The Official Olympia Tea Party Web Site Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. olympiateaparty@gmail.com 360-923-1080

About Us Training Fiscal Responsibility Past Events Links Property  Rights News Get Involved!

 

Fiscal Responsibility

Property Rights

Constitutionally Limited Government

We can argue about the other stuff later...


Report State & Local Fraud, Waste & Abuse to the WA State Auditor or call (866)902-3900


OTP NEWS & VIEWS

May 1, 2012 Copyright © Olympia Tea Party / Ken Morse

I work in the waste water industry so the comments below are appreciated.  In the septic system industry the State of Washington has vested itself in 100-year old or older technologies while it keeps new innovations excluded from the marketplace.  Homeowners are paying 10 times as much as they should in many instances where new technologies are better in all respects.  Additionally the stringency of State Health regulations is more than ridiculous - the State of Washington regulations for septic systems are based upon Federal swimming standards!  The result is VERY expensive products which BTW have a loophole exempting them from field performance requirements once installed.  I call this institutionalized corruption and a "Code-opoly".  SB 5699 / HB 1995 was defeated last year but we will be back.  Just remember this:  parents are being forced to decide between sending their kids to college or fixing their septic system.  Repairs are hitting $40,000.00 for waterfront homes and in some cases $140,000.00.

 

April 26, 2012 Copyright © Olympia Tea Party / Ken Morse

So after nearly 4 years, how is that "Hope & Change" working out for you?  I saw a sign on the back of a work van that said something like 37 employees under Bush, 2 employees under Obama.  In my opinion Obama needs to apologize to one last group:  The Citizens of the United States of America.  Then he should resign like Richard Nixon; but given the size of his hubris (ego) that is as unlikely as China volunteering to pay the $5-trilllion Obama National debt.  At least Nixon new when the game was up...

 


April 6, 2012  Copyright © Olympia Tea Party (Ken Morse)

I think 2012 should be called year of the bureaucrat.  To be sure there are some very excellent public employees (aka public servants)...  But the tendency nowadays is too many regulations and to many regulators.  Our civil and constitutional rights are not just being infringed upon but outright trampled.    Thurston County is just one example.  Noteworthy also are the recent GSA abuse scandals. 

The "Friends of the San Juans" are apparently (continually) reporting their neighbors, often for imagined land use violations.  Regulations have become so extensive and burdensome nowadays that everyone is in violations of something and that is no joke.  There is something wrong when County officials tacitly approve of those who trespass (breaking one law) in order to systematically turn in their neighbors for allegedly breaking another law.  Where is equal protection under the law?  As a former regulatory official of San Juan County I know it is one thing to field the occasional citizen complaint; but this is another matter entirely!  It is an organized and subsidized effort with no regard to their fellow citizens rights to privacy.  Neighbors spying on neighbors, this simply should not be happening in America.

 

The Obama-Reid-Pelosi TRAIN WRECK!

 

Global Warming... is freezing my butt off!         Copyright (c) 2011 Olympia Tea Party

This morning in the Capitol of Washington State... we see scattered show showers!  Freezing level is reported to be about 400 ft. elevation and that is why the nearby hills are white... with snow.

 

Remember for a moment what global warming "scientists" said back in 2000 “Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” in a few years According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) in Great Brittan.

So how is the weather in merry old England? (Feb 4th) Severe weather alert for England as heavy snowfalls expected

People with a selfish political agenda are easy to spot.  In addition to stupid alarmist predictions like the one above (which are easily debunked with time and facts) another cheap trick they use is to predict what could have been.  It goes something like this "just think how bad the economy would have been if we hadn't bailed out the banks and gone into debt funding failed companies like Solyndra..."  Notice it is impossible to contradict something that has never been.  Believe me, I wish along with the majority of Americans we could turn back the clock and test Obama's theory by instituting Reagan's plan instead of continuing the Bush/Pelosie/Reid era overspending!

 

So what is Al Gore's defense?  It goes something like this: "Just think how much colder it would be if we weren't experiencing this intense man-caused global warming."

