Ten good reasons to vote NO on Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033

In just twenty four hours, the 2009 general election will come to a close. The most important thing on this year's ballot is Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033, which would, if passed, devastate our economy and make it impossible for us to ever climb out of the Great Recession. For those who are searching for information about I-1033 and are undecided, here are ten good reasons to vote NO.

I-1033 is sponsored by Tim Eyman. Need we say more? Our state's most notorious watch salesman has yet to come up with a single idea that has made the State of Washington a better place to live. (Admittedly, this is a fallacious argument, but people don't use logic to decide how to vote. Otherwise, Tim Eyman's measures would never even have a chance of passing, and this post would be unnecessary.)

I-1033 is a jobs killer. By locking in budget cuts and making this year's budget the base for future years, Initiative 1033 guarantees layoffs in communities across the state. Cities and counties simply won't have the money to continue employing all the frontline public servants like firefighters who are currently working hard for us each and every day. The loss of public sector jobs will cause unemployment to rise, and will lead to a greater number of people competing for scarce private sector jobs that don't pay as well. That's not a recipe for economic recovery.

I-1033 will ravage public services. In these tough economic times, we're depending heavily on our libraries, parks, pools, schools, and other essential public services. I-1033 would take a meat axe to these essential services, forcing unimaginable cuts. All levels of government - state, county, and city - would be forced to cut services to the bone, stranding Washington's most vulnerable.

I-1033 is a reverse Robin Hood wealth transfer. I-1033 would rob our state, county, and city treasuries of nearly eight billion dollars over the next five years and redistribute it to wealthy property owners in the form of a special tax cut. Because our main source of revenue is the sales tax, this would mean that our sales taxes would be going to cancel out property taxes for the rich. Renters would be scammed twice because they would lose out on services and they'd get no tax cut. I-1033 is intended to help the very rich get richer at the expense of the rest of us.

I-1033 is a proven failure. A similiar scheme was enacted by the people of Colorado many years ago and has hurt that state badly. Class sizes increase, graduation rates fell, funding for universities and colleges dropped sharply, and local governments such as El Paso County (Colorado Springs) have stopped regularly inspecting their restaurants and pools, which has led to a rise in disease outbreaks. That's not the future we want for Washington State.

I-1033 makes economic development impossible. The fiscal handcuffs that Initiative 1033 imposes prohibit the state and local government from doing any economic development. That's because I-1033 prevents government from using any new tax revenue that comes in as a result of future commercial or industrial expansion. There's no point in incentivizing businesses to move here if the resulting tax dollars can't be used to pay for the public services our communities need.

I-1033 is unrealistic. Tim Eyman makes Initiative 1033 sound practical and wise. But reality is just the opposite of his sound bites. Initiative 1033 simply doesn't account for any factors that cause the cost of public services to rise year to year (except inflation). I-1033 does not allow us to prepare for or respond to natural disasters. It doesn't allow us to deal with rising healthcare costs. Its rigidity and inflexibility don't allow for a government that effectively serves its people.

I-1033 takes away local control. It's a one-size-fits-all scheme that robs communities of the ability to make decisions about their own future. If Initiative 1033 passes, its fiscal handcuffs would be slapped on every city and county in the state, even those that vote down the initiative. In Washington, we have a cherished tradition of home rule. We like decisions to be made close to where we live. I-1033 is an all-out assault on that tradition.

I-1033 would hurt our credit rating. State Treasurer Jim McIntire has warned that passage of Initiative 1033 would cost the State of Washington tens of millions of dollars because it would lead to a downgrading of the state's credit rating. Major credit rating agencies are concerned that I-1033 will interfere with Washington's ability to pay back bonds that it has issued in the marketplace for construction and debt refinancing. The last thing we want is to become the next California.

I-1033 prevents us from investing in our future. Our State Constitution declares "It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders." Initiative 1033 inteferes with this obligation by preventing the Legislature and the governor from fully funding our public schools. The current budget would be the best we could ever do for our childre under I-1033. Over time, I-1033's siphoning of the treasury would fully cancel out the state's schools levy. It's no wonder that principals, school administrators, teachers, parents, and students are all opposed to I-1033.

Help keep Washington State from turning into The Evergreen Chaos... vote NO on Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033!