The editorial the Seattle PI SHOULD have written.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Initiative 912: The “Yes” Newspaper.

It's enlightening to see that the Seattle PI has formally come out in opposition to Initiative 912, which would repeal the gas-tax increase the Legislature approved earlier this year.

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It's enlightening in that it's more evidence of the growing rift in the PI’s traditional relationship with the people. The people have been outspoken in their insistence that the state's economic future depends on getting their permission to jack up their taxes through the roof, by imposing taxes that will actually accomplish something and that the will of the people be the primary consideration of the Legislature when it’s in session.

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Disregarding the clear and manifest ripoff to the taxpayers, ignoring the costs of full union prevailing wage, disregarding the votes of respected Republican legislators, ignoring the outrageously expensive costs for King County boondoggles, rejecting long-needed elimination of prevailing wage, taking local government, ferries, and the sales tax shift to the general fund scam out of the mix, failing to demand a better package reflective of the concern of the people, -- that's the PI transportation agenda.

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The official opposition means the PI will repeatedly present their one-sided, biased and unrealistic perspectives on I-912. One wonders if they, to, will be required to report their in-kind contributions to the “No” campaign… but one doubts it.

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So now the Seattle PI is forthrightly in support of irresponsibly ripping off the tax payers by piling the highest gas tax in the Nation on top of the highest gas prices we’ve ever known, the PI is the party of "yes." Yes to any and every possible tax increase. Yes to whatever makes government bigger, less efficient and more expensive.

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Good of them to set the record straight.