overheard her talking to a taxi calling me a hipster, rolling her eyes no less.
20
1 & 12, no.

Goldy - which districts do these folks who voted against represent, so I can be ashamed about the people I (might) know from them?

21
By the way, if we do raise taxes for transit, it ought to be by means of raising the sales tax. Everyone should share the cost, not just car owners or homeowners. Renters benefit from transit too. In fact, maybe the most of all. Time to pay up. Oh, and #13, why don't you just get yourself an apodment on Capitol Hill? I hear it's the latest thing to do. Downsize, baby!
22
Do we know what buses fact cuts?
23
@20, all of the Seattle delegations wanted higher taxes, as usual. Maybe you'll need to move to Adams County and vote against them. Or Medina, so you can vote against Rodney Tom. It's falling-down funny to see the people here who think they'll huff and puff and blow that guy's house down. And even if you manage that, do you actually think there aren't other Democrats outside of Seattle who'll step up to the plate?

This is what happens when you talk only to the people you agree with, and call anyone who sees it differently every name in the book, as the Stranger and its readers never tire of doing. Eventually, even in this state, they notice and say, "Well, then, fuck you too."
24
I hate Rodney Tom and I want him gone.
25
Goldy, yeah. A 1.5% MVET is soooooo popular.

Sure it's mildly progressive, but even the cheapest increase prctically starts at the value of the tax increase rejected by Seattle voters (amongst others) a couple years ago.

Try your rant again. Only, this time, take it from a stance that at least 50+% of the voters would vote against the increase if they had the chance.
26
@23 Speak for yourself. You remind us all why we don't vote Republican.

You got smacked in the last election. Your better days are behind you.
27
@21: You fucking retard. Where do you think landlords get the money to pay their property taxes from?
28
@23. I really don't understand how you are trying to rile me, but thanks for the attention. I'd love to live in Medina but I don't want to pay the extra $7 a day to travel in and out of Seattle. Plus I don't think I can get a mortgage there.

One thing that constantly fascinates me about all this stuff on here about how Rodney Tom betrayed everyone is that I've not seen a single piece of journalism about how angry the residents of Medina are about his about face (spoiler, they probably aren't - another topic for another time).

In fact, I find the whole political system here void of the concept of representation. There are votes, then there is a dichotomy of options, each and every time.
29
Property tax isn't progressive! It does a bad job of reaching the elite class and gut punches the middle who already have a disproportionately large fraction of income directed to paying for said property. It gets passed along to renters too - you can't pretend that because renters don't write the checks they're not paying the tax rolled into rents on average.

We need an income tax in this state. I really don't mind paying for motherfucking everything, but would feel a lot better about it if the Medina waterfront set paid anything even remotely close to an equal proportion.
30
So happy right now, Rodeny Tom is a Centrist hero. $150 per 10k makes a Honda Accord $600 per year to license. Car drivers already pay the state enough. Pay your share you bus riding fucks, 5 bucks each way should do it. Bring fare compliance to 100% by beating to death those that do not pay fare. One can dream.
31
@29, While I agree we need an income tax in WA, you and I are apparently in the minority. it has been voted down again and again, and the legislature won't touch it with a 10' pole.

A property tax isn't totally progressive, but it is the most progressive of the realistic options we have available to us right now. It is certainly more progressive than a sales tax or gas tax, which both disproportionately effect the poor.
32
@31 -- I agree. The one good thing about a gas tax, though, is that it is a sin tax. Every time I buy and consume gasoline, I'm hurting everyone else -- the higher the cost, the more I think of finding alternatives (like riding the bus).
33
Amen, Clara! You and I are now two people in this state who would love to see an income tax. It'd be even better if there was no sales tax, only an income tax.

Unfortunately, it's apparently still very unpopular. However, previously unpopular issues have miraculously turned around. For instance, if you would have told me not too long ago that we would have a black president and gay marriage would be legal in 2013, I would have told you to stop watching so many movies. And if you would have told me that the public at large would sour on corporations, I would have told you to step out of Seattle a little bit. But yet, here we are. We just need to start planting the seed and building the case for an income tax. When Republican ideals drive society to hell, the public will start to listen to that crazy left wing commie-socialist nutcase liberal talk, like the proposal for an income tax.
34
@31: An income tax has been voted down once in the 22 years i've lived in this state.

