Tim Eyman caused the recession, says Seattle Senator Adam Kline

         A few years ago, the Seattle PI had a front-page story on the slow economy.  Seattle Senator Adam Kline was furious that they didn’t mention the cause of the recession:

         Me.

        “Your front-page story Saturday makes no mention of the cause of recession:  a succession of tax-cutting initiatives. … Heckuva job, Tim (Eyman).  Article after article in the daily press deals only with the current mess, not how we got here.” State Sen. Adam Kline, 37th District, Seattle 

        Adam has never been the brightest bulb in the pack.  A few facts:

*      We’re proud of the policies in our initiatives, but we can’t take credit for their passage.  Our thousands of supporters throughout the state make it possible for our initiatives to qualify for the ballot.  And it’s the voters that approve them.

*      He highlights I-695 from 1999 ($30 tabs) and I-747 from 2001 (1% property tax cap).  But both of those initiatives, although supported by voters, were rejected by the courts.  It was Governor Gary Locke and the 2000 Legislature that (re)repealed the state car tab tax, and it was Governor Chris Gregoire and the 2007 Legislature that (re)imposed the 1% property tax cap.

*      During Gregoire’s terms as Governor, government revenue grew at 7% per year but they spent 14% per year.  If not for I-695 and I-747 (and our other taxpayer protection initiatives), THEY WOULD HAVE OVERSPENT EVEN MORE and their budget ‘hole’ would have been even larger.

         The only government policy that helps citizens and businesses and the economy recover quicker is to keep taxes low, to reduce taxes and certainly not to raise taxes. Continued high taxes and increased taxes will only stall the recovery, hurt the people, and kill jobs.