Letters to the Editor
Letter to the editor | Simple truths about government
My wife has said many times that my Letters to the Editor tend to be too full of details that might muddle my message. She’s a very wise woman so I’m following her advice. Here are some very simple statements that I believe are true:
- If you elect politicians who promise you everything for free, you’re electing politicians who believe in the unlimited power of government.
- If you want a government that does everything for you, you have to understand you’ll get a government that can also do anything to you
- If you spend billions addressing a problem (e.g., homelessness) and the problem not only doesn’t go away, but also doesn’t even get better, it’s highly likely that a vast amount of those billions never actually reached the problem.
- If you think elected officials who approve large expenditures will ever take a hard look at potential fraud, waste, and abuse, you’re kidding yourself.
- If a politician promises you free products or services, you can fully expect more fees and taxes to pay for those “free” things.
- If you elect a politician who says he or she is standing up for the “average person,” and that politician then votes for increases in gas and sales taxes, you need to know you’ve been lied to.
- If you elect representatives who say they will address the cost of housing and then those representatives put rent control and costly administrative burdens on those who own rental housing, you’ve just elected representatives who will only make the cost of housing even higher.
- If you think the government will ever seriously consider spending cuts when you still have money left in your wallet, you’re dreaming.
- If you believe that common sense and fiscal responsibility reside in Olympia and Pierce County, you’ll have to look hard for facts that support your belief.
- If Washington has no income tax and low utility rates compared to much of the country, and yet Washington is in the top 10 in cost of living (and rising), you need to ask yourself why that is before you vote again.
- If you think the majority of representatives in Washington start their budget deliberations with any consideration for what you would have left in your wallet after the budget passes, you are going to be seriously disappointed.
- If you think each government department spends every dime it’s given to achieve its goals rather than to prove every dollar in the last budget was needed and more is needed now, you don’t understand the government budget process.
In closing, ask yourself this question: Why are so many wealthy people leaving a state with no income tax? This exodus will take jobs with it, will inhibit investment, will reduce total revenue going to the state, and put even more pressure on regressive taxes like gas taxes and sales taxes.
Craig McLaughlin
Fox Island