"Again and again"? How far back are you counting?
35
"Thanks to them, their constituents will now enjoy a 17 percent cut in Metro bus service"

Huh?

Senator Tom represents Medina, which has the 3rd highest per capita income in the state. In 2004, 53% of Rodney Tom's district voted for Bush. The median income for a household is $133,756 and the median family income is $149,637. His constituents inclide Ichiro, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates.

JEFF BEZOS DOES NOT RIDE THE MOTHERFUCKING BUS.

In fact, by the numbers, Rodney Tom's constituents probably don't ride the bus at all. Their maids do, which is why there is bus service to Medina. But those maids don't vote in Rodney Tom's district, because they can't afford to live there.

Which is why he voted the way he did. Transit is not a concern for the people that elected him to office.
36
If we want some payback for Rodney Tom, we can oppose the unfunded widening of highway 520 on the Seattle side. Drivers coming from Medina will experience Rodney's Merge as the highway loses a lane in the middle of the lake. Widening 520 never made sense anyway in this age of Peak Car.

Another thing: I am about ready to give Jay Inslee some credit for being a climate ninja, by supporting the Columbia River Crossing project so strongly that he drew a lot of Republican opposition and got it scrapped. Pitching the CRC at the Cascade Bicycle Club was so over the top that maybe he was sending us a coded signal that it was a put-on. I had my back to the big screen, so I wasn't watching closely enough to see if he winked.

This sucks about transit though.
37
I'd love to live in Medina but I don't want to pay the extra $7 a day to travel in and out of Seattle. Plus I don't think I can get a mortgage there.

If you have to worry about $7 a day, you can't afford to live in Medina.

I'm having plenty of laughs about this. Boy oh boy, now who are the NIMBY reactionaries? Come on, if you live too far away and are afraid that your bus route will be cut, then you need to embrace the change and move into the city! Ride your bike to work, or better yet, walk! It's good for you. We have apodments! Get rid of your stuff! Who needs so much stuff when you can live in a vibrant, walkable, smart, world-class city? This is the urbanist future, and you need to adapt.

Jesus Christ on a crutch, how old are you anyway, grandpa? You expected everyone else to subsidize your wasteful suburban lifestyle by giving you cheap bus fares? The evil Rodney Tom served you lemons, so now's the time to make lemonade! Be creative. You know Lyft and Sidecar? If you insist on your wasteful suburbia, then go online and get rides to work. The Internet will solve everything.

I'll tell you, the resistance to change around here is a little over the top. Change is good. Welcome it!

38
Goldy, Spoken like a true 99%er but watch out you don't get peppered for speaking up.
39
Which is why he voted the way he did. Transit is not a concern for the people that elected him to office.

Which brings to mind his next re-election slogan: "Seattle Hates Me." Believe me, Rodney Tom is a shoo-in. The more Goldy pisses his pants about it, the wider the margin will be. Yet, he won't possibly be able to shut up. This ought to be fun.
40
@37. That was the joke, thanks for over explaining like you are some kind of John Stewart.

41
@40, sorry you're so poor. Can you even afford an apodment, or will you commute from under a bridge now?
42
p.s.: Can I reserve a "suspended" coffee in your name, poor thing?
43
@37, et al: "Senator Tom represents Medina..." "In fact, by the numbers, Rodney Tom's constituents probably don't ride the bus at all."

Sen. Tom represents a lot more than just Medina, the tag behind his name notwithstanding. For instance, Sen. Tom's district includes most of Redmond (including Microsoft's campus), portions of Kirkland, and the Crossroads area of Bellevue. All of these regions use transit. Maybe not on the same scale as Seattle, but we use transit. B Line is popular, the 545 is also popular, 255 is popular, 248 is popular, and so are 224, 232, 249, 250, 269. Yarrow Point and Evergreen Point Freeway Stations are (hey!) popular, Bear Creek Park and Ride is popular, Redmond Transit Center is popular. All of these are used by real people who live in Rodney Tom's district.

