Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Why would they take away tax protections on public pensions if they didn't have intentions of taxing them?
Repeal the income tax. Protect public pensions. Vote yes on I-645.
People keep saying it's no big deal that Washington's new income tax now reaches public pensions, since no retired teacher, firefighter or cop gets $1 million a year in pension payments.
They never take the next step. The $1 million threshold is a starting point, not a promise. Legislators are already talking about lowering it. Once the exemption is gone and the tax is in place, all it takes to put your pension on the bill is one vote to change a number.
Vote yes on 645.
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Former Gov. Locke: ". . . pretty soon the voters are going to say, 'The promises are not being kept, and we're just being taxed like crazy.'" knkx.org/politics/2026-10-19… #waleg
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Seattle realestate is so cooked. And we aren’t even close to the bottom.
Thank socialist Mayor Katie Wilson and fellow WA Democrats.
Raise taxes, allow crime to flourish, then reasonable people leave.
At least now they are on their way to “affordable housing.”
Downtown Seattle condo sold for less than its 2012 price as broker warns his best clients are already gone seattlered.com/housing/jeff-…
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
NEW: Democratic Rep Cindy Ryu admits her party plans to lower the threshold on the income tax from millionaires to everyone in WA state & that she wants to tax companies more
She told KUOW, "Let's look at less, about 250,000. Can we live well on$250,000 a year of net income?"
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Seattle Times tells voters to reject I-001, and Let’s Go Washington answers with a point by point takedown of the editorial seattlered.com/politics/lgw-…
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Seems problematic for WA long term fiscal viability. Gonna be really hard to sustain a budget when the people who pay taxes have exited, and the ones who consume tax benefits are all that's left, and growing...
From Gene Balk at the Seattle Times:
"King County experienced a loss of residents due to domestic migration...They took their paychecks with them.
Outbound migrants carried about $8.7 billion in [Adjusted Gross Income] out of King County, while incoming residents brought in $6.7 billion —
a net drain of nearly $2 billion from the local economy in a single year, just from people relocating."
(Oh, but it get's worse)
"Despite gaining more people from other states than it lost to them, King County still saw a net loss of $446 million in AGI to out-of-state migrants.
In other words, the people leaving Washington for other states had, on average, higher incomes than the ones moving in."
TL;DR: King County is losing high earning residents to other states, and replacing them with people who make a lot less money.
Gene Balk | @seattletimes
'King County’s population exodus is mostly local, IRS data shows'
Article: seattletimes.com/seattle-new…
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Voters this November will be told that repealing the income tax would reduce funding for schools and healthcare.
But how can repealing a tax that won't generate a single dollar until 2029 reduce funding for programs that aren't receiving any of that money today?
The income tax earmarks nothing for K-12 education, higher education, or healthcare. Aside from a 5% allocation to the Fair Start for Kids Account beginning in 2029, the revenue goes into the unrestricted general fund, where future legislatures decide how it's spent.
Washington's Public Investment Impact Disclosure should describe what an initiative actually does, not imply that repealing a tax that won't produce revenue until 2029 would reduce funding for today's schools and healthcare. #waleg
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Yes Democrats, it is ok to ackowledge to reality. Both former Governors Gregoire and Locke have called out the irresponsible lack of spending discipline in Olympia with the citizen's money. Time to quit handing more matches to the arsonists.
What does former Governor Gary Locke think about the economic direction of WA? What about the new income tax? Exclusive reaction here @TCSWashington
youtube.com/watch?v=HI6Z5fZ0…
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Washington is drowning in debt, while Idaho, Montana and Wyoming work to clear the books.
#statedebt #governmentspending
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Gary Locke has entered the budget chat. As a part of my no new taxes budget proposal last December, I introduced a host of budget reforms. Some of those reforms I took directly from Gary Locke when he was Governor. All of those sound reforms were rejected. It goes to show how far away from sound economic policy the current Democrat majority has strayed that they can’t even hear reforms that worked under one of their own previous Governors. Now you have two former Democrat Governors essentially word for word stating what Republicans have been saying for 4 years now of runaway spending and deficits. Republicans and reasonable Democrats should unite to defeat socialism in WA.
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
You can totally trust Lord Farquaad Ferguson when he says they will spend the money wisely and they pinky promise the income tax is not coming for you…..
A campaign to defeat Initiative 645 launched Tuesday, with a boost from the governor and a major labor union, setting up what is expected to be one of Washington's most expensive and closely watched ballot fights this fall.
The "No on 645" campaign, joined by Gov. Bob Ferguson, food assistance advocates, parents, small-business owners and supporters of Washington's new "millionaires' tax," argued the initiative would reverse tax breaks and funding commitments passed by lawmakers earlier this year.
Initiative 645, backed by Let's Go Washington founder Brian Heywood, seeks to repeal the state's new 9.9% tax on annual income above $1 million.
Link: bit.ly/4aWFlHA
#komo #komonews #komo4 #komo4news #seattle #seattlenews #washingtonnews #MillionairesTax #BobFerguson #I645 #LetsGoWashington
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
It is entirely impossible to guess why VC start-ups in WA and Seattle is so far behind other VC hotbed cities… Just reading the Seattle Times, i would have to guess that it must be Tech’s fault…
For the first quarter 2026, Seattle is far behind other cities in VC-backed startups.
Washington is living off past economic strength and eating the seed corn but isn't planting for future growth. #waleg
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
"Many of Washington’s most successful people keep relocating to states without income taxes." wsj.com/opinion/is-washingto… #waleg
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
OPINION: On June 4, Ferguson’s budget director sent a letter to every state agency telling them three things. Stop expanding programs. Prepare significant cuts. Don’t count on the new millionaires tax to cover anything.
mynorthwest.com/kiro-opinion…
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Gov. Ferguson and Dems raised taxes, raided pensions, swept accounts, drained reserves and will still come up short again. That is not a revenue problem. That is a spending addiction.
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Socialists come to power saying they are for the people, but when in power they don’t want the people to know what they are doing and hide from transparency.
Socialism is an ideology of imposing rules on people, not letting people decide for themselves. #waleg
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
Washington transportation officials are considering raising toll rates on parts of I-405 and SR 167 to as much as $18 next year as the state faces projected toll revenue shortfalls tied to nearly $1 billion in corridor projects.
Read more:
thecentersquare.com/washingt…
Mark Harmsworth retweeted
A major contributing factor to Washington’s economic success – and why we can afford high spending on K-12 education and social programs – has been our state’s competitive tax structure. That historical edge made our state an attractive place for entrepreneurs to start businesses, which create jobs and provide billions in revenue for state government.
Unfortunately, that tax advantage is being erased by legislative Democrats, who enacted the largest tax increases in state history this biennium, according to a new study from the Washington Research Council.
Legislative Republicans recognize that these policies are not only compounding our state’s affordability crisis and weakening the state’s economic outlook, but will ultimately harm the very programs they were designed to finance.