http://blip.tv/olympia-fellowship-of-reconciliation/washington-state-needs-tax-reform-5759966

Debt = Slavery
Friday 15 April 2011, Olympia

This was an interesting day. Tea Party protested against taxes (and government.) And other people protested against the Tea Party (and corporate power.)

Update: see below for a paraphrased comment from Glen Anderson about the leafletting experience.

On Thursday, April 15, leafletting will occur at the Downtown Olympia Post Office (900 Jefferson St. SE). Leafletting will happen several times throughout the day, perhaps continuously (depending on volunteer power,) and you're welcome to join in!

You can either print up your own flyers, or test your luck by just showing up to see if there is someone on hand with flyers that you can use. Flyers are annually produced by the War Resisters League.

Flyers are available by order from WRL, or you can download a pdf and print them yourself, with permission.

Also: you can feel free to flyer at any post office! Every effort makes a difference.
WRL PIE CHART FLYERS
Where Your Income Tax Money Really Goes

Ideally, flyering would be ongoing until the P.O. is closed for the day.

Stay tuned for more information about targeted flyering times, or contact (360) 491-9093, or glen@olywa.net.

Washington State Rally for Environment, Education, and Labor

Monday, February 15, 2010

Olympia, WA — Thousands of people, the crowd size was estimated to be 6,000, rallied on the steps of the Washington State Capitol Legislative Building.

The rally was for the Environment, for Education, and for Labor - as well as against budget cuts that would hurt people.

There were a lot of people advocating for single-payer health care, and also for substantial reform to the tax system. Washington State has the most regressive tax structure of any state in the USA. Some of the proposals in the legislature, like increases to sales taxes, would actually make the tax system even more unfair.

Many of the speeches talked about the need to protect the social safety net, the importance to maintain structures that make society a caring place, and to focus on fairness, equity and justice in the areas of labor environment and education.

None of the speeches during the hour or so long rally touched on the topic of how to raise the revenue.

After the rally I attended a Sisters Organizing for Survival (SOS) meeting. SOS is part of the Radical Women organization. This group is currently organizing an effort toward a progressive state income tax. During the meeting people talked about their experiences at the rally and lobbying for a couple bills that would establish an income tax in the state.

From the Olympia Newswire, an article about a massive coalition of groups that is calling for changes to the ways the State generates revenue: Liberal Revenue Agents: 115 Groups Unite to Promote New Taxes

Information about and to register for the February 15th Rally, from FUSE: Rally to Protect Our Future!

And the Sisters Organizing for Survival have an urgent call for Tax Reform (which applies especially to LD 22 constituents of Karen Fraser, who is a Vice Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee) + information about the Presidents' Day Rally:

I recently submitted a letter to the editor of The Olympian, and it was published today. Here it is edited slightly for clarity, amended for accuracy, and with additional comment:

Washington needs a state income tax

The Schrammie: Living high off the taxpayers hog By Ken Schram Story Published: Jan 20, 2010 at 9:07 AM PST I would have thought that a college president was pretty smart. I'm now forced to re-think that notion. And so it is that I'd like to invite the head muckety-muck of the Evergreen State College, Dr. Les Purce, to put away the pomp and circumstance and come on down. Dr. Les is wallowing in the wealth of taxpayer generosity. Having been given a sumptuous residence as part of his presidential Evergreen package, he instead chose to live in a different house and insist on an additional $60,000 a year to pay for it. Meanwhile, the house the college expected Dr. Les to live in sits empty. What with repairs, utilities, maintenance and upkeep on the one house along with allowances for the new one, cost to us taxpayers is over $300,000 so far. And now Dr. les says he wants a maid to take out his trash, wash his dishes and keep things tidy for him. Oh, Dr. Less. For being so cavalier with our money; for living high off the taxpayers hog even as you advocate for raising college tuition high and higher, I'd ask that you take this moment to take a bow, because this "Schrammie" is for you. --- Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. You can also e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com.

Sponsored by BRICK (Building Revolution by Increasing Community Knowledge).

VANDANA SHIVA TO SPEAK IN OLYMPIA--SPSCC
Date: Thursday, October 15, 2009
Time: 6:30PM - 9:30PM PDT
Location: Minnaert Center at SPSCC
2011 Mottman Rd SW
Olympia, WA 98512

Information provided by the TC ProNet Calendar

 

 

Tea Party Oly, rally for I-1033:

"This measure would limit growth in state revenues deposited in funds subject to the state expenditure limit, and limit growth in county and city revenues deposited into the county and city current expense funds. The limit would be adjusted based on annual growth in inflation and population. The limit also would apply to revenues transferred out of these funds. The limit would exclude voter-approved revenue increases. Revenues above the limit would reduce property tax levies."

Why does it matter?

Currently, "there is no cap, no ceiling, no lid, no maximum, no limit on how much they can take from us. There’s simply no way that citizens can afford to have government continue to grow at an uncontrolled rate."

Here's the info:

Tea Party Olymipa - Push Back No Tax Rally!

Who: Taxpayers All Over The Nation.

What: Rally at the Capitol and in Spokane to remind lawmakers that most Washington families don’t have the option to raise additional revenue to balance their budgets.

When: 12:00pm on April 15

Where: State Capitol 416 Sid Snyder Avenue SW Olympia, WA 98504

 

More Information: http://pushbacknotax.com/

The current assessed value of the parcels on the isthmus that are under consideration for park rezone come to be about $20 Million, so about $5 Million an acre. A big price tag. [*editor's note: please see price-tag rebuttal by T. Curtz in comments section]

When the feasibility study is finished, how much will be too much for a park?

I imagine after the study is finished, the cost to de-construct existing buildings and rebuild park infrastructure will tip at about $30 Million or more.

For reference, the city spent nearly $10 million to buy eight park sites, totaling 49 acres.

So when does this parcel of land cost us too much? Is there a point when proponents of the park say the park is too expensive? Or will the benefits outweigh the costs?

What if the price tag tips $50 million? That could buy a lot of parks. Maybe even a couple schools.