 

The political and practical consequences of the global warming scam is that Al Gore and his buddies are growing rich selling ridiculous and toxic fluorescent light bulbs (rom the New York Times) Light bulbs and other products which you will be FORCED to buy.  Government policies have become a toxic brew of greedy political and certain corporate interests.  But take heart, election day 2012 is coming.


 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Information  http://www.theolympian.com/2011/12/06/1903976/judge-ties-wsp-hands-on-capitol.html

Comparisons                                   Occupy                        Tea Party

ARRESTS                                           4149+                            0
RAPES                                                  2                                  0
DAMAGE                                           $10,000,000                  $0
PUBLIC DEFECATION                       YES                             NO
ANTISEMITIC RANTS                           12                              0
COST TO TAXPAYERS                   $19,327,487+                 $0
PUBLIC MASTURBATION                     3                                0
MOLOTOV COCKTAILS THROWN     10                              0
FIGHTS STARTED                               YES                             NO
CHILDREN EXPLOITED                     YES                             NO
POLICE CARS DAMAGED                  2                                  0
PUBLIC DRUNKENNESS                    YES                             NO
DRUG POSSESSION ARREST             YES                             NO
CONCEALED WEAPON ARREST       YES                             NO
DRUG OVERDOSE                               YES                             NO
THEFTS                                                 YES                             NO
VULGARITIES                                       YES                             NO
VANDALISM ARREST                         YES                             NO
TRESPASSING ARREST                      YES                             NO
NON FATAL SHOOTINGS                   1                                  0
PUBLIC URINATION                           YES                             NO
URINATION ON OTHERS                    YES                             NO
ISRAELI FLAGS BURNED                     2                                  0
AMERICAN FLAGS BURNED               1                                  0
AMERICAN FLAGS DANCED ON        1                                  0
AMERICAN FLAG DESECRATION      25                                0
FELONY ASSAULT ON AN EMT         1                                  0
HEAD/BODY LICE OUTBREAKS          1                                  0
TUBERCULOSIS OUTBREAKS             1                                  0
MURDER                                                  1                                  0
SUICIDE                                                  1                                  0
SHOTS FIRED AT WHITE HOUSE        1                                  0
SCABIES OUTBREAKS                         1                                  0
OBAMA ENDORSED IT                      YES                             NO
PELOSI ENDORSED IT                        YES                             NO
CAIR ENDORSED IT                            YES                             NO
SOCIALIST PARTY ENDORSED         YES                             NO
NAZI PARTY ENDORSED                    YES                             NO
MUSLIM BROTHERH'D ENDORSED   YES                             NO
COMMUNIST PARTY ENDORSED      YES                             NO
BIDEN ENDORSED                                YES                             NO
HUGO CHAVEZ ENDORSED                YES                             NO
BLACK PANTHERS ENDORSED         YES                             NO
HEZBOLLAH ENDORSED                     YES                             NO
MARXIST UNION ENDORSED             YES                             NO
9/11 TRUTHER ENDORSED                   YES                             NO
BOLSHEVIK ENDORSED                       YES                             NO
IRAN GOVERNMENT ENDORSED        YES                             NO
AYATOLLAH ENDORSED                      YES                             NO
NORTH KOREA ENDORSED                 YES                             NO
FARRAKHAN ENDORSED                    YES                             NO
NATION OF ISLAM ENDORSED          YES                             NO

ENDORSED BY GOV. GREGOIRE      YES & permits waived      NO & threatened by state workers

Thurston Co. Food Permit REQUIRED?  NO                          YES

FREEDOM OF SPEECH HINDERED    NO                          YES


Thank you Martin Luther King Jr.