LD 48 voted against I-1125 in 2011. Our King County council member (Hague) voted for the Metro CRC after Metro did what it asked (as mentioned by Goldy's post). Microsoft has supported tax packages for transit, including the RTA tax that is paid on the vehicles used for its intra-building shuttle service, and lobbied against transit-harming measures like I-1125.

This goes beyond Medina. It can and possibly will happen that Sen. Tom will feel pushback over this. It's not a war on cars when the legislature demands that highway packages be pushed from on high but transit measures must go before the voters.
44
Forget it.

I don't care how many state bridges and roads fall apart I'm not voting for a SINGLE BALLOT ISSUE until they return our bus funding.

None. Nada. Zip.

The rest of the state can hang themselves from their own petard.
45
Why the hell do you people have a Republican majority in your state Congress?
46
oh Goldy.

dreaming of your own little State seems premature when you can't even manage a bus system.....

you do provide a lot of laughs to the rest of the state, however.
47
So, is "noicons" the newest incarnation of Mister G?
48
"There are two ways of calculating where the money is spent: the physical location of the expenditure, and the home location of the person being served. OFM calculates both of these. An initiative could just specify the latter method."

Sounds good, can we have in Seattle too so North Seattle doesn't have to subsidize South Seattle?
49
just asking, a 1.5 % mvet means some family with a $8K Honda plus a $3K pickup truck plus a 20 year old Winnebago trailer worth $4K ;plus a boat worth $4K plus a boat trailer worth $500 pays how much a year?

and how is a 17% revenue cut a 17% cut in "service" isn't service rides not labor hours or service hours? aren't there bus routes that are low riders per hour compared to other such that in implementing the cuts one mitigates the impact. or is metro going to cut the 358 equally with the 56?
50
The Rs and the Ds got together to pass a last minute budget stripped of everything controversial so the state government would remain open after the 1st.

The MVET was controversial, if only because the rural reps want to use it to get more of what they want later.

The State controls taxing authority for good reason. If the State allowed unregulated tax increases in King County, King County would become its own political entity. King County would no longer have any reason to look toward Olympia. King and Pierce Counties would have no reason to vote for any State-wide tax increases.

We're a State, not a collection of separate counties. Despite our heavy tax burden, the citizens of King County make out pretty well in the deal, by the way. We're not the richest county in the State because we're better people.

The Legislature will have another chance to fix all of the funding bills that didn't make it into the budget.

And Rodney Tom is a Republican asshole.
51
#31

A property tax (like any tax) can be made progressive, you just have to step up the rates as the size and utility of property increases.

For example, I would tax second homes at a very high rate. This would have the double effect of making it harder to live off of renting homes and put more of them back on the market, making ownership more available to first time buyers.

Also we should implement Bob Hasegawa's tax on intangible assets, HB-2100.
52
And how boring are all of the "if you don't let us do this, we're going to take all of our money and leave" arguments?

They're almost as dumb as the "if you pass civil rights laws, we're going to secede and join team Idaho" arguments the people in Bumfuck County make whenever liberties come up for vote.

Oh, and troll: please oh please don't make us get rid of our fat, hairy mayor... anything but that...
53

#50

Wake me up when I can take a commuter train from Kirkland to Pasco.

There has to be a lot more development in Eastern Washington metro areas before this state can ever have unity. Right now it's overbuilt in Seattle and underbuilt in Tri-Cities.

We need more balance. We should be doing something radical like creating a high speed intra-state rail network so we could, in fact, travel anywhere in under 2 hours. Or else using our dams to generate hydrogen and building a hydrogen highway. And create a bicycle network from Spokane to Ocean Shores.

There's too much focus on Seattle...and too little on everywhere else. At the same time the thinking is too small and teeny tiny. Washington puff itself up to global status, but when it comes time to think big, everyone shuffles off to their barbeque.
54
@51 It is possible to do a progressive property tax, like the one in Vermont, just not here, thanks to the "uniformity clause" in the state constitution. All classes of property must be taxed equally, and all real estate is a single class of property.

