Opinion

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 300 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 State voters give fairness, equity a big thumbs-up John Burbank Was that a blue tide that came across our state last week? It might be interpreted as a partisan blowout, but that discounts the fact that the winners, the Democrats, could not have won without the votes of independent and Republican voters. So while the Democrats gained huge majorities in our state House and state Senate, they did so because of the votes of hundreds of thousands of Republicans and independents. It might be more accurate to describe the last election as a watershed in which the voters rejected the politics of individual greed. They rejected the post-Iraq-invasion divisiveness fostered by Karl Rove and embraced the post-9/11 patriotism and solidarity that brought us all together after the devastation of that horrible day. At the top of the ballot were two bellwether initiatives that provided a stark choice between individual greed and public good. Initiative 933 would have enabled a select few property owners to get paid off to abide by land-use regulations. The voters saw through that one, defeating I-933 by a decisive margin. Then the voters considered Initiative 920. This initiative, if passed, would have defunded the education trust fund by repealing the estate tax, which is a tax on estates valued at more than $2 million. Only about 200 estates a year are affected, out of 45,000. The estate tax takes a small percentage of these multimillion-dollar estates and directs it into the education trust fund, which in turn funds K-12 education, especially class-size reduction, as well as scholarships in our community colleges and state universities and colleges. The people didn't like this initiative. It was defeated with a "no" vote exceeding 61 percent. This was not a vote dominated by King County voters. Initiative 920 lost in 36 out of 39 counties. More than two out of three voters rejected Initiative 920 in Whitman County (Pullman), Grays Harbor County and Jefferson County (Port Townsend). This was a stunning defeat, especially after Americans have been inundated with spin about the "death" tax for 30 years. Voters in our state saw through the spin and decided to keep the estate tax. They endorsed the leadership of Speaker Frank Chopp (D-Seattle), Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown (D-Spokane), House Appropriations Chair Helen Sommers (D-Seattle), House Finance Chair Jim McIntire (D- Seattle), Sen. Erik Poulsen (D-Seattle) and Gov. Chris Gregoire, who together designed and promoted this tax. The Legislature voted for this tax, and the people backed it up. In fact, not one legislator who voted for this tax was defeated at the polls, while seven incumbents from all over the state who voted against this tax won't be going back to Olympia. Brad Benson (R-Spokane), Luke Esser (R-Bellevue), Dave Schmidt (R-Mill Creek), Jim Buck (R-Joyce), Toby Nixon (R-Kirkland), John Serben (R-Spokane) and Beverly Woods (R-Kingston) all lost their constituents' vote of confidence. So let's be clear about this: The people voted to keep a tax that the Legislature put on the books. And why? Because this tax was a perfect example of funding the greater good through a tax on the already privileged wealthy. In a world in which the wealthy are getting more so, while middle-class families are furiously treading water just to keep even, the estate tax injects some small equity into the equation. We have a lot more fairness, security and opportunity that needs to be promoted in our state, ranging from health coverage to pension coverage to education. That's going to take some new revenue. But in the halls of Olympia, you always hear Democrats worrying themselves about voting for taxes. This initiative should calm their fears. The people know that you have to have taxes to fund public services, and that a tax on multimillion-dollar estates makes a lot more sense than a cut in education. It is a good model for future investments in our children. It has now been signed, sealed and delivered by the people. So let's go down this road together for the greater good, for fairness and equity. After all is said and done, fairness and equity are at the heart of American values. That's what the voters said last week. John Burbank, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute (www.eoionline.org), writes every other Wednesday. Write to him in care of the institute at 1900 Northlake Way, Suite 237, Seattle, WA 98103. His e-mail address is john@eoionline.org.

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