I read about the “plan” to increase taxes on gas and car tabs with the another what-the-heck-is-going-on reaction to this latest reactive governance by our Legislature.
The solution to most problems in our state government (similar to Snohomish and King County utilities cost increases!) is to increase rates/costs to its citizens. It does not take too much intelligence to try to fix a lack of funds by increasing the amount of funds from the source, we the people.
It does take intelligence, work, and, yes, even some thinking to develop a plan to work within the constraints of the funds available. The legislature should try to develop and execute a plan to work within the available and projected funds to its treasury before it “solves” any deficits by increasing taxes and fees. This would necessitate that current or replacement analysts and legislators conduct analyses as inputs to a plan; that a plan is executed, and that the steps in the plan are monitored and adjusted as the plan progresses.
This effort is not brain surgery. Most of us citizens do the same. We cannot readily go to our source of funds and say to that source, I have more expenses that require that you provide me more funds. That surely would be a good way to get shown out the door.
Showing the legislators out the door is probably the only solution that citizens have. Hopefully, this can happen before the current crop of non-thinkers take us farther down the road to permanent insolvency. Increasing gas prices by 10 cents a gallon (albeit over five years) and creating a car-tab fee based on car value (new or current year value?) are two solutions not even a 9th grade economics class student would consider brilliant.
Just saying.
Ignacio Castro, Jr.
Edmonds
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