Taxes: Don't let demagogues drive the train

We have read about people with mental health issues being “warehoused” in hospitals and jails due to a lack of space at Western State Hospital. Also, there’s a lack of funds to properly support our schools. Roads and bridges need repair. We need more facilities for the homeless and the hungry.

Today the news is that the state expects a $474 million shortfall in the next budget cycle” (TNT, 11-19).

In the face of all this, voters have passed Tim Eyman’s initiative 1366 saying that one-third of legislators should be able to nix any new taxes. I suspect a general suspicion that there is waste in state government programs is the cause.

Two solutions come to mind. First, Eyman should be required to show us specifically where the waste is and how much. Second, state government should explain where the money is going and what the cuts would do if passed.

Then people need to decide what kind of a state they want to live in and be willing to pay for it. No one likes taxes, but rational people should not let anti-tax demagogues like Eyman drive this train.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Taxes: Don't let demagogues drive the train."