There are many good reasons to vote against amending the state Constitution to void the super-majority requirement for excess levies. Washington ranks among the lowest nationwide in home ownership. This means that 56 percent of voters are renters. They may eventually feel a pro-rated increase in their rent when they vote to increase property taxes on those who have committed to ownership but it has hardly as direct an impact on those of us who have to write the checks every month.
I was in Olympia every day this last legislative session and I thought the mind boggling amount of new dollars that was thrown at schools would placate the beasts for a while. Not so. I guess the philosophy of the school districts is, “If an ocean of new money for us is good, then all of the money would be even better.”
If a simple majority is the desired formula for these levies, then let us also ensure that only those people who actually own the taxable property are allowed to vote on them. Much has been said about minorities dictating over the majority. Well, let’s keep it fair. If you don’t own property, you should not be able to decide to tax those of who do.
Mark Williams
Lynnwood
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