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Democrats can’t decide if the deficit is $6 billion or $16 billion—but either way, their solution is the same: tax you more.
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Washington’s Budget Crisis: Pick a Number, Any Number!
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Democrats can’t seem to decide just how big their budget crisis really is, but one thing’s for sure—they’re using it to justify more tax hikes. The projected shortfall has bounced between $6.7 billion and $16 billion in just a few months, depending on who’s talking and how much fear they need to drum up. Former Gov. Jay Inslee insisted Washington’s economy was “very strong,” even as he threw out a $16 billion deficit projection. But the Office of Program Research and Senate Committee Services later put that number at $6.7 billion, which, inconveniently for Democrats, aligns with what Republican Sen. Chris Gildon was saying all along.
Turns out, a big chunk of this so-called crisis comes from Democrats promising massive raises to state employees—$4 billion worth, to be exact. Gildon proposed a common-sense bill to define “feasibility” for these raises, but Democrats prefer to keep it vague so they can keep spending without accountability. Instead of reining in their bloated budget, Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen suggests the state just tax the wealthy more—because when has that ever driven businesses and jobs away, right?
Meanwhile, state tax collections have nearly doubled over the past decade, yet somehow, spending has outpaced even that. With Democrats at the helm, Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem—it has a reckless spending problem. Read more at MyNorthwest.com.
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Tech Tax Grab: Washington’s Latest Cash Scheme
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Washington Democrats see Microsoft and Amazon’s deep pockets and just can’t help themselves. House Bill 1839 would remove the cap on the advanced computing surcharge, siphoning even more cash from big tech to “fix” the state’s self-inflicted budget mess. The surcharge already pulls millions from these companies, but since lawmakers refuse to rein in spending, they’re now looking to squeeze them for another billion.
Seattle Democrat Rep. Julia Reed claims this will fund workforce training, but opponents point out Washington already has one of the most generous college aid programs in the country. Meanwhile, companies weren’t even consulted before lawmakers decided they should pay more, and with tech layoffs piling up, this move could push more businesses out of the state. Just ask Jeff Bezos—he left for Florida, where there’s no capital gains tax.
Democrats insist removing the cap isn’t a tax increase, just “closing a loophole.” Convenient. If they were serious about economic stability, they’d focus on cutting bloated programs instead of treating the private sector as their personal ATM. Read more at Center Square.
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Taxing Your Junk: Democrats' Latest Money Grab
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Washington lawmakers are so desperate for cash, they’re now trying to tax self-storage rentals as “retail sales.” House Bill 1907 would slap both a sales tax and a B&O tax on storage units, digging into the pockets of renters and small business owners. Rep. Strom Peterson claims this will help the housing crisis, but in reality, it’s just another creative way to squeeze taxpayers instead of cutting spending. Opponents argue it’s unconstitutional and unfairly targets low-income residents who rely on storage units.
Democrats insist this isn’t a property tax, just a clever reclassification to extract nearly $500 million over the next decade. Meanwhile, Washington’s budget shortfall isn’t even real yet—it’s just projected overspending. Instead of fiscal responsibility, their solution is taxing anything that moves (or in this case, sits in a storage unit). Read more at Center Square.
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Pramila Jayapal: Open Borders, Cheap Labor, and a Whole Lot of Hypocrisy
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Pramila Jayapal just let the mask slip, admitting what progressives really think about illegal immigrants—they’re here to pick our vegetables. At a rally against deporting criminal illegal immigrants, she smugly reminded everyone to “think about who picked” their food, reducing an entire group of people to farm laborers. Apparently, to Jayapal, immigrants don’t come here to build businesses or chase the American Dream—they exist to do the jobs progressives don’t want to pay Americans a fair wage for.
As KTTH’s Jason Rantz points out, this is the real reason the Radical Left fights tooth and nail against border enforcement. They don’t actually care about immigrants as individuals—they care about a steady stream of underpaid, easily controlled workers. It’s why they repeat the insulting lie that “Americans won’t do these jobs,” when the truth is, Americans will do them if they’re fairly compensated. But progressives don’t want fair wages—they want a permanent underclass too afraid to demand better.
If a conservative ever suggested that immigrants were only good for menial labor, there’d be national outrage. But when a Democrat says it? Silence. Because in the end, Jayapal and her party aren’t about compassion—they’re about control. Read more at KTTH.
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Democrats Finally Found a Way to Kill Initiatives—Make Them Illegal
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Washington’s Senate Bill 5302, dubbed the “initiative killer,” is drawing bipartisan criticism for imposing strict requirements on petition signature gatherers. The bill would force gatherers to sign legal declarations verifying voter information, with noncompliance punishable by a $5,000 fine or jail time. Even Democrat Secretary of State Steve Hobbs says the bill is unnecessary, calling it a solution in search of a problem. It’s clear this bill is a thinly veiled attempt to kill citizen-led initiatives by making signature gathering legally risky and unappealing. As radio host John Curley put it, “No one will want that job,” effectively shutting down the initiative process Democrats have long sought to undermine.
Listen Curley’s full take here.
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