Interesting how so many people in this state think not having an income tax somehow makes their tax burden less. Wake up folks, many states with an income tax actually give their citizens a tax burden less then that of Washington.

http://www.retirementliving.com/tax_burden_2008.pdf

Personally, I think creating tax policy through intiative is very poor. But, the failure of the Legislature and the Governor to make the tough political decisions to re-vamp the tax structure is even worse.

The state isn't over spending. We all know the state has to balance the budget and it is being done through short term fixes, such as cuts and targeted tax increases that don't hurt too bad politically. What the state isn't doing is dealing with the long term consequences of this recession.

By the way, special interest money is only money that isn't being spent on your interest.