Pasayten's Methow Valley Bulletin Board

THL wrote: Tue Apr 01, 2025 12:51 pm Taxes are complicated. Always have been. Nobody likes taxes, everybody likes the services they pay for. What is the answer? They are continually adjusted. By who, the king's whim, and the oligarchs, or the people's representatives? Centuries ago, taxation was a major origin of modern Democracy. The English king had to call a parliament of the people's representatives to get their approval of taxes.

It seems to me, that if Okanogan County residents want to have an opinion about state taxes, we need to stop the welfare kings/queens thing. Stop normalizing it. That complicates the issue.

The biggest and easiest answer is cut the spending porn.

Do not pay union workers unemployment when they vote to go on strike.

Do not pay for lazer hair removal of trannies in the state correctional facilities
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Do not pay millions to unions just because they are associated with education/Indoctrination facilities.

Do not pay state workers an increase in pay then furlough them where they still get paid.

No donations or grants to non profits that promote specific adjenda's that do not benefit the majority of the population.

Quit paying for price overruns on contract jobs that end up being substandard when finished 6 months to a year past projected completion date.

Well, for those that think Trump Rep's are going to balance the budget, here's a reality check
https://www.crfb.org/blogs/rumored-sena ... rowth?s=04

Taxes are complicated. Always have been. Nobody likes taxes, everybody likes the services they pay for. What is the answer? They are continually adjusted. By who, the king's whim, and the oligarchs, or the people's representatives? Centuries ago, taxation was a major origin of modern Democracy. The English king had to call a parliament of the people's representatives to get their approval of taxes.

It seems to me, that if Okanogan County residents want to have an opinion about state taxes, we need to stop the welfare kings/queens thing. Stop normalizing it. That complicates the issue.

Context helps, is this what you're talking about: https://taxfoundation.org/blog/washingt ... -proposal/

PAL wrote: Sun Mar 30, 2025 3:32 pm What should they cut then? Don't you think they could tax the rich and the corporations a little bit?

Pearl let's look at the Seattle payroll tax that taxed the high income wages.
Imposed it and some affected businesses moved out of Seattle, like a smart business owner would do, resulting in a 47 M shortfall in projected revenues for Seattle.

Now WA State wants to impose a similar tax statewide, shouldn't a reasonably intelligent person expect the same actions by the business owners and move the entire business out of state?

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We all pay for, and enjoy - or not - many of the specific things that taxes support. Much like the pool discussion that was quite lively here a while back….this was explained, extensively. Just as you may never see a Museum in D.C., you pay for it. And there are PLENTY of people subsidizing your use of the National Forest- who dont live close to one and may never visit a Forest.

You, I understand, like riding on trails on the National Forest. Trails built for horses cost - I’m going to do some guesstimating here - 25-30%+ more than a trail for hikers. And the cost of maintaining said trail for horses is probably higher - like 40-50% more than a hiker trail. Do you want to buy a ‘tab’ for your horse?

I did some checking on gas taxes in particular….

There are just over 24,000 cars and just over 15,000 trucks registered in Okanogan County. Making some assumptions about # of miles driven and fuel consumption….and using the State gas tax of $0.494/gal….I came up with just under $12,000,000 in gas tax receipts generated IN this County.
I dont know what the WSDOT for annual maintenance in Okanogan County is - but I’d bet it is at least 1/2 of that $12M. The rest isnt going to build many bridges….or even get more than a few miles of road built.
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Jingles wrote: Mon Mar 31, 2025 10:05 am So none of the State taxes we pay here in the Methow go to the State transportation system of which the Ferries are a part of? Yea right and Methow has lake front property.

I'd be willing to bet that we could do without the west siders a lot easier than you seem to believe.

Read it and cry.

https://ofm.wa.gov/sites/default/files/ ... venues.pdf

Okanogan County produced $68.1 million in tax revenues and received $140.8 million in state funds. In terms of the ratio between the two (2.07) Okanogan County is #1. #1 at being welfare queens, that is.