So your suggestion is not possible without amending the constitution.
55
I gotta laugh every time you scream about a small cut in Metro when I drive out and constantly see near-empty buses running all over this county, all the time.

Cut the waste!
56
@50
We're a State, not a collection of separate counties.


Explain that to the rest of the state.

The problem is not that voters here are unwilling to disproportionately fund the rest of the state—we believe in redistribution of wealth—it's that we're pissed off at the rest of the state for blocking taxes necessary to generate revenue sufficient to take care of our basic needs.

Remember, Metro is only suffering a revenue shortfall because the state took away Metro's stable MVET and replaced it with a volatile and structurally insufficient sales tax. We asked the state to fix that. And they just said no. BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THE WELFARE OF KING COUNTY. So why should we give a fuck about theirs?

Also, regardless of whether King County could be revenue self-sufficient, the state still has the power to tax us. The legislature does not need to send taxes to the voters, and voters outside King County outnumber those within by two-to-one. The problem for the rest of the state is that it votes contrary to its own economic interests.

Rural Republicans rely on urban Democrats to pass the taxes they need. And then they grandstand to their rural constituents about us awful tax-and-spend Democrats. Perhaps if they stopped lying to their constituents about the economic reality in this state (i.e. we carry them, not the other way around), they might start voting in their own interests.
57
I love Rodney Tom's quote about how his caucus is going to lead on this issue going forward. Well what the hell have they been doing the last six months? We just had a legislative session!

In the end, the GOP plan for transportation is the same it's been for the last 15 years: do nothing.
58
Many people who make 100K a year still take the bus.

I am sure to be losing my bus service. Every cut that happens decreases bus service so much that fewer and fewer people ride the bus. My bus from downtown to my home used to be full, but now there are 2 people on it when it gets to my stop. Now all those people are picked up from link light rail station - by family in cars. At the moment I am still riding the train and then waiting for a bus...and waiting...and waiting...

I really don't understand the people who drive to work. That is your choice. It would seem to me that it is in your best interests to keep as many people on the bus as possible. Your blood pressure will be affected when the traffic increases with all those bus riders driving their cars. Because many of us do have cars. You know that right? We ride the bus because it is reasonably priced and convenient. When those two things change - increased fares and fewer buses - then we will join the commute traffic.
59
#54

Yes, accurate.

The state constitution does need to be fixed.

But where I see the hypocrisy is that the Democrats fought tooth and nail to undo the 2/3rds majority on tax increases that was voted by initiative over and over again, but no one...no one...wants to talk about property taxes.

That's because much as you guys paint this as liberal vs. cons or democrats vs. republicans to me it's always about insiders and outsiders...the entrenched Washingtonian native versus the productive newcomer. The 60% of the population that migrated here is not being heard at all in government (or media) and they are being screwed over by a lot of featherbedding, rent collecting folk that don't want to pay their fair share -- all the while complaining about everyone else and his brother!
60
Someone (Tim Eyman?) needs to create a Citizens Initiative to keep ALL TAXES COLLECTED within a given municipality spent ONLY within that municipality... so, our (Seattle's) b&o, hotel, taxi, gas, etc taxes are collected they are spent ONLY right here... and let the small areas pay for ALL OF THEIR OWN infrastructure, etc... when places like Medina can tell the rest of the county to eat cake we (THE URBAN AREAS) need to tell them to pay their own way.
61
#58

And yet at the same time, to read the thoughts of folks over at Seattle Transit Blog, even when people are willing to drive to a Park n' Ride and take the bus or train, that's not enough. Now they want to charge for parking at these facilities.

Look there are people who don't or cannot or won't understand the need for multipoint transporation...which, at present is achievable only by car.

If people were honest about these things it would be clear, but it's not. The only drive in "transit" over the last two decades has been forced urbanization and making everyone kneed down and pay homage to the Downtown Syndicate.

