Rep. Carlyle, if Ballard is to survive commercially, an eagle eye will have to be kept on the planning for surface transit through downtown to Ballard. I fully agree with the shipyards and fuel depots that this is a huge risk for industrial Ballard, S. Phinney, and N. Queen Anne. I foresee significant price hike for fuel for vessels and vehicles, and probably the same for "hazardous" material such as paint and hazardous waste transport. Maybe instead of so many lights, pedestrian crossovers are in order, similar to the access to the ferry terminal, taking advantage of the slope to 1st Ave.

Stephen A. Hulsizer
Ballard

Sorry Maria, but Seattle could use a few more parks.Actually, Ballard has less parks than most neighborhoods..

Seattle has more than enough parks.

Parks? The economy is in melt down and you're worried about somewhere to play lacrosse?

Light rail to Ballard? Are you nuts? This is barely a village over here, not a city. ]

Who's going to pay for these follies?

There's one thing I haven't seen mentioned yet: parks. Seattle needs moor parks, not like Diskovery Park, I mean public playfields. I play lacrosse and soccer and we are always hard pressed to get field space for practices.
I also think we need lightrail, or some form of transit other than bus, from downtown to Ballard.

Agreed Trizzle and like your suggestions. Things like the $7 mill fence are luxuries at this point.

State govt needs to focus on getting people back to work. If people aren't working you can forget about everything else from health care to the environment. Unemployed people don't pay taxes.

There A LOT of complainers who aren't making any suggestions of their own. Looney, there is a fair amount of criticism of others ideas. While they can't all be gems, and some people are just idiots, the idea here is to get some change started. Where are your suggestions?
Let's let Reuven sort through the Ideas, and see what he can do

My $.02

1. Cut the wasteful spending! Only one example: We are facing a $5.7 billion shortfall in budget this year, and still looking to spend over $7 million on and Aurora suicide fence. I am not callous, and in fact lost my first spouse to suicide. Depression is hard, but $7 million + could do a lot of good to a lot more people that the few it may save. (put up a fence and they will quit trying to jump from there, and just find another way) Also see Kevin at #51,
2. On the note of #1, a more transparent way for the public to track how and where our tax dollars are spent. There is so much wasteful spending, not to mention the things we vote and pay for yet never see. In the private sector that is called fraud. I for one am sick of being taxed to death to just watch it be wasted.
3. Still on the tax note, property taxes are getting rediculous. So are many of the tax laws concerning small businesses (see John at #2). There has to be a better way. Maybe it is a state income tax, I don't know.
4. On higher education: I like Mickey at 45 who reiterates #33, but doesn't just have to be limited to doc's and nurses.
5.Mass transit from Ballard to downtown and the eastside. We are consistently left off the map of these "expansion" plans. A trolly to connect with the SLUT, a monorail, anything. Getting more cars off the road is better for everyone (health due to stress, cost for maintaining roads etc...), and the environment.
6. Decriminalize marijuana and maybe all drugs. I am sick that we spend time and money and jail space on drug users, while violent offenders go free. Not to mention the tax revenue we are missing out on.
That is all for now.
Thanks for opening up a forum. This is why we were voting for you.
T.

BallardDINK: So you're saying you should be able to opt out of paying for anything that involves a personal choice that you didn't make? The list of choices would be a mile long...

Besides, a flat tax is the opposite of a fair tax, which is impossible in a state with no income tax.

"TAX TOILET PAPER. Yeah, really….It would be a reasonable tax, we all (I hope) use it. How about a nickle a roll. "

Hell, how about we just print out your suggestions and use them?

Something must be done with/to the insane property taxes. My taxes are approaching my mortgage. I fear my elderly neighbors who I consider very important and needed are selling homes because it's impossible to keep up with the yearly increases.

Education should be a right, not something for just those who can afford it. Either no interest (really) or loooow interest loans without months and zillions of dollars wasted to study it. Just do it. Make the rules simply.

Get real with the words "affordable" housing, taxes, programs, whatever. I laugh til I cry when I read the next box of affordable condos/homes is slated for those poor individuals making ONLY $60K+-. Good grief. How about the rest of us at $30-40k?

Our schools should not constantly have to have bake sales, auctions, spaghetti feeds, dinners, whatever - to pay for things necessary to schools, like teachers, PE, Band. The types of things people in our generation had.

Don't make the few programs out there to assist the working/non-working poor for education so very very limited and difficult to enter. To have trained, educated people in the Puget Sound is a win-win across all boards, less social service money, less govt. paid health care, when people can get affordable jobs it benefits not only them and their families, but the entire society. They become contributors to the tax base and not users of social and health services.

School lunches, make them available to those families who need them. Get real on the cut off.