 


 

Glen Morgan:  http://youtu.be/DsaeVGgEUFc                      Shahram Hadian:    http://youtu.be/gI0xew-jNBk 

Scott Roberts:    http://youtu.be/mWV-qpOuUu8                Bob Sauerwein:    http://youtu.be/bnmXZaRKvEI

Ken Morse:    http://youtu.be/KiXhqbTaqp0                        Elizabeth Scott:    http://youtu.be/jx6myVJIiNk

Elizabeth Scott:    http://youtu.be/jx6myVJIiNk                  Jim McCune:    http://youtu.be/qxFuoS7H53s            

Phillip Watson:    http://youtu.be/FhaSsbAMuzg 


 

Crony Capitalism out of Olympia                   Copyright © October 26, 2011 Olympia Tea Party

Obama simply is not the problem.  He, along with other "Progressives" plus many main line Republicans and Democrats are a symptom of a political system corrupted by big business forcing their way into your wallet.  For instance, the fluorescent light bulbs being foisted on us by regulations benefit a very limited group of investors (including Al Gore) while the average guy pays the high price.  Never mind that fluorescents don't last longer than regulars bulbs (my observation) or that they have significant amounts of toxic mercury and other dangerous chemicals and please don't evaluate whether or not they are actually good for the environment or your eyesight.  Hell, there is money to be made here son.  Whenever your fluorescents die, be sure to send them to the White House for recycling.  Use Al Gore's or Chris Gregoir's address for the return address.  "Never mind the man behind the curtain" as the famous line in the Wizard of Oz reads.  http://www.peterbronson.com/?p=349

So who is behind the political curtain?  Greedy unethical businesses who have eliminated most if not all of their competitors, forced high prices on us and got unjustified regulatory protections through outrageous loopholes; that's who.

Here is a great non-tea party web site on a great scandal that is brewing  www.spacedoc.com  which shines the light on the Statin scam.  Incidentally Senator Patty Murray who was heavily funded by at least on big pharmaceutical company.  Tell me she isn't influenced by big pharmaceutical companies.

Are there solutions to crony capitalism?  You bet there are!

See the Olympia Tea Party article Mountain Corruption in You Own Back Yard (see the article below, on this page) which talks about "code-opolies" here in Washington State.  The solution is SB 5699 & HB 1995 which are bills still active in the 2012 Legislative session.  (SB stands for Senate Bill, HB stands for House Bill). 

The WA Campaign for Liberty web site highlights how traffic ticketing cameras actually are a public safety problem. (they used to be illegal by the way) http://wacfl.com/traffic-cameras/traffic-cameras-are-not-about-safety/ and the solution is SB 5716.

More than just complaining we can get behind these positive pieces of legislation and push.  They already have have bipartisan support and they fight the festering corruption that we all hate.  

Write your Senators & Representatives and ask them to fight crony capitalism by supporting SB 5716, SB 5699 and HB 1995.


Nero fiddled, Obama Golfs                               Copyright © August 19, 2011 Olympia Tea Party

Nero fiddled as Rome burned.  Nero set the fire and blamed the Christians.

Obama golfs at Martha's Vineyard while as our Economy (jobs) burns to the ground & of course Obama blames the Tea Party.

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it...


The Obama Disconnect                                                                                       Copyright © August 17, 2011 Olympia Tea Party

What right does ANY president have to talk about bringing jobs back while he travels the nation on a custom bus made in Canada? And yes the White House bought the luxury model.

 

What right does ANY president have talking jobs when his press secretary says food stamps are the quickest way to create jobs?

 

What right does ANY president have talking jobs while the Bureaucracy he manages continues the massive regulation buildup strangling job creating businesses?

 

What right does ANY president have when he cannot come up with a budget or an economic plan except just before the elections?

 

What right does ANY president have talking jobs when his administration is giving exemptions to the endangered species act to wind-generated-electrical-industry while it is killing the vast majority of eagles in California?  And at the same time this president acknowledges his "green" energy & Cap-n-Trade scheme will cause our electric bills to soar! Doesn't he care about poor people?

 

What right does ANY president have to talk jobs while he golf's more often than any of his predecessors?

 

President Obama, your inexperience is showing and it is time for you to resign for the good of the Country just like Richard Nixon resigned when he got caught "with his hand in the cookie jar."

 

If you had been listening to America we wouldn't be in the utter economic mess we have today.  You don't want to listen and therefore you will be a one term president.  You get an A for effort but an F for results.  It is time for you to step aside.


Get ready for massive insurance dump                                        Copyright © July 26, 2011 Olympia Tea Party

New study from the National Federation of Small Business

  • 57% of businesses employing less than 50 people will likely dump private health care insurance

  • This will force 35 Million employees into the government healthcare exchanges created under ObamaCare.