No matter how much people want to live in SFHs they are told by the dictatorship they MUST give up all property, life and freedom to be forced into teeny tiny apodments.

How can you build a consensus when one side has only abuse and totalitarianism in mind?
62
@59 There you go with that bullshit again. Aggregate regular levies are constitutionally capped at one percent of value across all districts. Furthermore, Eyman's I-747 limits growth in property tax revenue to an arbitrary one percent annually. Despite that, King County voters (particularly, Seattle voters) overwhelmingly approve nearly every special levy, excess levy, bond levy, and lid lift that comes to the ballot.
63
@ 31, 4/5 of those times were in the 30s and 70s and the one time in recent times was in a very heavy gop year. plus you know what was constantly voted down before it was approved? charter schools.
64
@ 35 Don't assume people with six figures incomes don't take the bus. My family and our friends are that way and we ride the bus.
65
"you know what was constantly voted down before it was approved? charter schools."

That didn't come out of people's pay check. No way in hell voters in WA state will approve an income tax.

Maybe you morons should organize a bake sale for Metro?
66
#61

I live in a single family home, and have more than my fair share of children. I certainly understand the need for multipoint transportation. I can't plan to leave work in the middle of the day to run errands, because it would take too long. For most trips, I plan to return home, and pick up the car. If I have appointments - dentist, doctor, school related - I take the morning or afternoon off (something I know not everyone can do).

Here is the thing: cutting back service decreases the convenience of multipoint trips as well as commuting. In fact, those midday trips are often more impacted by service cuts.

Lot's of people use the bus, and for different reasons. It is not all 20 something trust funders living on Capitol Hill, eco-terrorists, and people with no jobs (and FYI - I am using those terms ironically). Homeowners ride the bus. People with jobs ride the bus. People living in 500K homes with kids and a car or maybe even two ride the bus. It is a spectrum of people with different incomes, different lifestyles, and different reasons. People ride the bus. And it benefits all of us.
67
if half the people using the bus are middle income and high income people, maybe they should just pay the actual unsubsidized full cost of the bus? what's the point of socializing it really?

iow, we could lift the bus monopoly and everyone could find a guy or gal with a van who charges us like $6 a ride point to point home to work, this is called a jitney in nyc, it used to be illegal and flourishing.

maybe the model of a bus system doesn't work.

the vans could be e vans, too.

why do you want to be on a bus with 90 other people half of them sniffling and with colds half the year, some of them thieves and rude, and the bus making so many stops it takes a god damned hour to get you somewhere?

vanpool meetups, that the ticket. maybe government should just get out of the way and not even regulate it. people capable of finding partners and pals for weekend BBQs without government regulation, are they really incapable of funding a $18K van coop and arranging it themselves? what is the efficiency gain really in centralizing things to have an entire bus system with humongous $600,000 vehincles, pensions, administrators, a huge tax collection system, etc. why can't voluntary van pools work? tons of retirees would leap at that job, one run in the morning and one at night.

for those not able to pay, allow apodments and they can walk or bike. when we're not even maintaining our bridges and roads, it's perhaps time to rethink many programs. maybe time for change on some fundamentals. maybe we could also have private vans crusing the streets that you enter at your own risk to get home at night. just like in guatemala city!
68

#62

Table 19: Urban Homestead Property Taxes
Payable 2010


For a $150,000 home:

Rank/State/City/Net Tax/ETR
42 Washington Seattle 1,138 0.759%

For a $300,000 home:
42 Washington Seattle 2,276 0.759%

Ouch...Seattle, WA paying among the lowest of the low in property taxes despite all those levies.

69

#66

Tell me again why we are paying an order of magnitude higher per mile for light rail than any place on earth.

70

#68 cont'd

Here's the link for that table:

http://www.lincolninst.edu/subcenters/si…

71
@ 65 It failed in a heavy GOP year if we did it in 08 or 12 Im not sure it fails, if we have heavy Democratic turnout;.
72
@68 Really? If you don't know how to read these things, you shouldn't quote them with authority.