HEALTH CARE FOR ALL CITIZENS PERIOD. I had health insurance (which is a total conflict of interest, profit vs. care?) and I am sinking our family in over 7k of debt so far...

Let low level offenders, non violent offenders out of jail and put them to work. How can you care about life and yourself if you can't even support yourself.. Education vs. cost of supporting an ever growing burdensome expanding incarceration industry. Do you know what it costs to keep a minor criminal in jail and the support services, police, health, food, etc.? It's insane what's being spent in that area. If a person has no hope for a better future and no way to get one, why would they care about their behavior or consequence of their actions?

Make money where you can, get smart about it. Look at renting the unused (meals come on airline warm carts now and they suck) kitchen schools to small business owners who cannot afford their own kitchens. Install red-light cameras at all of the busy intersections, they pay for themselves soon enough and then generate money.

Streets/sidewalks a mess of broken torn up pieces. Take a group of people who want to learn good paying skills such as this and apprentice them, but get real about the entry requirements. I tried out for the city's storm drain/sewer apprenticeship. I am a short lady. I did try but there was really no way I could move all that wet sand over a 4 or 5 foot high wall. Not one single woman there and there were only 3 of us out of all those men, could do that. It seemed designed to eliminate us frankly. Why not dig a hole, we're all on the ground but we are not all tall....ya know. Better yet, test after a year of apprenticeships when you have been in the field and presumably are better physically able to do these tasks. I was a homemaker, there simply wasn't anything in my day to prepare me for this type of test. I realize that you can't just let anyone in, but make it so that you aren't excluding good hardworking people. Lottery? seems fairer.

TAX TOILET PAPER. Yeah, really....It would be a reasonable tax, we all (I hope) use it. How about a nickle a roll. So many taxes seem to be unfair to this population or that population. I think this is something that would get us all. I like the personal thought of the headlines myself.

Have specific lotter ticket sales earmarked for a particular need. Say tickets with schools on them, whatever, all that money goes to the schools up to a particular level, if reached, then to a "reserve" for that branch of needs. I don't buy tickets anymore but I would in fact do so if I knew exactly where the money was to go.

Lottery tickets for transportation. Tickets for Community Colleges, and maybe not just a cash payout of a large amount, but more smaller payouts of a complete 2 - 4 year education and cash enough to get a frugal person through those years. With smaller payouts, more will win and more will buy.

And of course tickets for senior services of all kinds. I stood in line at the Holman QFC as the pharmacist told the 80ish year old woman in front of me that he was sorry but her prescription was very expensive, she waited, he said "that will be $620 for the 4 bottles." If I only had that money, that day, it broke my heart to see this lady's face, she said she was told that she really needed it for her heart and her husband had to have his too, but she was sorry to say that she would have to leave it there because she just couldn't afford it. She looked at me embarrassed and left. I wanted to help so bad. That should never ever happen in the US. If you need meds. and cannot afford it, there ought to be a place to go where you can afford it, let the city buy in bulk directly and sell at cost, whatever, give it to her and everyone else like her.

Send Tim E. away.... I agree for sure.

Transportation period. No more freaking millions spent studying it. We need it, just do it.

Orphanages, bring them back. Talk to the kids who get moved and moved. Clearly it would be much better to have a "real home" with a stable non-changing address and room. No more paper bag from place to place. Then you would grow up with a "family" of the same kids and "house moms/dads". You would have a firm address and you could "relax" and focus on your life without the hammer over your worried young head of coming "home" to find out you are moving again.. Create a net, and a good one, for these innocent kids when they age out of the system. They should not be homeless on the streets just because they aged out and have no family to help. WE all need help at times, particularly at that age. Help these kids achieve their potential. If they need meds. then make sure they get them even after they age out, or you will then have a person who is now ill and needing more help. Why not have a "transitional" place for those who age out, where you move and can remain for up to say, 4 years or more if going to college and maintain a reasonable grade or an apprenticeship. These children did not ask to be in this position. I cannot even imagine the hurt and hopelessness to find yourself no longer "wanted" or cared for, yet ill prepared to meet your own needs and perhaps needing medical care, etc.

How to pay for this, make money, think smart and use the resources and ideas of your community. Luxury taxes on certain goods maybe? Would that be fair, I am not sure...but I am sure that these kids need us and we are not doing our best here. Read the Mockingbird section of the Real Change for a reality check in this department.

Clearly we have a BIG homeless, living in cars, etc. issue. What to do? Well maybe rent (for a small reasonable fee) overnight spots in govt. lots. I do mean reasonable here, couple of dollars? Then leave them alone. In these parking lots, you have a time to enter and a time to leave, no follow rules, not allowed or suspended for a period. Take that money and put it to use for that population's needs.