  • Employers and Employees in the exchanges will come out ahead while the taxpayer gets shafted.

  • Thus ObamaCare will force the highest tax increase since 2003.

  • Employer Health Care costs could rise by 60% by 2015. 

  • 87% of Small businesses will be affected by ObamaCare as soon as 2014 (12 million employees).

  • The average family will pay $5,000 more in premiums over the next ten years.

  • ObamaCare will cost a Trillion Dollars more than advertised.

We told you so...


The problem with Media Hype                                                                  Copyright © July 25, 2011 Olympia Tea Party

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families of the Norway tragedy.

 

The first tragedy is when any nutcase guns down innocent children at a summer camp; and he deserves to burn in Hell forever in my opinion.  The second tragedy is the way the media attempts to characterize all nutcases as right wing fundamentalist Christians or Conservatives.  This murderous goofball is neither a political Conservative nor a Christian; to anyone who is Conservative or Christian his actions are obviously revolting and nauseating.

 

Liberal and leftist media pundits purposefully mischaracterize such events only to score political points.  Same thing happened when Jared Loughner gunned down a Conservative Federal Judge and almost killed moderate Democrat Gabriella Gifford in his Arizona shooting rampage.  Loughner was immediately (before the facts were know) labeled a Conservative Christian.  Turns out he was more the Socialist admiring Atheist... Gee thanks liberal media for the smear campaign.  You've got that technique down pat with your instant knee jerk condemnation of anyone who slightly disagrees with you.  If something bad happens it must be a Conservative Christian; don't pause to discover the facts.  Never mind that Loughner was one of your own.  The media scam works like this:  A) a leftist or liberal Blogger makes a false statement  B) the respected major media talking heads pick up on it and report it as if it were news without vetting it  C) the misinformation travels the world  D) eventually the alternative media call foul  E) The major media print a small retraction on page 3 where nobody will notice.  F) the damage is done.  Why does this happen?  Ted Koppel in 1976 told us at the Edward R. Murrow Symposium held at WSU in Pullman.  I heard him say "the news media no longer consider themselves just reporters of news but rather 'shapers' of public opinion."

 

If the liberal Left can keep peoples emotions stirred up then who will bother to pay attention to issues and policies?  This is of course the whole point of blaming Conservatives for everything horrific.  Personally I've been called a "hater", "racist" and probably much worse behind my back just because I believe in fiscal responsibility.  Imagine if your neighbor decided to call you a child molester because you complained about his dog pooping on your lawn.  Your reputation would be dirt in the neighborhood in no time at all.  Do you think the goofballs who egged my house and truck paused to check the facts before damaging my property? The answer is yes only if you believe that it snows in Hell.

 

Obama is too busy golfing to choose bipartisanship.  I really don't think he cares.  Should America loose it's triple-A rating he and his radically Left-of-center Senate will have earned at least 2/3 of the blame.  But who will the Left-leaning Media blame?  I can predict that in less than three guesses.


ZerObama Golfing... while the economy burns!        Copyright © July 8, 2011 Olympia Tea Party

      9.2%

  Unemployment

Golfing http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-tours-news/blogs/local-knowledge/2010/12/obama-56-or-57-rounds-but-whos-counting.html

Unemployment http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/08/unemployment-rate-rises-to-2-percent-in-june-as-hiring-stalls/

Comment:  Obamanomics stinks!  The real unemployment rate is actually 18% once all things are considered.


Celebrating July 4th

 

Happy Birthday America!

 

 

 


2011, The Summer of Lst Jobs                        Copyright © June 21, 2011 Olympia Tea Party

 

The ZerObama Stimulus looks like it actually helped Canada (the red line) more than it did the U.S. (blue line).   ZerObama promised us the unemployment would not go above 8%, well that was overly generous.  Word is that Canadians had voted in more conservative politicians.  Well you get what you vote for.

 

Establishment politicians have been running the US economy into the ground for decades.  We can safely now categorize Barack H. Obama as just another George Bush in terms of handling the National Debt and Deficit.   The Bush record is actually better by far though I don't like either's poor performance.

