Most people in Washington don’t know it yet, but workers’ paychecks will decrease soon. A law passed in 2019 — and tweaked a bit this legislative session — means a new payroll tax will bite into people’s incomes at a rate of 58 cents per $100, starting in January.
Lawmakers are taking the money from workers to fund a socialized, one-size-fits-all, long-term-care entitlement program that a lot of workers don’t want or need — and that some people won’t get, even after paying into the program for years. That’s because the promised benefit is not portable. Move out of the state for your retirement years and end up needing long-term care? No state-promised benefit for you.
Some soon-to-be retirees also are out of luck. They’ll pay into the program, many during their highest-paid working years, but won’t receive the promised benefit because they haven’t met the required number of years to be considered vested. Both of these groups might want to opt out of the program.
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Congratulations WA voters. Another tax that you didn’t want, for something many of you will never qualify for. You can opt out, but don’t expect the government to tell you about the new tax, or even that you can (and should) get out of.
President Reagan’s famous worst words you can hear: We’re from the government and we are here to help you
I get posts on FB from a group that follows Washington politics. Just about everything they mention that the state wants to do usually has the line “Increase taxes” or “increase fees” with it.
I would not be surprised if this is a way of implementing a defacto income tax. That is against the state constitution, but watch them say “We’ve already been doing it so that part of the constitution is null and void.”
Every day I’m here I say to myself, just WhoTF voted for that? Why would WA voters inflict so many onerous taxes and regulations on themselves? Liquor alone is the sales tax PLUS another 20%! Just passed a few years ago.
But stepping back, WA sales taxes are in the lowest 10% of all states. And WA has it’s shit together with electricity generation. Over 2/3 of all electricity generated is hydro and the kWH cost is almost the lowest in the nation, 1/2 of what it was in CO and over 30% cheaper than TX and AR.
So there’s good and bad. The worst are the pols. The 2 senators are a national disgrace and my House rep is about as bad as Perlmutter was in CO. But hell my R rep in AR stood down while the Left stole the Presidential election so tell me who is worse?
But man, the Olympic Peninsula is gorgeous beyond words.
Criminal. Yep! Criminal.
Reagan signed the bill that unleashed big pharma on us with their vaccine poison. What they give to children now is criminal. Did he already have dementia when he did that?