Part Two in a four-part series on Let’s Go Washington’s Six Initiatives.
Here is the full series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
Do taxes profoundly impact the lives of millions of citizens and families across Washington State? You bet they do. Raising healthy children often takes an immeasurable amount of love and sacrifice, and in modern society it often takes a good amount of money.
In fact, more deeply than economics, taxation is a profoundly moral issue. High taxes — often raised incrementally — can be a real threat to what a mom and a dad can provide for their own children, as well as the Church and their own neighbors. That’s a moral issue. As Dennis Prager writes:
The higher the tax rate, the lower the charity rate. This is universally true. The more people give to the state, the less they give to their neighbor — and even to members of their family — in need. . . . [Furthermore,] the higher the taxes, the less people are inclined to work hard. Why should they? At a given point, people just conclude that work is for suckers.
And so we dedicate this article in Part Two to exploring the story of average citizens who want to push back against taxes as well as forced “government care.” Years ago, Let’s Go Washington, a conservative citizen-action group, set their sights on six major issues in Washington State they wanted to see resolved in the upcoming election season. They were tasked with collecting over 2.6 million signatures for all six initiatives, and with nearly $7 million in expenses, they did it.
The six initiatives are:
- Reasonable Police Pursuit (I-2113)
- Stop the Hidden Gas Tax (I-2117)
- Opt Out of Long-Term Government Care (I-2124)
- Repeal the Capital Gains Tax (I-2109)
- No State Income Tax (I-2111)
- Parental Notification (I-2081)
Now, legislators are left with a decision. They can either adopt the initiatives as proposed by Let’s Go Washington and each will become law, reject the initiatives and each measure will be placed on the ballot in November, or propose a different measure on the same subject to be placed on the ballot alongside the original initiative.
Several of the measures are focused on improving the cost of living for Washingtonians through common-sense reform. Two of the initiatives are described below:
I-2117, “Stop the Hidden Gas Tax,” does exactly as the title suggests: prohibits state agencies from implementing hidden taxes on consumers or suppliers known as carbon tax credit trading, or “cap and trade” and “cap and tax” programs. Conservative estimates show that the “Hidden Gas Tax” has added 45 cents per gallon to the cost of gas, making Washington the state with the highest gas prices – higher than even California and Hawaii. These numbers are a far cry from Governor Inslee’s assurance that the bill would add “pennies” to the overall cost of gas. The bill description for I-2117 explains it would “repeal sections of the 2021 Washington Climate Commitment Act as amended, including repealing the creation and modification of a ‘cap and invest’ program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by specific entities.”
The second cost of living measure is I-2124, “Opt Out Of State-Run Long-Term Care Coverage Act.” This initiative would allow Washington residents to opt-out of the deceptive “Long Term Care Coverage Act” that does not provide “long term care” as it claims ($36,000 in maximum coverage does not equate to long term care – for some assisted living facilities that would cover only 3-4 months of living expenses), and includes caveats that guarantee some individuals will pay into a system they will never reap benefits from. This is an unfair law that residents should have the choice to opt-out of if it will not serve their long-term interests.
The initiative description specifically states that it would alter state law “establishing a state long term care insurance program to provide that employees and self-employed people must elect to keep coverage under RCW 50B.04, allow employees to opt-out of coverage under RCW 50B.04 at any time, and repeal a current law governing exemptions for employees who had purchased long term care insurance before November 1, 2021.”
This victory is a perfect example of what can happen when conservatives stand together as one and allow our voices to be heard – we can push six initiatives that will protect and defend our rights to the forefront and demand that lawmakers take action on the issues that matter most in our daily lives.
If you want to join the fight, click here to apply to be on our team of DEFENDERS. The fight is not over!
Part Two in a four-part series on Let’s Go Washington’s Six Initiatives.
Here is the full series: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.