 

Last summer the ZerObama administration proclaimed it as the "summer of recovery", well it didn't.  This summer may be tagged by  historians as the "Summer of LOst Jobs".  We need to elect a president that actually cares.

 

 


Lst Jobs Message is resonating. Our June 17th Friday "Flags over Five" was the most positively received yet.  Motorists & truckers honked and waved  approval like never before!  The Lost Jobs message is getting through.  Join in at an overpass near you.  The Olympia Tea Party can provide signs for your group, call for details. (360) 923-1080

 


OTP Protests Tumwater City Council               Copyright © June 15, 2011 Olympia Tea Party

On Tuesday, June 14 the Olympia Tea Party  protested (on short notice) the Tumwater City Council work session held at the Fire House next to City Hall. (the work session was in the Fire House conference room).  Our message was obvious from our signs (see pictures below.)  Because of the short notice our numbers were few, but Glen Morgan of the Freedom Foundation, John O'Callahan the Thurston Co. Republican Chair along with Terry (OTP member) attended the meeting while Bruce and Ken kept the signs visible outside.  Glen Morgan had come to give the City Council their Attorney's letter regarding City employees removing "STOP Thurston Count" signs from private property on City time using a City vehicle thus breaking both Federal and State Statutes.  We set up shop first on the street then moved in front of the window where the Council was meeting and "grab them by the nose" so to speak and get their attention.  It was a beautiful day for a protest.  We will keep you informed as things develop.


Economic Meddling has Failed America        By Ken Morse.       Copyright © June 15, 2011 Olympia Tea Party

The results are obvious on who benefited from the Obama-Reid-Pelosi economic experimentation and Americas aren't happy.  The clear winners is the new Confederacy of Big Corporation, Big Banks, and Big Government.  The clear losers: wage earners, homeowners and property owners.  Especially hard hit are children and minorities.

  • Anyone filling their own gas tank nowadays knows something is desperately wrong.  High gas prices are the result of a "no domestic drilling" policy while Obama lavishes Billions on Brazilian oil well drilling.

  • The housing market collapse is now steeper than the Great Depression and falling further.

  • Quantitative Easing (a.k.a. printing money) is causing widespread inflation at home and China now claims we are in default because they don't like having their loans repaid with funny money.

  • The Banks Obama and Bush bailed out invested in foreign enterprise, not in American small businesses or families.  Ask yourself, did my bank help pay off my loan?  Of course not, they are "to big to fail" and give heavily to certain politicians.   So who do you think Obama is working to protect?  Concern over Joe the plumber has been replaced by help for Ben the banker.

  • Unemployment is creeping skyward again from it's already lofty perch.

  • American industry continues to move offshore taking more jobs with it.

  • Excessive new regulations are choking business, causing plummeting property values in some areas and are a virtual rape of property owner rights.

  • The Obama/Bush $14+ Trillion National Debt threatens everything.

  • I could fill the rest of the web site with examples but I think you can already see the point.

I don't think Obama really cares.  His lack of experience in private enterprise and his ridged Leftist philosophy won't let him see the misery he is causing to children across America including Black and Hispanic kids.

 

The answer of course lies with your response.  It is not enough to be informed.  Get active in a local City Council race, involve yourself with an active local group, write a letter to the editor once a month, give to active groups that are having impact.

 

Over the last two years+, here is what we at the Olympia Tea Party have been doing:

  • Street Protest marches: Starting with the 1,800 strong march on April 15, 2009 we marched on the State Capitol to join the rally on the Capitol North Steps.

  • Rallies & Conferences with multiple speakers

    • Speakers included: Rev. Wayne Perryman,  Kelly Carender, Mike Siegel, Carl Pike, Bob Basso a.k.a. Thomas Paine, Kirby Wilbur, Alex Rion, John Carlson, Ken Morse, Floyd Brown, Michael Coffman PhD, Wendy Burnbaum, Senator Val Steven, Bill Hinkle, Dr. Matt Manweller, Garret Lloyd King (songwriter), Justice Richard Saunders, Tom Hann and many more.

  • Organized visits to Representative's Town Hall meetings or visiting Representative's  home offices.