Put some laws on the books to make the computer age with regards to work BS reasonable. Such as other states have done to protect their people from unreasonably burdensome restrictions on getting a job. I was seeking a driving job, I know that their is a particular thing to ask for at the DMV to give to employers, yet they all tell you to get a "complete" abstract so that things that are supposed to be "closed" are visible. The reason the courts wanted certain things off the records was for a purpose, not to be circumvented by employers. But what can you say, no? Yeah right and you're going to get that job right? Limit the time that driving records can go back. Limit criminal record searches to go back like 5 years or something. I think if a human makes a change and gets their act together and trys hard to be a positive part of the world, why do they have to keep dragging around their past. They cannot get jobs, or keep them, they cannot get insurance, apartments, loans, etc. It's not fair and it takes away a person's ability and reason to change. Don't ya think? I have someone in mind here of course, made mistakes years ago, over 10 years and still cannot get a good job. Why stay on the straight and narrow when you are penalized for your past each and every step you take. It should end someplace and I am not talking about something violent or drug related. Just a dump young person thing. The computer age makes your history an open book. It should not be forever.

I believe firmly if you have paid for your crimes or got yourself clean then you deserve another chance. I don't mean 4 or 5 chances either. But certainly we all are a work in progress and sometimes it takes a bit of work to get it right. If you work hard, for years and keep it right, then you should be free from the prejudice of your past. Just like in court right? Seems only fair in life too.

Quit giving tax breaks to for profit companies that don't make sense. "Low" income housing for 60K+- individuals is silly. Low income should be low income. If you are making a profit why do you need a break anyway? Maybe it should be a certain percentage of profit? Not sure but it needs looking at.

Parking for crying out loud. Why don't the condos appearing like mushrooms everywhere have to have adequate parking? Last one I stopped to read said 1.5 parking spots per unit. I have yet to see anyone driving the .5 car. We all know that 99 percent of homes will have at least two cars, two people equals two cars. Where are all the extra .5 cars going to be parking? On the already overcrowded streets? No no no, each resident should be providing enough parking for those living there. Get real. It's just another way to squeeze these condos in without enough space.

Take care of the least of us, that is the mark of a great city right. Room and protection for every class. The poor, the elderly, sick, disabled, children need the decades of safety nets taken away to be returned on a logical scale. So many families are just a medical emergency and one paycheck away from disaster.

I agree that a simple across the board tax rate. Your income is 0-25k you pay this, 26k to 36k, 37k to 47k and so on and so on. Everything over median wage for the state will get a small increase that goes up with income. And let there be NO way out. You pay period. Forget deductions, forget write offs. If everyone who is owing taxes paid, even a small tax, without the ability to get out of it somehow, then there will be a big increase in revenue. No wiggle room, income based and reasonable. Start real small maybe and see what the revenue is, it may have to be adjusted. But find the level and then stick to it and enforce it. No pay then perhaps things shall be confiscated with due process. Then sold and that money shall go into that tax pot. If the tax is a reasonable income based tax it should be agreeable to the majority. Hell, take a poll and see.

Good luck.


thanks

Thanks for doing this. Two things:

Please talk with your Senator Kohl-Wells about supporting restoration of voting rights for felons who have served their time (I think the Senator submitted legislation last year but now that it is not an election year it might be a good time to work with her and the ACLU to get it through).

Second, it seems to me that someone who has knowledge of business and particularly finance, needs to look into the lack of regulation on mortgage brokers and the relationships between mortgage brokers and lenders. I believe (but may be wrong) that there are few requirements for licensing of mortgage brokers (and then lots of loopholes so people who don't call themselves mortgage brokers don't have to be license) in this state. And as we are now witnessing, the mortgage industry has some serious ethical problems. Monitoring of mortgage brokers, I think, is a state not federal responsibility.

Best of luck!

I would like to see more accountability from DOT and the contractors they use. I'm a large fan of mass transit myself, but understand the need for roads as an infrastructure for commerce.

I know a good number of civil engineers who work for companies that mainly do DOT contracts. It's laughable at how projects are run and how money is wasted.

I encourage you to go talk to some of the engineers that work either directly for DOT or indirectly through their firm and ask them how DOT projects are run and how they could be more streamlined to save money. Stay away from management, they'll just feed you stories to keep the money flowing... talk to the actual engineers!

My sympathies to the poor staffers who have to dredge through all this...

