Lower the bar for raising taxes

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Senate Democrats laid the groundwork for new taxes last night by preparing an amendment that would negate part of voter Initiative 601, which required a two-thirds vote to increase taxes or state spending limits.

The amendment would require only a simple majority vote to raise taxes, which effectively prevents the minority Republicans from blocking a new tax plan.

As of yesterday, majority House Democrats had not pursued the plan but said they could if necessary.

Senate Democrats said it's time to face the fact that the state's $2.2 billion budget hole is part of a structural problem that can't be addressed without new revenue.

"I think we have to be realistic about what our state's situation is and it's going to take some boldness and guts," said Ways and Means Chairwoman Margarita Prentice, D-Renton. "I prefer to come clean with the public."

This is a sound idea that the Legislature should pass. Why is it that a minority can block tax increases? With Initiative 601 in place, the minority is in control, not the majority. In the United States, we have majority rule with minority rights - not minority rule with majority rights.

The same rule should apply to school levies. You only need a simple majority to raise taxes. If we're going to have supermajorities to raise taxes (which goes against the principle of majority rule) we need supermajorities to lower them as well.

No Eyman initiative has passed with over 60% approval (see Permanent Defense's Dangerous Initiatives section, which has the vote percentage and tally for each initiative detailed).

We need to get rid of the high bar for raising taxes. Either that, or we set a high bar for lowering them as well.