  • Web page articles at www.OlympiaTeaParty.com

  • Targeted Letter writing campaigns

  • Organize events for Nationally known groups (like the Tea Party Express, October 2009 at the Puyallup)

  • Targeted protests (like our recent Tumwater City Council protest)

  • Flags over Five Freeway Overpass signs.

  • Protest Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton and other Leftists that came to Washington State.

  • Create news events with our protests.

  • Support key Initiatives (like I-1053 & 1022) with signature gathering and sign waving

  • Information gathering and across the State coordination with other groups (like "water wars" of last summer)

  • Speaking engagements

  • And we here at the Olympia Tea Party could add many more.

  • We are ordinary people doing extraordinary things

  • All this made possible because so many of you got involved and donated your time, talent and money. 

  • Thank You!

If you want to have impact join us or any other active group.  Don't just know something, do something!  Support the candidate of your choice by volunteering & contributing.  Even with just a moderate amount of committeemen and time you can have ten times the impact compared to  working alone; but whatever you do, get involved and stay involved.  Your kids future depends upon what you do today.


GREGOIRE LEGACY: UNSUSTAINABLE BUDGETS...   Tim Eyman 6/13/11

 http://soundpolitics.com/archives/014880.html

It was March 22, 2005.  Gregoire was the newly elected/selected Governor.  And she submitted her budget.  Here's what she said about it:  "I don't like it.  It's not sustainable.  It's what's wrong with the budget in the state of Washington," she said.  Members of her own Party ridiculed it:  "Transferring funds and transferring them back to make it look like you did something - that is what is done here," said Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Margarita Prentice, D-Renton.

Rep. Helen Sommers, D-Seattle, chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, likewise said no one should think the problem has been solved.  "When you're using one-time money for long-term programs, it should be a sign to most people that you're in trouble."  A Seattle Times editorial said:  Gregoire admits it is not sustainable.  "I can't put out a sustainable budget today because I didn't inherit one."

Huh?

But what she and the Democrat-controlled Legislature did a month later really cemented our state on a path of unsustainable budgets.  As reported then:  The Democrat-controlled Senate joined House colleagues yesterday in sending Gov. Christine Gregoire a bill that changes voter-approved spending limits and allows taxes to be increased by a simple majority vote in the Legislature.  The measure changes the I-601 spending cap...

Sen. Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, his party's lead budget negotiator, said, "It's a sad, sad day for
Washington state taxpayers.  "I fear we're heading back to the days of double-digit state-budget increases and consistent tax increases… there is no reason, no motivation, for the government to spend wisely or efficiently."
(Democrat) Prentice said legislators in both parties had amended the original initiative so many times it had lost meaning.  "…the new limit will be more realistic... we'll be in better shape financially in two years and… able to live within our means,"

Didn't happen.

Over the past six years, if they could have… abided by I-601's limits... there wouldn't have been the wrenching... roller-coaster of spending in Washington state.  Gregoire called her 2005 budget "a legacy budget."  She was correct.  Her legacy... of unsustainable budgets cemented in 2005.


Washington State #40 in Freedom Ranking (It's that bad folks)

Editor's note (June 13, 2011) It really is about freedom!  Lack of freedom is harming us.  As Reagan put it "government is not a solution to our problem, it is the problem." Governments that maintain and promote high debt are robbing you of your ability to care for your family and are harming your children's future.  Your children will not judge you on what you knew about the problem but what you DID about it.  Our parents and grandparents stopped the Nazi & Communist takeovers of their day, but not so our generation would let them in the back door!  Stand up Americans!  It is your turn to fight for freedom by doorbelling for good candidates, giving to worthwhile organizations and making sure everyone we know casts their votes for freedom.  It is our turn to be "the greatest generation".  It is our turn to carry freedom's flag up the hill but it is located at City Hall, not Iwo Gima.