Americans are angry because of the economic issues we face today. They are angry that their well executed plans may not pan out. They are angry if they played by what they perceived to be the rules and still may not get where they hoped to be. They are angry because what they believed were truth really were not, like stocks always win over the long run, real estate always increases in value, a degree will get you a good job, hard work pays off, etc. etc. etc.
Unfortunately angry people seldom accomplish much. I’m not sure why the idea of affordable housing angers people. It’s not why your house lost value and it will not cost you and will actually increase tax revenues thus lessening your burden.
Real estate values increased because more people were able to buy. We accomplished that with creative loans which have proven to be a major mistake. Really sub primes and other questionable lending practices were never anything more than a subsidy for builders and realtors and bankers, they did not do a thing for buyers. If we want housing to recover we need to make houses affordable again.
Everyone who can afford a house has bought one folks and sadly many who cannot afford one have bought also. Once that happens in order for the business to continue prices have to drop. People who bought at the top have lost and will continue to lose. Condos on 24th and 56th are now selling for $135,000 less than what early buyers paid. Condos on 24th and 60th are being offered at $170,000 less than original asking price but still no buyers. A house on Dibble sold a few years ago for $700,000 that is likely worth less than$500,000 today. I have seen price drops as much as $80,000 on nice Ballard Tudors and still no sale. The newest apartment building in Ballard sit empty and their leasing sign grow more tattered each day.
The only way to change this trend and to get things moving again is for more housing to be created that is affordable. We have seen how successful creative lending has been so that idea is out the window. Wages in Seattle are already higher than the national average and restaurant prices are a result of that. The recent real estate buying incentives from DC have been a dismal failure.
Lots of people want to buy houses and condos. They have decent steady jobs. If the state was to give incentives to builders who build affordable housing they would buy and we could all benefit from increased value over time. There is land available for building all over Seattle. Example the new Ballard pool/ice skating rink at 28th and Market. A simple high rise building of 900 sq ft condos selling for around $185,000 to $200,000 would sell like hotcakes. No need for granite and stainless, it will look as dated as harvest gold appliances do in a few years anyway. Simple 2 bedroom units with underground parking can be built and developers can still make a profit. Each of those new owners then joins the property tax rolls and we have increased revenue for schools and other city needs. If we give tax breaks for that kind of building we will see benefit for all. Make the first floor retail and builders can increase their profit. I would love to see Market a sea of tall condos and apartments with retail main floors from 15th to the Locks but if they are to pay off they must be affordable. In addition build over the existing buildings now as has been done in Greenwood. Building them will create construction jobs and once built they will offer business pace that will also create jobs.
How will that harm anyone? It will make our neighborhood a vital attractive area. It will not harm home owners in Sunset Hill and Loyal Heights. It will bring even more exciting business into our neighborhood thus increasing our quality of life.

Buying a house is an individual choice, should they stop mortgage interest deductions?

What is with the childfree idiots? Argh.

Every four years, we work so hard to bring out the youth vote. They always say they intend come to the polls, but do they? Usually no. They forget, or get confused, or something. If you have a superstar like Obama, you maybe get a small one-time bump in young voters, but still. It's pathetic.

You know who votes? Reliably? Old people. And people with kids. And that's why the system works for them. That's why they get tax credits and schools and medicare and medicaid.

So if you have some plan to get the childless youth to show up and look out for their own interests, more power to you. Even if you want to push some untried flat tax nonsense, I don't care. I'm pretty sure the only thing that ever made the young vote in any numbers was sending them to Vietnam, but if you have something else that will work this time, sign me up.

george:

Not sure what post you're responding to. Still, allow me to help with your confusion, even though--as I'm said--I'm not arguing for a sushi restaurant style tax system. Heck, if anything, I'm arguing for an across-the-board flat tax, with everyone paying the same rate. More specifically, I'm calling for an end to child tax credits.

And I'll use your out-of-left-field example to show why: I'm happy to pay for the war vets because my country's elected leaders decided to send them there. We the people put those leaders in place, and we the people are responsible for their bills.

I'm not happy that people who have kids get a tax break because having kids is an *individual* choice, and I'm not comfortable paying someone else's personal bills. If Bob and Mary have a kid, then Bob and Mary made a choice, and should be responsible for the costs of that choice.

Again: I'm all for chipping in to pay for public education. Someone has to take my place when I die, and I'd prefer that that someone is an educated person. My gripe is that by giving tax breaks to individuals who make individual choices, everyone else has to chip in *more* than their fair share to make up the difference.

I want health care for all! I want a light rail, trams and buses! I want more money for schools up to grad school! I want homes for all the homeless in Seattle and subsidized housing for the poor! I want free drug treatment for all! I want green energy only, with wind, solar and wave power! I want intercity trains and monorails! I want state paid day care! I want a 35 hour work week and 6 weeks paid vacation! I want all workers to unionize and have job security!

Oh! And most important! I want someone else to pay for it!