First of all, any Seattle homeowner would instantly recognize that the 0.759% rate cited in Table 19 is clearly way too low. That appears to be the senior citizen exempt rate (which among other discounts, exempts the 0.24% local school levy). Seattle's regular levy rate for 2013 is actually 1.05%.

Second, even at this erroneously low rate, Table 20 shows Seattle's property taxes per median-value home to be close to the national average. Use the actual rate, and Seattle easily ranks among the top 13.

So yeah, again, you don't know what you're talking about when it comes to property taxes. (Or maybe you do, and you're just being intentionally deceptive?)
73
#69 - The cost is higher in Seattle because we are tunneling: that sort of twists the definition of light rail for cost comparison purposes. We have city that is not flat, and has all sorts of water issues. These things make our city beautiful, but do impact our infrastructure costs.
74
This is totally outrageous. I rely on the bus to get everywhere as I'm not able to drive right now. I'm going to be going less places, relying on friends for a ride, and paying for taxis. With money I don't have. I want to swear not sure that this will get posted if I do. Read into this all the swear words you can think of.
75
darn

your HomoLiberal Socialist Welfare State seems to be imploding

expect fires and riots
76
73 so kinda foolish to incur tunnel costs like a subway, and only get light rail benefits.

Ie less capacity, slower trips.

Btw we are not the only city w water and hills.

77
73 so kinda foolish to incur tunnel costs like a subway, and only get light rail benefits.

Ie less capacity, slower trips.

Btw we are not the only city w water and hills.

78
Drivers don't even BEGIN to pay the cost of driving! As a non-driver I pay for their parking, roads, highways, traffic lights, police and court costs and - NOT to mention, all the "externalities" (noise, C02, pollution, trade wars, oil spills, water damage, land abuse and OIL WARS) ... and drivers STILL whine.

It is high time that Seattle grows up like other metropolitan cities of the world and have a CONGESTION CHARGE for cars entering the city. Then there would be no arguments about finding funding for clean, efficient and cheap mass transportation. It is no longer a privilege to drive a private vehicle -- it is simply an insult to all humanity -- and especially to future generations.
79
@50, no really, fuck the anti-tax nanny state.

There is simply no reason for representatives or voters of eastern WA to be given a say in taxes they couldn't pay if they wanted to. Saying we need Seattleites to overrule them on taxes they do pay is too cute by half.

I would note that when it comes to public transit, we basically are a collection of independent counties (and one regional agency). Last I checked the state wasn't contributing much of anything to public transit. And besides, Yakima wouldn't benefit that much from having a transit agency as well funded as Metro ought to be.

But I guess we can't have that whether or not we want it. Sorry King County, you can't have a tax hike unless everyone gets one. It wouldn't be fair to voters in Palouse or something.
80
@72

1.05% oh big whoop!

http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfounda…

That still puts Seattle around what Alaskans pay.

Texas is the leader.

Texas has the highest property tax.

Because Texas is right.

81
The great thing about property taxes, at least in a place like Seattle, is that if you don't tax them the result is even higher property prices, meaning future buyers lose everything any property tax cut should have saved them. (Okay, for this to be exactly true we'd need to tax only land values, but it's quite close to true.)
82
" It failed in a heavy GOP year if we did it in 08 or 12 Im not sure it fails, if we have heavy Democratic turnout;."

The income tax failed in King County moron, by 10 points.
83

#80 continued

Oh, and check out what a "real city" pays...New York City, just like I pictured it...

YEAR CLASS 1 CLASS 2 CLASS 3 CLASS 4
12/13 18.569% 13.181% 12.477% 10.288%

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/propert…

Great Jehoshaphat! 13% for a SFH!!!

84
@80 Then move to Texas.

