Washington State has a citizen initiative system that has led to some bad results. At first, I thought Tim Eyman started around 2000 when he ran a citizen initiative to reduce car registration fees to 30 dollars. However, looking at his history, I find out that he actually started out by doing referendums about limiting affirmative action in public hiring.
With the car tab initiative, he really found his zone. Most of his initiative campaigns are about making it harder for the government to do its job. He files initiatives which restrict the ability to create taxes, and to choose how to spend revenue.
He’s declared bankruptcy, been divorced, and was being sued by the state for 2.1 million dollars, all in the past few years. He seems to be entering a fairly challenging stage in his life.
Now he’s a petty thief caught on camera WHILE WEARING HIS BRIGHT RED “CAMPAIGN” SHIRT! The video is golden.
I wonder how he’ll spin this?
"He reclines, spins around three times and then stands up and wheels the chair out of the store."
I have decided that I’m not signing any “citizen” initiatives. It’s become too much of a business. The final straw was when Seattle had passed a “head tax” on large businesses to try to deal with some of the homelessness in Seattle. Amazon and other businesses jumped to try to repeal.
There I was at a Trader Joe’s where one man selling Real Change, Seattle’s homeless newspaper. Meanwhile, a man opposite him was a paid signature gatherer being paid low wages to try to repeal the tax that was meant to fund measures to reduce homelessness in Seattle. I muttered something about “juxtaposition”, and glared.