I like JK's idea at 33, so I'm going to reiterate it:

"Specific legislation? Support the effort to reduce tuition or student loans for docs and nurses, et al, going into primary care medicine. This is necessary to ensure enough care as the population ages, and if we ever get universal health care in this country we’ll need even more of em."

Imagine if funding for even the most fundamental things in Washington were not constantly held hostage? And if the bizarre regressive burden were removed from the lowest paid workers? That's what an income tax would do.

I wonder if Tim Eyman would have a job after we switched to income tax? He'd be like Frank Blethen, ever trying to save a buck for the rich, and then who would care?

DINK:

I'm confused here. You didn't serve in the Iraq war but you still have to pay for injured Iraq war vets just like everyone else. That's because the government is not some sort of sushi restaurant where we only pay for what we eat.

You have the right to vote the bums out, but you don't get to pick and choose what to pay for.

Reuven,
It sounds like funding higher education is a priority for you, and one that I heartily agree with. I've seen universities, including UW, perform grounbreaking research into transportation and energy issues that I feel will have to be solved to allow for continued prosperity. While I also support direct infrastructure improvements -- especially bike lanes, streetcars, and light rail -- allowing the intellectual infrastructure to deteriorate could be disastrous. Seattle's growth has been built on that intellectual infrastructure.

Lets get rid of the Seattle portion of sales tax and add an income tax. Encourage other areas to shop in Seattle and a more progressive tax system...

State taxes: Just Say No. The trade off in Oregon for state taxes are no sales taxes.

And we wouldn't NEED to have tolls on roads if it weren't for Tim Eyeman...why should I, with my beater, subsidize every Escalade and Mercedes on the road? I say we bring back the car registration taxes to pay for road upkeep. (and while we're at it, send Tim to California to annoy people there. )We already paid for 520 with tolls back in the 1960s' why should we have to pay it again? (I still find it hard to believe that people fall for this chucklehead's spiel; a self-confessed embezzler and failed salesman, he's a schill for special interests. If he were an actual elected official we'd have impeached him by now.)

How about some tax breaks for people without children? We pay higher taxes than single people with or without children. As a person withhout children, I pay a higher rate of taxes and pay for schools I don't use. (OK, I'm not proposing illiteracy; however, judging by the products of our school system lately, they don't need any help on that score.)

Frankly, we could probably take a long hard look at the salaries of state officials. The UW President makes 1.2 Million a year AND he gets free housing! (meanwhile the classified staff doesn't make an actual living wage, and most professors make no where near $50K.)

I say: no more tax breaks for the rich! Bring back graduated car registration fees! No state taxes! And while I'm at this silly wish list, let's deport Tim Eyeman!

Ha! I <3 Looney.

Yes, I'd love efficient government. I'm still sore from the whole monorail fiasco (I wanted it, for what it's worth). How many millions of taxpayer dollars that simply evaporated, with absolutely zero benefit other than distracting people for 5 years?

Anyway, Mr. Carlyle, Ballard is a passionate bunch of people with differing opinions. We're *not* a homogenous neighborhood, and that's great.

My personal plea is that whatever y'all choose to do, DO IT. I'm fed up with ineffective government. Please, no more of this endless studying, waffling, wasting.

” Efficient government is to be feared.”

Or if you don't like the cold, Maria, try Somalia. I went there once in 1996; my god the bureaucrats there were useless, slow, corrupt and inefficient. Plus the trains never ran on time. You'll love it.

" Efficient government is to be feared."

Move to North Korea then, you'll love it. Everyone is a bureaucrat.

Thank god Reuven has private sector experience and is bringing that to Olympia. It's what he ran on.

Bureaucracy is what keeps us from becoming fascists. Efficient government is to be feared. Remember Mussolini made the trains run on time.

BK, I downplayed this in my original comment, but I do recognize the value of an educated society. Obviously, an educated young workforce "raises all boats", and everyone benefits.

So, I'm all for paying my fair share. That's the sticking point: the definition of fair. I think everyone should chip in the same amount; I don't think there should be *either* a child credit *or* a childless (or home/private schooled) credit. My beef is that if the government needs $1, and Citizen A owes 50 cents, and Citizen B owes 50 cents, but then Citizen A has a 10 cent credit and only owes 40 cents, then the government rubs its chin, realizes it has a 10 cent deficit, and winds up finding a way for Citizen B to owe them 60 cents. That's way too fussy. I'd rather we all just chip in, together, and get on with it.

In other words: keep it simple, keep it fair.

Oh, and (presumably Mrs.) Lakreitz: that's a good argument. It'd sway me if I weren't staunchly anti-bureaucracy. Credits not mandated by sound, intentional policy (such as crediting for high-efficiency appliances) makes my skin crawl. And as an aside: I've heard scary stories about people being prevented from sending their kids to the closest school. Even though I'm 1/2 of a DINK, I think that policy of bussing kids all over the city is utter BS.