 

Washington State prides itself in big government solutions and how environmentally minded they are.  But it has fallen into the trap thinking more government is better.  I believe in "the rule of tens" that if government tries to regulate products instead of results, the cost rises by a factor of ten.  Scroll down to the bottom of this page and read the article "Mounting corruption in you own back yard".  The devil is hidden in the regulatory details and it is ordinary for unelected bureaucrats to want to write a "prescriptive" rather than a "performance code" or write the code so restrictively you virtually have only one product choice.  Bureaucrats seem dedicated not to an "environmental outcome" but to a "product selection outcome" which is what I call a "code-opoly."

 

Analysis from Mercatus: http://mercatus.org/freedom-50-states-2011/WA

...Washington (State) is still among the 10 least-free states... it only barely cracks the top half of states in personal freedom. 

  • Spending is a bit higher than average, but taxes are slightly lower—a recipe for government debt, which Washington has in abundance.

  • Government employment is also too high.

  • Land-use planning is fairly centralized.

  • Eminent-domain legislation has been enacted but reforms need to go further.

  • Labor and health-insurance laws are poor.

  • Washington has the highest minimum wage in the country.

  • It also has adjusted community rating and has enacted a host of new health-insurance coverage mandates.

  • The state liability system is a bit above average.

  • For a liberal state, gun laws remain quite reasonable.

  • Alcohol is tightly controlled, with taxes on spirits the highest in the country by far (effectively $22.33 per gallon!). However, beer and wine taxes are considerably lower than average.

  • Cigarette taxes are high overall and the highest in the West; smoking bans are extensive.

  • Marijuana laws are a bit better than average, with a relatively humane (but still too high, at five years) maximum prison term for single offenses. Making high-level possession and low-level cultivation misdemeanors and low-level possession a civil offense would help further.

  • Motorist freedoms are constrained and now include a ban on handheld cell phones. However, Washington does not authorize sobriety checkpoints.

  • Gambling is restricted.

  • Educational regulation is absurdly tight, with private schools needing state approval and under certain conditions, teacher licensing, and homeschoolers needing to meet teacher qualifications, annual standardized testing, and extensive recordkeeping rules, along with other requirements.

  • Washington’s asset-forfeiture laws are among the worst in the country and require reform. However, the state performs quite well on victimless-crime arrests and drug-law enforcement.

Policy Recommendations

  1. Reduce spending consistent with the state’s relatively decent tax-burden levels, starting with reducing government employment and spending on natural resources (mostly at the state government level) and sewerage (at the local government level), which is particularly far above national norms.

  2. Enact further-reaching eminent-domain reform.

  3. Reduce centralized land-use planning by repealing or amending the Growth Management Act and Shoreline Management Act.


Mounting Corruption in your own backyard  Copyright © 16 May 2011 Ken Morse

1,372 is the current number of ObamaCare waivers but who is counting? There were 204 new waivers granted just last month.  Why is this important to you?  If your employer does not have a waiver that means less money in your pocket on payday and you may not be able to fill your gas tank tomorrow.  If you own a business without a waiver your health care costs soar, all sorts of restrictions kick in and you face going out of business because your company is less competitive.  Your choices in health care will also be severely limited to a single payer program which is ObamaCare's goal.

 

Americans are rightly suspicious of monopolies.  While getting a waiver is not a monopoly per se, it is a business advantage artificially created by government.  When unethical businesses seek government protection from competition I call that a Code-opoly.  A business doesn't need to earn your trust if the government creates an uneven playing field granting special favors to some which they deny to others.  What do you want to bet the selection process is transparent and fair?  Take my advice, don't throw your money away on such a bad bet.

 

Monopolies, code-opolies, trade-opolies and favor-opoloies are all similar in this respect:  a government bureaucrat  decides who is allowed to win by manipulating rules and creating barriers to competition.  Imagine for a minute that speed limits are governed by car color (in special cases.)  The posted freeway speed is 70-MPH but buried in the regulations are a few exceptions and exemptions.  Now suppose you own a courier business transporting time-sensitive signed documents from Seattle to Portland.  Unknown to you the regulations reduce the speed of red courier cars to 60-MPH just like we do with trucks.  Your company unfortunately has purchased red cars and you wonder why you are constantly ticketed while your competitor's blue courier cars race past you on the freeway.  How long will you stay in business?  Your competitor has the advantage, which means you starve.  It doesn't matter if you have better business practices because the rules are rigged against you.

