Subduction Zone

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Subduction Zone Blog

Idaho / Taxation

Part of the Lottery Scam

A gentleman in Boise recently became somewhat wealthier: There’s a lot of “if I won the lottery” talk in Boise these days, what with an unidentified, 30-something Boisean holding a $220.3 million Powerball jackpot ticket. The unnamed winner has to decide whether to take his winnings as a single, $125 million payout (before taxes) all at once, or a 30-year annuity that would total the full $220.3 million, made in equal payments of $7.3 million a year for 30 years. Congratulations and may you live a long and fruitful life. However, how do you feel about being lied to. Folks,...

Washington

Instant Runoff Voting

I like the idea of Instant Runoff Voting. It makes a lot more sense than the voting variant enacted last election in Washington and certainly would have eliminated the long and wasteful argument over the 2004 Washington contest for governor. Brian at Washblog points out this animation that describes how IRV works. kupbezrecepty.com

City Government / Sequim / Taxation

What the Public Should Say

Sequim politicians are planning to build a new city hall: A new building would allow city offices to be consolidated into one building and could also provide space for expansion as the city continues to grow. And City leaders have promised that the public will have a say in planning for a new City Hall. The public should just say no! What happens in Sequim that requires 40 employees for a population of 4585? Perhaps the city would be wiser to scale back regulation and services and let the residents spend the money on things that lead to productive jobs....

Campaign Finance / dave reichart

Who Does reichart Represent?

The 5/30 King County Journal has a generally positive article on dave reichart’s (R-Wa, 8th District) first five months in office and notes: He has raised more than $250,000 in contributions from special interest groups, according to the online PoliticalMoneyLine — the most of anyone in the state’s congressional delegation. But he has lost at least one check because of a particular vote he took , one that he wouldn’t specify. In his mind, no strings are attached to the cash needed to run a winning campaign. Or so he says. If reichart is going to truely represent the people...

Idaho

An Idea That Should Catch On

Something is quite broken if we can’t get along with each other without a spate of new laws being rolled out by legislatures each year. This is a refreshing idea from Idaho: As they plan for a future state capitol renovation, state officials have always factored in a need to hold one or two years’ legislative sessions outside the building during construction. House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, offered a different plan today: Why not skip a year? Great idea! One that should be made permanent and one that should be contagious.

Oregon

Oregon House Dems Have a Blog

The new blog started by the Oregon house democrats is an interesting idea. On the main page you get a normal blog format with the usual sequential entry listing. Alternately, each member is a category and you can click a link on the left sidebar to get all the entries from a specific politician. Yep, they are politicians and it will be interesting to see if all we get is politician speak or if these folks are ready to open themselves up as real people. I’d be happily shocked if it is not the former. It would be a treat...