Agreed: focus on the schools.

Start creating local schools, for local kids. No more sending them across town. I'm more than willing to pay more taxes for the public schools.

I second everything lakreitz said. Also have no kids, but support k - grad school and believe education is what will keep us strong, happy and economically sound. Focus there, Reuven!

Specific legislation? Support the effort to reduce tuition or student loans for docs and nurses, et al, going into primary care medicine. This is necessary to ensure enough care as the population ages, and if we ever get universal health care in this country we'll need even more of em.

"Greenwood and Lake City within a year will be no more affordable than Ballard."

Housing prices are dropping, so that's flat out, not true. And you could always try White Center. Nice try at making more excuses, though.

"I must ask however why on earth my paying rent harms anyone?"

It doesn't. But you were asking the government to make others (property owners, tax payers) to subsidize housing for people making $50k a year.

This isn't snipping, this is politics. I'm defending my interests and hope Reuven hear's us too.

Again, you're not poor, so stop pretending you are. You don't need government and tax payers help with housing, you need to move to a more affordable neighborhood in Seattle.

Without a decent school system, our homes have little value. A starter house on the eastside is more expensive than a starter house in Seattle. When I lived in my starter Ballard house, houses turned over all the time. It was a typical cycle. Childless couple moves in, has baby, then another, when oldest is ready to go to kindergarten, the home is put on the market and the family moves to Woodinville, Issaquah, etc. Where ever they don't need to worry about choosing and losing the chance to go to the school closest to their home.

Mr Lakreitz & I have no kids. I vote in favor of every school levy. I will never vote against a school levy - ever. Even if it is crap. Those of us with no kids are already getting a financial break. We don't have to join PTA's or organize auctions to buy uniforms for our kids' athletic uniforms. We don't have to pay for child care. We don't have to save for college. No tax break for me. No tax break for private school parents. No vouchers. No exceptions.

The public school system is the backbone of our society. Mr Lakreitz & I are products of public schools. Without a good, inexpensive education at our public universities, Mr Lakreitz & I would not have much. As it is, we are comfortable and have a good life. I thank the schools and would ask Mr. Carlyle to work on better funding for our university system.

I agree Keivn; my fault. SO again I will repeat…..Affordable housing is the number one issue with this voter and tax payer and the rest who work in this city. Greenwood and Lake City within a year will be no more affordable than Ballard.
I must ask however why on earth my paying rent harms anyone????? My landlord seems to make a very good living charging reasonable rents.

This certainly isn't my blog to moderate, but Reuven Carlyle gave us readers of my ballard a unique opportunity to give feedback into legislation and we're wasting it with arguments about two income no kids and tax credits for kids (a federal issue)... ? Seems like a waste of a good opportunity. Not to mention they're issues we can't really deal with at the state level being on a sales tax / property tax revenue system

>>>>Green McMansions? Yeah right.

Look out Reuven, the crazy, ELF, angry left are out and about looking for lattes to tax!

This is why we voted for you, you understand the balance between the private and public sector and will bring your experience creating jobs and wealth in the private sector to help our state.

We need more innovators like you and the people working at the Gates Foundation.

Good luck!

Look how fast this request for suggestions from Reuven has devolved into the typical blog sniping match! Sad.

(ducking for cover)

Maria, try Spokane...

Oh take a letter Maria
Address it to my wife
Say I won't be coming home
Gotta start a new life
So take a letter Maria
Address it to my wife
Send a copy to my lawyer
Gotta start a new life

"Public money spent to make this possible WILL benefit you and your lifestyle and will do you no harm at all."

Actually, paying your rent, will do me harm. Thanks for playing. I suggest looking for housing in a cheaper Seattle neighborhood (Greenwood, Lake City Way) rather than expect us to pay the rent of someone making $50k a year. You're not homeless.


"Do you really think frying up your breakfast or stocking the shelves of the places you shop or picking up your garbage takes little effort?"

It didn't require studying very hard. Never too late to catch up though.

"I want what a wage of $50,000 should give me and that is a decent place to live in the city where I work very hard every day."


Well, click your heels then.

Angrignon this is a blue state AND a green state just as long as no one has to pay for it. Green McMansions? Yeah right.

Half the effort? Do you really think frying up your breakfast or stocking the shelves of the places you shop or picking up your garbage takes little effort?
I don’t want what you have. I want what a wage of $50,000 should give me and that is a decent place to live in the city where I work very hard every day.

Wow, look at all the folks who want to get rid of public school taxes because they have kids in private schools or have no children at all.