 

It is often said "the devil is in the details" and this problem is not limited to the federal government.  Call it trickle down corruption if you like but it exists in your own back yard in the form of city, county and State regulations.  Take my industry for instance (the septic system industry).  Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 246-272A is written in a way that excludes hundreds of good "treatment" products to the benefit of one single manufacturer.  It does this for at least three manufactures of specialty treatment products!  Now what are the chances of that being a fluke?!  Of course, rather than embracing free markets and competition the "voice of the industry" (the WA On Site Sewage Association) tried to paint the bill, HB 1995 (SB 5699) as favoring only one product (SludgeHammer) while ignoring Code-opolies created by the WAC.  Incidentally I market the SludgeHammer product so this is just the standard personal attack strategy used in politics today.  Innuendo is no defense in a rational world.  When HB 1995 (SB 5699) passes it will end the Code-opolies giving homeowners a choice of 39 manufacturers with 450+ competing products (but it will give me no advantage at all).  The septic industry is huge.  Approximately 25% of homes in our State flush to septic and many are waterfront properties.

 

The Washington State standard for septic system treatment products is not recognized as any sort of national standard, nor is the Department of Health a member of the American National Standard Institute (ANSI).  WAC 256-272A interestingly does not recognize the plumbing code either.  ANSI is a non-profit entity which oversees the writing of the plumbing and electrical codes so why not use nationally developed standards?  National standards are a sharp contrast to favored for-profit Code-opolies created under WAC 246-272A.  There are many environmental advantages to recognizing Nationally developed standards and none for  tolerating Code-opolies.  Case in point is  WAC 246-272A-0110 (5) which clearly states "Treatment levels used in these rules are not intended to be applied as field compliance standards..."  Oops! Not only do favored manufacturers eliminate competitors, they've no field compliance standard to contend with.  Do you think the salmon in Puget Sound would like to vote on this?  Well, at least it is good for certain the business environments...

 

Nobody can deny that Code-opolies exist and predictably those who benefit from them continue to put up the smokescreen to try and hide their shameless profiteering.  Do a little digging of your own in your local city and county codes and I bet you will find plenty more sweetheart deals.  For septic system treatment products it is in black & white in our State regs along with some additional serious technical defects.  If the septic system code were re-written to accept Nationally developed ANSI  standards the cost of septic repairs could fall by as much as 90%.  That my friend is what Code-opolies are all about.  If this is not corruption it is at least incompetence which will continue until voters and environmentalists demand otherwise.


Olympia Tea Party is a not-for-profit Washington State Corporation.  Donations are not tax deductible.

We are 100% Volunteer.  All donations go toward educational activities.  Thank you for your support!

For Donations by mail make payable to Olympia Tea Party PO Box 1771 Olympia, WA 98507-1771. 


The Olympia Tea Party does NOT tolerate racism or violent behavior, violent speech or threats of violence or disrespect of any kind toward our elected or appointed officials.  We may disagree with their policies but we respect their position of authority and the rule of law.  We call upon all citizens to monitor their own speech and act with dignity and respect.  We all have a right to disagree and debate (even loudly) but none of us have a right to violence.

Our policy on working with other groups is that of communication & cooperation, even with groups with differing approaches.  We seek to work with all groups whether small or large on the basis of principles instead of politics.  Our issues are 1) Fiscal Responsibility 2) Property Rights and 3) Constitutionally Limited Government.

The Olympia Tea Party does NOT boycotted other tea party groups When a disagreement arises we seek to communicate and if necessary offer to meet and resolve differences.  If the other group decides not to resolve the issue we continue to work toward our shared goals along parallel paths.

We disagreed with Bush's overspending and abandoning free market principles in 2008.  We disagree with Nancy Pelosi's overspending and abandoning transparent government.  We care about our children and don't want to leave them with Pelosi's unsustainable debt.  We do agree with Hillary Clinton when she said "We are Americans and we have the right to debate and disagree with any administration"   Ken Morse

Olympia Tea Party    360-923-1080    olympiateaparty@gmail.com


Web Site Support by BizProducer.com