Do you think the political establishment has finally gotten the message???

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NO, the political establishment HAS NOT gotten the message:

Disillusionment with government a big factor behind Initiative 695 Polls show more favor its check on power than any tax cuts

Friday, October 29, 1999

By ROBERT GAVIN SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT

Two weeks after undergoing bypass surgery in June, Bud Dazey hauled himself out of bed to collect signatures for Initiative 695. He figures he'll save about $400 a year in license tabs if the measure passes, but that's not what really drove him.

"It's about dollars, yes," Dazey, 70, conceded, "but it's about responsibility. They (legislators) don't care what the people want. They're out there (in Olympia) for six months, and they're back in the trough with everyone else."

He gets no argument from Diane Aubrey, 46, the manager of an exercise equipment store.

"We are not being told the truth," she said.

And Joanne Young, a 55-year-old nurse, expressed her disillusionment with government this way: "I can see waste, but I don't see anyone acknowledging it."

These comments are common in the Tri-Cities, and in many other parts of the state. While much attention has focused on the pocketbook issues of I-695, less discussed is a broader reservoir of voter discontent the measure has revealed.

There's little outright evidence of such dissatisfaction, but political observers and experts point to indicators that I-695 is about more than money. Polls show that more people like the initiative for its check on the power of elected officials to raise taxes than for the tax cut they'd receive.

"I have a suspicion that there's something out there," said Stuart Elway, a Seattle pollster. "If you're running for re-election, it's something to keep an eye on."

From Eastern Washington to the Pacific Coast, voters say they don't believe their elected officials, or trust them to manage money well.

"I'm angry because they don't show any responsibility to the people," said Chuck Carlson, 52, of Federal Way. "It's all politics. It's all, 'What do I have to say to get re-elected.'"

In the Tri-Cities, where a third or more of registered voters signed I-695 petitions, R.D. "Monte" Benham said he doesn't necessarily sense anger. Benham, a retired engineer, directed signature-gathering efforts for the initiative around the state.

"It's frustration that our elected officials aren't listening," Benham said. "They're just not listening."

To many, the source of this anger and frustration is puzzling. The economy and incomes continue to grow, while state government operates under a spending cap.

Political and social observers say a number of factors could be at work, from a populist distrust of government that runs deep in the roots of Washington to two decades of anti-government rhetoric that began with the Reagan administration.

"It's an anger that probably transcends economics," said Todd Donovan, a Western Washington University political science professor who studies voter behavior. "Distrust of government is in our culture and history, and the institutions are set up to facilitate it."

Some point to the economic divide between the booming urban areas of Puget Sound and struggling rural communities in eastern and coastal Washington. But in some ways, economic growth itself could be driving an electoral version of road rage.

Lou Burell, 54, a Westport candy store owner, said he pays more than $2,000 a year to license his car, a Chevy pickup and motor home. But he found himself stuck in I-5 traffic the other day.

"I'm sitting there, bumper to bumper," he said, "and there's woman with a baby in a car seat cruising down the HOV lane. Where's the fairness?"

At the same time, the boom has driven housing values up, boosting taxes for many longtime residents. Values have jumped 20 percent or more over the past few years in many parts of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, according to assessors.

In interviews, many voters said they felt taxes are growing faster than their incomes. And they may be right.

From 1988 to 1997, state and local property taxes increased at an annual rate of 8.1 percent, according to the state Department of Revenue. Incomes, however, grew only 7.4 percent a year.

"I've got to work harder and harder to make ends meet," said Burell, the Westport store owner. "Every time I seem to get ahead, my taxes come due."

Donovan, the WWU professor, said I-695 appears to represent the third wave of the tax revolt begun in California with Proposition 13. First came tax limits, then spending caps, and now voter approval for tax cuts.

"There's a lack of trust," he said, "and tremendous amount of support for direct democracy."

But Blair Butterworth, a political adviser to Gov. Gary Locke, said he doesn't believe the state is headed for a full-scale taxpayer revolt. He said voter anger seems most directed at a long-despised tax.

"I don't think this is a general warning sign," Butterworth said. "But should it pass, how they deal with it could have ramifications for people running for office." In the Tri-Cities, the economy is improving. Unemployment is down to its lowest level in five years, while a well-trained work force and reasonable commercial real estate prices make it attractive to business investment. An Oregon-based food processor recently opened a plant here.

People even say they're optimistic.

Still, they talk about property taxes, sales taxes and motor vehicle taxes, and say they're struggling.

They say government doesn't seem to be struggling as much.

"It's tax upon tax upon tax," said Dazey, a RETIRED UNION OFFICIAL and contractor. "More and more people are getting fed up."



-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), October 29, 1999

Answers

Mark

No, I don't think they "get it" any more than any other addict would. They are addicted to spending other peoples money.

The money that they spend(ours)becomes less and less real to them the longer they are in office. Money becomes an object,or commodity to them and they no longer recognize the connection between the people who have sweated for the money and the "thing" they are squandering.

Ricardo...who is looking forward to the liberal's kool-aid party Nov.3rd (tip of the hat to Ed)

-- Ricardo (ricardoxxx@home.com), October 30, 1999.


Have they gotten it? Nope. I'm in the Air Force; I think the legislature is similar, in that its members convince themselves that they are the best and the brightest, and become incapable of seeing their shortcomings. In the USAF, everyone's a hero, just look at their performance reports. 90% are rated in the top 10%. Elected officials are the same way. In their mind, greatness is propelling them to the top, and things like I-695 are hurdles that can prove their continuing greatness in the future. Disaffected citizenry? Then why would they have voted to send someone wonderful like me to Olympia? Can't be that...

-- Jay Trent (jaytrent@uswest.net), October 31, 1999.

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