@83 Ohmigod, are you really that stupid or do you just think that everybody here on Slog is? Clearly, nobody could afford to keep their home if those rates were real. NYC assesses properties at a fraction of their market value. Thus NYC property tax rates are useless for comparative purposes.
85
I've said for a long time, this state really needs to be split in half along the Cascade crest. Sure, we've got Republican assholes on this side of the state too, but they are properly a tiny fringe minority that can be easily ignored. Eastern Washington largely wants to be part of Redneckistan, I say let them.
86
@80: Texas itself as a state government does not have the highest property tax in the land. Political subdivisions in Texas do. Why? Because Texas itself as a state government DOESN'T FUND SHIT. I used to be a Texas homeowner, so I can tell you from personal experience that the largest item on my property tax bill was for my independent school district. On a $3,200 tax bill, $2,100 went to the school district and everything else went to the county and the city. Yes, that means that my school taxes were twice the other two entities added together. Some areas have five or six property taxing districts. A home in Dallas County is covered by a school district, the county, the city (if in a city), the junior college district, the hospital district, and possibly a fire district. Oh, and this is from the same state that keeps losing IN ITS OWN COURTS over public school funding.

The Texas state government barely funds enough to keep the lights on at the state capitol, much less to keep local entities afloat.
88
"I've said for a long time, this state really needs to be split in half along the Cascade crest. "

The income tax (I-1098) lost in every western county too, by 10 points in 'liberal' King County.

But keep believing in your own myths, that you live in some sort of liberal happyland, it makes watching you lose so fucking entertaining.
89
As a King county resident, I am sick and tired of 30 counties in this state getting 35 cents for every tax dollar I give. Somehow people in these counties and they vote republicon seem to think they give more than they get. Its wakeup time. Lets keep our taxes here so we can pay for roads and mass transit. Let them do without or pay for what they use. Also Rodney Tom is toast. Many people on the Redmond/Eastside see that he is a traitor and does not repesent us. I voted for him in the last election. My wife and I will not make that mistake again. I will go door to door to defeat him in the next primary. Jeff Wilson
90
Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!Thank You Rodney Tom!
91
Transit's not a concern for Jeff Bezos?

Well I guess it's not as long as Amazon doesn't have to pay anything for all those Orca cards it gives all its employees, and for all the parking subsidies they pay, and for all the productivity they lose to commute times (probably the most expensive part)...
92
Oh, and the headline is incorrect. The State Senate told us we aren't allowed to fuck ourselves.
93
@74, why do you need to go to all these places? You need to consume less, and move less. Or use Lyft or Sidecar. You don't have enough money? Get an apodment! Where's your progressive spirit of change, grandpa? Get out and walk in our walkable, vibrant, smart, world-class city!
94
Deep Thought:

Will King Tom's supporters and anti-transit zealots be so happy when they're stuck in an hour long jam caused by some poor schmuck with a broken down car because he/she bought a $1,000 POS car because his public transit options were cut?

Karma is a bee-aw-tch.

ps. enjoy the climate change hoax which is positively not caused by people stuck in traffic because of lack of transit options they are willing to pay for
95
enjoy the climate change hoax which is positively not caused by people stuck in traffic because of lack of transit options they are willing to pay for

That's rich. McBike won't synchronize the traffic lights, but now you'll complain about traffic delays. Don't make me laugh. And the bus system won't disappear. They'll keep commuter service, but cut back evenings, weekends, and underused routes. And they'll raise fares, like they ought to.

If they really wanted to be bold, someone would put a referendum on the ballot to freeze Sound Transit's light rail boondoggle and shift the money to buses. But I won't be holding my breath, because the last thing you people really want is a transit system that moves the most people for the least amount of money.

And come on, where are your bicycles? Your crowd is the one that's always yelling at people to ride bikes. Now's your time to shine. Same goes for walking. And since when are we obligated to subsidize a suburbanite's commute into Seattle and back? If he wants to work here, let him live here. It's not Podunk. You have to pay attention to where you live vs. where you work.

Free ride's over.
96
@91, but don't Amazon's worker slaves occupy apodments on Capitol Hill? They can walk to work.
97
"enjoy the climate change hoax which is positively not caused by people stuck in traffic because of lack of transit options they are willing to pay for"

You mean climate change could have been single handedly stopped by Rodney Tom?
98
See http://metro.kingcounty.gov/am/future/at… for Metro's thoughts on service we're going to be losing.

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