When voters keep rejecting their agenda, Olympia’s answer is to rig the rules so voters can’t fight back.

Democrats Try to Cancel Democracy

Washington Democrats are pushing SB 5973 because they’re tired of losing. Every time voters use initiatives to undo bad policy, Democrats don’t reconsider—they retaliate. This bill is sold as “good government,” but it’s really a voter initiative killer.

SB 5973 slaps new barriers in front of initiatives before they can even begin. It forces sponsors to collect 1,000 verified signatures just to get a ballot title and bans common ways of paying signature gatherers. In a state as big and expensive as Washington, that’s a deliberate attempt to make initiatives financially and logistically impossible.

And this isn’t random. Voters have embarrassed Democrats repeatedly: passing the Parents Bill of Rights, cutting car tab taxes, and overturning the disastrous police pursuit law that fueled crime and chaos. Democrats lost those fights. Now they want to make sure they never happen again.

They pretend this is about “integrity.” It’s not. It’s about access. Paid canvassers are how real initiatives work. Volunteer-only efforts don’t scale. Democrats know that, which is exactly why they’re targeting it.

This bill mostly hurts conservatives and anyone trying to challenge one-party rule. The far left already gets whatever it wants through the Legislature, so they don’t need initiatives. The people who rely on direct democracy are the ones Democrats want silenced.

They’ll keep claiming they’re protecting democracy. But when you make it harder for citizens to write laws, gather signatures, and get on the ballot, you’re not protecting democracy. You’re protecting your monopoly. Read more at Seattle Red.

More People In, More Money Out: Democrats’ Economic Shell Game

Democrats love to claim Washington is booming because more people are moving here. But IRS data tells the real story: while the state gains filers, it loses income. The people leaving make more money than the people arriving, which means Washington is bleeding high earners even as politicians celebrate raw headcounts.

The latest IRS numbers show a net loss in adjusted gross income, proving higher-income households and business owners are the ones heading for the exits. A SmartAsset study ranked Washington 8th worst in the nation for losing households earning over $200,000. Another report found the state loses a net taxpayer about every 30 minutes. That’s not “economic strength.” That’s capital flight with better PR.

Where are they going? Idaho, Texas, Nevada, and Florida. Where are people coming from? High-tax states like California. The numbers might balance on paper, but the money doesn’t.

Now Democrats want to slap a 9.9% income tax on high earners and pretend it won’t make things worse. History says otherwise. California floated a wealth tax proposal and reportedly lost nearly $1 trillion in assets in just 30 days. Even talking about these taxes sends capital running.

When high earners leave, the bill doesn’t disappear. It lands on everyone else. Fewer jobs, fewer hours, and higher taxes for working families. And even Democrats quietly admit it: the tax won’t stay “just on the rich.” It never does. The bureaucracy always needs more.

Short term, Olympia might see a small revenue bump. Long term, the tax base shrinks, businesses relocate, and revenue drops. That’s the opposite of sustainable budgeting.

Washington doesn’t need new taxes. It needs fewer regulations, lower costs, and leaders willing to stop chasing away the people who fund the state. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Democrats Found a New Way to Tax Renters Without Saying “Tax”

Former Bellevue City Councilmember Kevin Wallace says King County is quietly squeezing renters and small businesses by wildly over-assessing commercial properties and making those assessments nearly impossible to challenge. Buildings are being taxed as if they’re prime redevelopment goldmines, even when real-world sales prove they’re worth millions less.

One Seattle apartment building sold for $47.8 million, yet the county had it assessed at $52.9 million. That’s not a rounding error. It’s a pattern.

Instead of valuing properties based on actual income, like most counties do, King County pretends every building is ready to become the next shiny office tower. That fantasy might have worked before COVID and interest rate hikes. Now it just inflates taxes in a collapsing commercial market.

And no, this doesn’t just hurt “rich developers.” Those costs get passed straight to renters through higher rents and to small businesses through higher leases. Apartment tenants pay more. Restaurants pay more. Retail shops pay more.

Try to appeal? Good luck. Wallace says King County’s process is uniquely hostile, dragging cases into years-long legal limbo. Justice delayed, taxes collected anyway.

Democrats claim they’re not raising taxes, just “adjusting assessments.” But when inflated valuations jack up rent and crush small businesses, it’s the same thing with better branding. Read more at Seattle Red.

Democrats’ Bag Ban: Now With More Plastic and More Punishment

In a recent op-ed, Chris Cargill, president of the Mountain States Policy Center, torches Olympia’s latest bag ban insanity. Just weeks after Democrats raised the bag fee from 8 to 12 cents, they’re now pushing SB 5965 to ban plastic checkout bags entirely and hike paper bag fees to 20 cents. Because clearly the problem wasn’t the policy — it was that it wasn’t expensive enough.

Cargill points to Washington State University research showing the current law actually increased plastic use by weight, since the “reusable” bags are much thicker than the old ones. Most shoppers don’t reuse them seven to twelve times like the policy assumes. They use them once and toss them, meaning more plastic, not less.

Thicker bags also mean more shipping, more trucks, and more emissions. So the state managed to make plastic heavier, transport dirtier, and groceries more expensive — all in the name of being “green.”

Now Democrats want to double down. Ban plastic completely, force paper bags at 20 cents, and ignore national data showing people will just buy more trash bags instead, driving plastic use even higher.

It’s performative environmentalism at its finest: higher costs, worse results, and total refusal to admit the experiment failed. Read more at Seattle Red.

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