A weekly Spokane newspaper apparently thinks taxpayers should just be quiet and let politicians raise taxes as much as they like.
The editor of The Inlander recently wrote an editorial slamming the very idea of Spokane's Proposition 2. The measure would require a two-thirds vote of Spokane’s City Council in order to raise taxes. It’s an important policy change that will require elected officials to work together in an era of increased partisanship.
The Inlander's downbeat editorial against this reasonable taxpayer protection policy is typical of dour "eat your peas" thinkers who insist the perceived needs of government must come before the daily needs of Spokane families and businesses. The top priority for Editor McGregor and others is to keep the money taps for government open wide, and to lower take-home pay for working people. His position appears to be to preserve the power of government above all else.
Not liking the message, Editor McGregor attacks the messenger, labeling Washington Policy Center "Seattle-based" and "right-wing". Washington Policy Center is an inclusive, nonpartisan, nonprofit statewide research and education organization with offices in Spokane and Tri-Cities with a full-time Eastern Washington director, as well as Olympia and Seattle. Our Eastern Washington Advisory Board is made up of some of the top business and community leaders in the Spokane, Tri-Cities, Yakima and Wenatchee areas.
The Editor also claims that WPC’s “secret funding comes from the usual suspects of right-wing foundations.” The claim is not only untrue, it makes no logical sense. We are a member-based organization and are supported by thousands of concerned people from across Washington who care about our state and want to promote effective, fact-based public policy solutions.
Proposition 2 is one of those solutions. Prop. 2 sends a simple message from the people of Spokane to their city government: "Achieve broad support on the City Council for any proposed tax increase, or else put it on the ballot for a public vote." Proposition 2 is smart public policy that is popular and already working at the state level. It's commonsense fiscal policy for Spokane, so that proposed tax increases that fail in Olympia are not simply pushed down to the local level.