Meanwhile, that evil liberal hellhole of King County produced $8.042 billion in tax revenues and received $5.092 billion in state money. The next time you run into someone from Seattle I expect you to thank them for their generosity.

just-jim wrote: Sun Mar 30, 2025 5:14 pm .

Jingles wrote: Sun Mar 30, 2025 4:09 pm

Maybe quit spending money on bike lanes until bikes start paying for those lanes

Maybe if the ferries are loosing money increase the cost of using those ferries, instead of charging those in the Methow that don't have or even use those ferries, but that would be common sense and that is NON EXISTENT in Olympia

Bike lanes are paid for by people who drive, probably as much or more than you do.

There is no Ferry ‘subsidy’ by those live here. West siders are spending FAR FAR more subsidizing us than we are them. If we had to rely solely on east-side taxes, we wouldn’t have any bridges at all. We’d be fording rivers in our cars.
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So none of the State taxes we pay here in the Methow go to the State transportation system of which the Ferries are a part of? Yea right and Methow has lake front property.

I'd be willing to bet that we could do without the west siders a lot easier than you seem to believe.

Bike licenses used to be a thing. They stopped doing it because the costs of administering the program far exceeded the revenue raised.

just-jim wrote: Sun Mar 30, 2025 5:14 pm .

Jingles wrote: Sun Mar 30, 2025 4:09 pm

Maybe quit spending money on bike lanes until bikes start paying for those lanes

Maybe if the ferries are loosing money increase the cost of using those ferries, instead of charging those in the Methow that don't have or even use those ferries, but that would be common sense and that is NON EXISTENT in Olympia

Bike lanes are paid for by people who drive, probably as much or more than you do.

There is no Ferry ‘subsidy’ by those live here. West siders are spending FAR FAR more subsidizing us than we are them. If we had to rely solely on east-side taxes, we wouldn’t have any bridges at all. We’d be fording rivers in our cars.
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Seems making bikes get a license might off set the cost to drivers. Let's say the 30.00 tabs the voters voted for several times and yet the dumberats in Olympia ignored the vote of the people the same way they are ignoring the initiative about parental rights. Yep needs to be a whole lot of passengers going to the train station

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Jingles wrote: Sun Mar 30, 2025 4:09 pm

Maybe quit spending money on bike lanes until bikes start paying for those lanes

Maybe if the ferries are loosing money increase the cost of using those ferries, instead of charging those in the Methow that don't have or even use those ferries, but that would be common sense and that is NON EXISTENT in Olympia

Bike lanes are paid for by people who drive, probably as much or more than you do.

There is no Ferry ‘subsidy’ by those live here. West siders are spending FAR FAR more subsidizing us than we are them. If we had to rely solely on east-side taxes, we wouldn’t have any bridges at all. We’d be fording rivers in our cars.
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This isn't exactly taxing the rich and corporations

Well gas prices going UP

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/202 ... new-taxes/

That and doing away with the limit on property tax increases

What they need to do is learn how to live within their means like the average Joe Blow does,
Maybe they need to take the economic class they are requiring the schools to start teaching

Maybe quit spending money on bike lanes until bikes start paying for those lanes

Maybe if the ferries are loosing money increase the cost of using those ferries, instead of charging those in the Methow that don't have or even use those ferries, but that would be common sense and that is NON EXISTENT in Olympia

Side note ever notice how road construction is never ceasing on the west side yet bridges even here in the Methow that were deemed deteriorated years ago have yet to see any major repair, yes they have put a bandaid on a couple of them ( Carlton bridge) but that is like putting a bandaid on a servered artery

What should they cut then? Don't you think they could tax the rich and the corporations a little bit?

Being as the Democrat lawmakers in WA have to just keep raising taxes instead of cutting spending appears a trip to the train station is needed for a whole lot if useless idiots