You are paying for the future of the children who will eventually grow up to live here in the same neighborhood/community as you.

I thought this was a blue state.

Might as well have stayed in Chicago or in the Northeast. At least they have working public transportation...

I really do think that everyone who works in a place has the right to live in that place also. It also makes sense environmentally. The literal armies of workers who serve Seattle eventually will be commuting from Spanaway and Chehalis until it no longer pays to do so for $10 per hour. If you have no kids to take their jobs they won’t making your coffee either. I love dogs but they seldom make good coffee and not being able to grasp the theory of inertia they doo poorly driving large vehicles of any kind
The sales clerks and pizza makers and baristas and janitors and bus drivers and taxi drivers and secretaries and dry cleaners and gym attendants etc etc etc make your lives possible. Why is it such a terrible thing to think you might have to share you city with them? Public money spent to make this possible WILL benefit you and your lifestyle and will do you no harm at all.

"Yes I can move but that means a commute by car instead iof bus"

How's that my problem? You make $50k a year. You're not poor. Don't expect the rest of us to subsidize your lifestyle.

Basically, the above post is typical: you've got yours, and I want some of it, with half the effort.

Go Reuven!

I agree that no DINK is personally responsible for me however they are so danged DULL they make the city a boring place and for that they are responsible. They look alike dress alike talk alike and eat alike and act alike in all ways. I enjoy living in a diverse city with children and old people and young people not a homogenized urban burb. That is what makes a city a great place to live but too many today want to turn a city into something other than what it is. Why do so many want to make the city into a burb?

The half priced local veggies and Lenny’s and the food at Grocery Outlet rides in on the same roads as do those at Safeway or Ballard Market. So who is getting taken for a ride along with all that food? Anyone who really thinks poor unprofitable Safeway is worried about you and how much you pay.

I also agree with elimination of all credit for children as well as interest and property tax deductions.

As a childless adult I gladly paid property taxes for most of my life. An educated society is a better society in which to live unless of course you want to live in a gated planned community which I what too many really want to see in the city. They problem really is that the boring burbites have moved to the city because it is trendy in Seattle, a city that sucks the life out of trends. Unfortunately our city will disappear into a soulless society just like the burbs have done.

Define ‘small business.” How much can an owner make before he is a ‘large business?” My guess is that a business owner making $50,000 a year would define himself as a small business and a business owner making $200,000 a year would do the same as well as the business owner who make $500,000. You will have a good a chance of defining that as one might defining what is rich and what is poor.

I agree that $50,000 is far from destitute but making that I still barely afford a tiny two bedroom for me and one teen so a roommate seems a bit of a stretch. Yes I can move but that means a commute by car instead iof bus and a hellish suburban life for a kid with lots of potential. Really it’s very short sighted to even think that even 1% of single parents choose to be single parents.

Basically the above posts are the typical, “I got mine now everything stop and nothing change except that which benefits me.” Sadly it IS them against us.

Maybe only families with x number (greater than 2?) kids in private school should get a refund

I'm not saying full exemption, I just think they should get a small refund

Why all of the bashing of public school taxes? With all of the exemptions proposed by Private schooler, there wouldn't be enough money for public schools. Ballard Dink and Private schooler, who do you think paid for your education (assuming you spent time in public school and/or public university). Do you think the taxes your parents paid covered all of your expenses? What goes around comes around. How do you expect to have a productive economy without universal education?

I agree with "private schooler" I think it doesnt make sense for tax payers that have their children in a private school to have to pay for public schools wants and needs. I hope this can change in the near future.

I second that.

Reuven,
I like your approach to going to the blogs to see what people have to say.

As to my opinions, I'm half with Ballard DINK, I think that citizens with no children shouldn't have to pay public school taxes. BUT, I also think that families with children in private schools should get school tax refunds also.

I also like the idea of tax cuts for small businesses.

I'm with represent_all. My wife and I decided not to have kids, for a bunch of reasons--one of which is that creating another human consumer is about the worst choice you can make for the environment. I'm sick of having to pay more in taxes (in other words, having to make up the difference for those who claim child tax credit), and I'd love to see the elimination of such credits.


I'd also like to see rebates of school taxes for those that do not stress the system: households without children, whether that be singles, DINKS, or the elderly. I understand that everyone benefits from a new, educated young workforce, but really--those school taxes are getting ridiculous, and those who actually use the school system should pay more. Think of it like a toll on schools. If you or your kids use it the most, you should bear most of the cost.

It's simple: people should not be rewarded for having kids that they can't afford.

Which brings me to Ballard itself, and its recent rash of graffiti--graffiti created by unsupervised, poorly-raised kids. Mr. Carlyle, if you're familiar with this blog you're familiar with an increasing number of stories of crime and general despair. Please do what you can to bring more beat cops (as in, cops who literally walk the streets) to Ballard.

