If vote for this I'll lose my next election

If I do this, I’ll lose my next election

This excuse is the answer given to leaders by fearful and timid legislators. For the moment we will ignore the reality of this fear in order to focus on history.

With the election of Ronald Reagan and the mantra of  ”no new taxes”. We entered an era that closed the door on the use of increasing taxes to solve problems.

The Washington State election for governor in 1980 was won by a candidate who aped the Reagan mantra.  John Spellman became governor in an era when the budget of the state was in free fall.  He had control of both Houses the legislature but was faced with an imploding state budget.

During his first 2- year session of the legislature The governor called 6 special sessions in order to raise the sales tax minimal amounts to cover the quarterly budget short falls.

He also raided millions from the teachers Pension fund and moved the state payday from the last day of the month to the first day of the following month , in order to pick up a 25 th month of revenue for the two year period.

Wall Street was not amused or fooled and dropped Washington State bond rating from AA to D. The voters were not amused or fooled either. In the election of 1982 they narrowly voted both the Houses back into Democratic control.

Washington States tax structure is one of  the most regressive in the country.  In 1935 in the midst of the  1929 Recession the Legislature enacted an graduated income tax which had only two rates. One percent for most and two percent for the rich. Everyone knew it violated the Constitutional principle that everyone should be taxed at the same rate so no one was surprised that it was immediately was sent for review by the Washington Supreme court.

But the state needed money to pay it’s bills so a temporary 1% sales tax was passed. The Supreme Court affirmed the “one rate” provision and rejected the income tax proposal. Since then, at least a dozen times, both Republican and Democratic have  proposed an income tax.  The citizens have rejected every single one.  So today the Sales tax is the single largest source of state revenue.

As the 1983 session began, the Democrats,who now were in control of the legislature made the decision to take bold steps to stop the decline in revenue while repairing the destruction of teacher pensions and the Wall Street bond downgrading which made borrowing for construction projects much more expensive because of the undesirable bond rating.

In the Senate the Democrats decided to pass a budget that  raised sufficient revenue to solve all the known problems with one tax vote. The howls from the members about how they would lose if they voted for taxes could be heard from Seattle to Idaho and from Vancouver BC to Vancouver on the Columbia.

The task of the Ways and Means chairman was to convince his one vote Senate  majority to trust him and thus, to vote once in the two years for a huge tax increase before they saw the actual budget.  That meant that they had to blindly trust that the money raised would be sufficient to cover the state’s needs for 24 months AND that the things they wanted would be in the package.

How to get that trust was the question? The proposal was made orally but every member was wary of what the Chairman  of ways and Means said. A white board was put in the Democratic Caucus room and the Chairman wrote up on the board, with a grease pen, the specifics of what would be in the package paid for by the tax vote. Distrustful members copied down what was put on the white board.  The plan was erased by the chairman every day at the end of the caucus so no one wandering through the area would see the proposal and tell the press. The members were so leery they never leaked the proposal until it was unveiled publicly.

It repaid the Teachers Pension Fund and raised the sales tax 1.1% in one jump.  It also raised the Business and Occupation Tax significantly. It was the single largest tax increase in State history. It passed by a 25-24 vote.

Shortly we got our bond rating raised and to my knowledge, not a single member lost his or her seat if they had voted for the bill.

Except in very special circumstances rarely do members lose the trust of their voters for doing what is clearly in the public interest. 

Much good public policy is lost by timid souls who fear losing their seats.

Teddy Roosevelt said,” It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit is to the man or woman who is actually in the arena, who face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;  who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again,  because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms; the great devotions; who spends him or herself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst,  if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat."

The Congress of 2019 will test the souls of each and every member.

 If I do this, I’ll lose my next election

This excuse is the answer given to leaders by fearful and timid legislators. For the moment we will ignore the reality of this fear in order to focus on history.

With the election of Ronald Reagan and the mantra of  ”no new taxes”. We entered an era that closed the door on the use of increasing taxes to solve problems.

The Washington State election for governor was won by a candidate who aped the Reagan mantra.  He became governor in an era where the budget of the state was in free fall.  He had control of both Houses the legislature but was faced with an imploding state budget.

During his first 2- year session of the legislature he called 6 special sessions in order to raise the sales tax minimal amounts to cover the quarterly budget short falls.

He also raided millions from the teachers Pension fund and moved the state payday from the last day of the month to the first day of the following month , in order to pick up a 25 th month of revenue for the two year period.

Wall Street was not amused or fooled and dropped Washington State bond rating from AA to D. The voters were not amused or fooled either. In the election of 1982 they narrowly voted both the Houses back into Democratic control.

Washington States tax structure is one of  the most regressive in the country.  In 1935 in the midst of the Recession the Legislature enacted an graduated income tax which had only two rates.  Everyone knew it violated the Constitutional principle that everyone should be taxed at the same rate so no one was surprised that it was immediately was sent for review by the Supreme court.

But the state needed money to pay it’s bills so a temporary 1% sales tax was passed. The Supreme Court affirmed the “one rate” provision and rejected the income tax proposal.  At least a dozen times, both Republican and Democratic have  proposed an income tax.  The citizens have rejected every single one.  So today the Sales tax is the single largest source of state revenue.

As the 1983 session began a decision was made to take bold steps to stop the decline in revenue while repairing the destruction of teacher pensions and the Wall Street bond downgrading which made borrowing for construction projects much more expensive because of the undesirable bond rating.

In the Senate we decided to pass a budget the raised sufficient revenue to solve all the known problems with one tax vote. The howls from the members about how they would lose if they voted for taxes could be heard from Seattle to Idaho and from Vancouver BC to Vancouver on the Columbia.

The task of the Ways and Means chairman was to convince his one vote majority to trust him and thus, to vote once in the two years for a huge tax increase before they saw the actual budget.  That meant that they had to blindly trust that the money raised would be sufficient to cover the state’s needs for 24 months AND that the things they wanted would be in the package.

How to get that trust was the question? The proposal was made orally but every member was wary of what the Chairman said. A white board was put in the Democratic Caucus room and the Chairman wrote up on the board, with a grease pen, the specifics of what would be in the package paid for by the tax vote. Distrustful members copied down what was put on the white board.  The plan was erased by the chairman every day at the end of the caucus so no one wandering through the area would see the proposal and tell the press. The members were so leery they never leaked the proposal until it was unveiled.

It repaid the Teachers Pension Fund and raised the sales tax 1.1% in one jump.  It also raised the Business and Occupation Tax significantly. It was the single largest tax increase in State history. It passed by a 25-24 vote.

 Shortly we got our bond rating raised and to my knowledge, not a single member lost his or her seat if they had voted for the bill.

Except in very special circumstances rarely do members lose the trust of their voters for doing what is clearly in the public interest. 

Much good public policy is lost by timid souls who fear losing their seats.

Teddy Roosevelt said,” It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit is to the man or woman who is actually in the arena, who face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;  who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again,  because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms; the great devotions; who spends him or herself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst,  if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat.

The Congress of 2019 will test the souls of each and every member.