Democrats promised “paid leave for all” — but forgot you actually have to
pay
for it.
The Party of “Free Stuff” Runs Out of Other People’s Money (Again)
Washington’s much-hyped Paid Family and Medical Leave program — one of Democrats’ favorite “look how progressive we are” trophies — is now barreling toward a $350 million deficit by 2029. Despite already hiking payroll deductions from workers’ paychecks, the program is about to slam into a legal cap on how much it can take (1.2%), meaning it’ll soon be broke no matter what.
Democrats’ solution? Surprise: raise taxes, again. Sen. Steve Conway (D-Tacoma) says the program is “too popular not to be better funded” — politician-speak for “you’re about to pay more.” Never mind that the state already dumped $200 million of general fund money into this black hole just last year.
Republicans like Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima) are the lone voices of reason, suggesting maybe—just maybe—Washington can’t afford to hand out endless weeks of paid leave while also taxing workers for long-term care. But Democrats in Olympia would rather tinker with formulas, raise caps, and call it “innovation.”
In short: The feel-good policy that was supposed to “help working families” now needs bailouts from those same working families.
Read more at the Washington State Standard ([link removed])
.
UW’s “Higher” Education: Where Million-Dollar Vandals Are the Victims
While the world celebrated Israeli hostages finally coming home, the University of Washington’s activist crowd was busy holding a pity party for the
real
victims — the 20+ students suspended for causing over a million dollars in vandalism. Their crime? Trashing a UW engineering building because Boeing donated to it, and Boeing had the audacity to do business with Israel.
Professor Cliff Mass, one of the few voices of sanity left on campus, described a scene of chaos — anti-Israel mobs seizing buildings, spray-painting hate across campus, harassing Jewish students, and calling it “justice.” And now, those same vandals want their suspensions overturned, claiming “due process violations.”
UW’s administration, steeped in the same DEI-saturated indecision that’s turned classrooms into protest zones, is dragging its feet through hearings that could take weeks. Meanwhile, Jewish students and faculty continue to endure open hostility while the school bends over backward to appease the activists.
Mass summed it up best: the problem didn’t start with the Hamas war — it’s years of campus politicization under leftist leadership that’s turned the state’s flagship university into a playground for radical intolerance masquerading as “progress.”
Read more at Center Square ([link removed])
.
Sound Transit’s Billion-Dollar Trainwreck Rolls On — and They Want You to Pay for It
Sound Transit, the poster child for government bloat and delay, is back with a new idea to fix its
$30 billion
in cost overruns: charge you more. The unelected Sound Transit Board — stacked with Seattle Democrats — is floating a 1% property tax hike to “keep projects on schedule,” despite having already blown through timelines and budgets like it’s a sport.
The hike doesn’t even need a new vote — because voters already gave Sound Transit permission years ago to quietly increase taxes every year under Sound Transit 3. That 1% “annual bump” actually means millions more from taxpayers thanks to rising property values. Translation: they’re taking more even when they claim it’s capped.
Critics like economist Randal O’Toole and Councilmember Reagan Dunn have called out the obvious — Sound Transit shouldn’t get another dime until it proves it can finish
anything
on time and on budget. Instead, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell wants to double down, pushing for even more light rail lines in the city, never mind that only a fraction of the region’s workforce even rides transit anymore.
Sound Transit’s already sitting on $7.2 billion in cash but plans to burn through it by the 2030s — right about when taxpayers will be told “we just need a little more to finish the job.” In the meantime, enjoy your ever-higher property taxes for the privilege of waiting for a train that’s still years late and billions over budget.
Read more at Center Square ([link removed])
.
Democrats Shut Down D.C., and Now Your Mortgage Is on Life Support
Thanks to the ongoing federal shutdown — courtesy of Democrats playing political chicken in D.C. — Washington and Northwest homebuyers are feeling the fallout. Real people, not bureaucrats, are paying the price.
First, USDA Rural Development loans, a lifeline for rural families with 0% down payments, are completely frozen. No staff, no approvals, no closings. So much for “supporting rural America.”
Second, the National Flood Insurance Program has lapsed. If your dream home is in a flood zone, congratulations — your sale just died until Congress gets its act together.
Third, with IRS staff furloughed, lenders can’t process required income verifications or tax transcripts, causing closing delays and blown-up contracts. Meanwhile, FHA and VA loans are limping along at half-speed, buried under the same red tape Washington created.
Even Fannie Mae is scrambling to patch together workarounds just to keep buyers from losing homes. But until Democrats stop grandstanding and reopen the government, Pacific Northwest families — from Seattle to Spokane — are stuck with expired rate locks, frozen deals, and a housing market that’s one big bureaucratic “pending” sign.
So when Democrats say they’re fighting for “affordable housing,” remember: they can’t even keep the lights on long enough for families to buy one.
Read more at Seattle Red ([link removed])
.
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