Thank you for soliciting feedback, and good luck in Olympia!

"Also MAJOR tolls on all limited access roads, bridges and viaducts"

How do you think your food gets here? Even if you don't drive on a road doesn't mean you don't use the. We all use them, they are what help the economy move.

Reuven, please ignore the wacko left, they voted for Burbank.

Thank you represent_all, a voice of reason.

If you make $50k a year, you are not destitute. If Seattle's too expensive, move or get a room mate.

We voted for Reuven because he's not the knee jerk, raise your taxes/fees type like Burbank is.

Maria,
Comfortably living within the city limits of Seattle is not a right provided to any citizen.

I am married and have a dog. We have no plans to have children. Like families with children, we'd like to be represented by our leaders as well.

I pay a significant amount of tax without receiving as much in the way of direct services (such as schools and public programs) the way a typical families might. Strangely, we receive a great deal of disrespect despite this.

No "DINK" is personally responsible for your situation. Like families with children, we buy homes we can afford in areas that appeal to us. We are not the problem in Ballard. Your city/county representation is responsible for the pace of the resulting urbanization.

I absolutely agree that families have a right to affordable housing in general. However, alienating citizens that do not have children is shortsighted and rude. It is not what Ballard needs at all. We all need to set aside all the us vs. them and new vs. old Ballard and actually DO something productive for ourselves.

I am hoping Reuven help us work together to come up with the best solution to benefit the most people.

Also MAJOR tolls on all limited access roads, bridges and viaducts. Those who use them need to pay for them.

Affordable housing….affordable housing, AFFORDABLE HOUSING. Let me repeat that…AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
Our major seems to think that affordable housing in Seattle is a 400 sq ft studio condo for $250,000 or $1500 month rent. Sure, I suppose 3 baristas could share that. How about we give some ear to real life people like a single mom who makes under $50,000?

Do you want a city of DINKS with dogs and sagging bike shorts or a place where people who work can afford to live?

Bark More -- instead of dissing me and my concerns, perhaps you could make an actual suggestion for Reuven?

Nah. It's just not your style to be constructive.

Dear Mr Carlyle,

Please ignore Mickey, we voted for you, not Mr. Latte Tax.

No state income tax! No way, no how.

Woof!

Reuven,
This kind of approach you're taking is one of the reasons I supported you with my $ and my vote. Thank you for listening, and don't let the bureaucracy in Olympia assimilate you!

How about laws that roll back taxes, open up HOV lanes to everyone, set car tab prices at $30, repeal anti-discrimination protections for gays & lesbians, allow electronic scratch ticket machines, and Permanently Offend everyone?

Oh wait...

Mr. Carlyle -

Nancy Amadei had a good piece in Real Change this last week. She advocates for a state income tax, as do I. She makes the case that it could be structured so that the sales tax, property tax and B&O tax could all be lowered. (Of course, Tim Eyman is still trying to outlaw all taxes, so you would have to contend with that nonsense.) Neverthless, if I could deduct my state income tax from my federal taxes, I'd be in favor of instituting it.

As I recall from your campaign, you are not in favor of it. And I agree that it has, so far, been a non-starter with citizens. However, I don't think the legislature has ever done a good job of devising and presenting it.

Mr. Carlyle,
Thank you for offering to hear the concerns of your constituents in such a open manner. What a gift it is!
Our local, independent, family owned, retail bookstore is constantly hampered by the requirements of the Destination-based Sales Tax in the State of Washington. We are required to charge the local sales tax at the destination for purchases. A large portion of our business involves customers who reside outside of Seattle. For each customer within commuting distance we must keep two accounts, one for when they shop in person and we charge Seattle’s sales tax, and another for purchases that we mail to them charging their specific sales tax at their specific address. We know of other bookstores in Seattle that refuse to sell and mail to customers within Washington State due specifically to the requirements of the Destination-based Sales Tax. Our sales tax reports to the state can easily include fifty or sixty lines of sales tax locations and the specific amount of tax that we have collected that will be distributed to those taxing districts. Often the sales tax collected in many of the more than 350 sales tax districts in the state amount to less than three dollars. The time and energy we spend trying to meet this tax requirement is very expensive for us.

By limiting this tax requirement to larger purchases or perhaps to the larger corporations who can afford to develop a fully automated system of tax determination, charging, and reporting would help the smaller businesses in the state.

With concern, and some hope,
John Marshall, Co-Owner
Episcopal Bookstore
3837 Stone Way N
Seattle 98103
Our residence is in Ballard

Hope he knows what he's getting into... : )