Tax the wealthiest

A bill currently in our state legislature, HB 1319, deserves our support and may be critical to addressing the budget deficit and maintaining government services. The law would levy a tax on the very wealthiest Washingtonians with a one percent tax on investments of $100 million-plus – an eminently reasonable proposal for a state whose regressive tax system punishes the poor and disproportionately affects all of the non-wealthy.

In addition to being a matter of fairness, a wealth tax could help the state weather tough times that may be coming our way. In a recent statement, Governor Ferguson pointed out that one-third of our state’s budget comes from federal funding. This would be of concern under any circumstances, given the utterly opaque and chaotic situation with federal funds right now – but as a blue state that is likely to be in frequent legal conflict with the current administration, we may be in particular danger of losing federal funding through direct retaliation from the White House.

Only 3,400 of our fellow Washingtonians would be subject to this tax, yet, due to their vast wealth, a mere one percent tax on their investments would yield a huge financial benefit for our state. This could ensure that we continue to protect children, education, health care, climate commitments, and vital programs and policies. It would help us uphold the very values that set us apart as a proudly blue state.

Please contact our state house members and senator in support of HB 1319 through leg.wa.gov.

Janine Blaeloch

Sequim

Turn arrow needed

I’m hoping to see a left turn arrow soon on the intersection at Seventh and Washington near the McDonald’s building and the old Penney’s store. I’ve been seeing cars unable to make a left turn onto Washington as they travel north on Seventh. Some resort to making the turn on a red light in their frustration.

It will only get worse when the Senior Center moves to their new location and the huge housing development on Seventh is completed.

Carol Hess Davis

Sequim

An opportunity to help others

I received this text from Bloodworks Northwest about my recent donation of a pint of blood to them:

“The last pint of blood you donated has already made a difference. You helped save a patient’s life at Peace Health St. John Medical Center. This pint of blood you donated was given to a patient undergoing cancer treatment, to help with a bleeding disorder, receiving trauma care, or recovering from an organ transplant or surgery. You made a difference and gave this person a second chance!”

My reply was, “Thank you for the information! That was the 228th pint that I have donated.”

We have an opportunity to help others in a meaningful way!

John Mackay

Sequim

Election integrity is crucial

Currently, Democrats hold a supermajority in the Washington State Legislature without any checks or balances, a situation that has not occurred in over a decade. This shift resulted from a narrow margin of just 173 votes out of nearly 90,000 cast in the 18th Legislative District in Southwest Washington.

As an all vote-by-mail state, Washington faces significant questions regarding voter registration, especially when citizens move. County auditors are responsible for regularly updating voter rolls using National Change of Address (NCOA) data from the USPS. However, this process is often neglected, notably by Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey, who failed to account for hundreds of ballots cast by individuals who had already reported moving out of the district.

The number of ballots from these voters far surpassed the 173 votes that determined the election outcome. Despite this, the election was certified. In response, the Washington State Republican Party has filed a lawsuit to decertify the election and advocate for updated voter rolls, ensuring trust in our electoral process. It is crucial for all of our citizens to support efforts for election integrity statewide. For more information on how to help, visit https://wagop.org/support-election-integrity/.

Please join us in person for the court hearing on Thursday, March 13 at 11 a.m.

Aliyah Mattila

Brush Prairie

Trump does not love America

Our government is quickly being destroyed by Trump/Musk to appease the billionaires and Russia. Does Trump like America and Americans?

The answer is a blatant “no.”

They’ve fired many from Department of Veterans Affairs, including many doctors and nurses who help veterans. They’ve fired two very highly qualified military leaders, one because he is Black and the other for being a woman.

They’ve put RFK in charge of Department of Health. A measles outbreak is large and spreading, but that’s “normal” to him. It isn’t. They refuse to fund for planning this fall’s flu shot formula. RFK Jr. is basically anti-vax. Why did almost twice as many Republicans as Democrats die from Covid? Vaccinations DO help.

Musk and Trump are now after Social Security. They are also going after Medicare and Medicaid, if they can do it. They want money to give more tax breaks to the billionaires running the show, but only peanut shells to the public.

Trump and Vance heckled Zelensky and kicked him out of the Oval Office, siding with Russia over Ukraine. That leaves NATO on its own, without the U.S. World leaders are wondering what is going on in the U.S.

Trump seems to be a big sympathizer of Putin/Russia. He stands with them, but not with democratic countries. No matter how much he professes to love America, his actions speak much louder than words. Trump endangers everyone in the U.S. with his destruction of government agencies and almost no qualified cabinet heads.

Dianne Salyer

Sequim

Time for moral clarity

I grew up attending a Southern Baptist evangelical church that taught me a clear moral standard: A true Christian should never vote for an immoral man, never support a serial pathological liar, never stand by an unrepentant adulterer, never excuse an unrepentant man found guilty of sexual assault, and certainly never vote for a convicted felon.

That is, of course, until they changed their minds and threw their full support behind Donald Trump.

The same church also taught me not to hate. Yet, as I listened to stories about my grandparents’ generation — the so-called “Greatest Generation” — I saw how they, overwhelmingly Christian, had no hesitation in opposing, despising, hating, and ultimately defeating Hitler. They recognized an existential threat when they saw one.

Today, we need that same moral clarity. Donald Trump and his enablers in Congress are a direct threat to our democracy and economic security. They’re coming for your Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security — all to hand out obscene tax breaks to billionaires and corporate elites. If proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare go through, our Olympic Medical Center, along with countless other rural hospitals, could face closure. The impact would be devastating.

Lewis Bennett

Port Angeles

New world order

A new world order is in the works. This new world is more dangerous, threatening the interests of people around the globe. A naive real estate developer who does not believe in facts and does not believe in law operates as a bully putting us in danger every day. With tens of thousands of lies to his credit, he believes an alternate reality resulting in a total system collapse of our government.

These false statements come from a convicted felon who bankrupted six times with his fabulous business experience. Remember the 3,500-plus lawsuits over decades of this individual’s business career? Wildly inappropriate behavior, ignorance of national security, backed up by a cabinet of stooges, attacking economic prosperity, dismantling America’s principles and destroying our Democracy is creating an absolute fiasco at home and he performs a disgraceful bow down to a murderous dictator from Russia.

Waste, fraud and abuse in our government has run rampant in the new administration. The lawless, arbitrary and corrupt actions of these new “leaders” use fear, doubt, uncertainty, and extremes to make America weaker. I think what we are experiencing amounts to malpractice which endangers our lives.

We are headed to a very dark place and I will resist. Do we remember the goals and principles that once focused on human health and safety, while improving our lives and the health of our planet? We need to fight back hard. Make your voice heard, organize, mobilize and stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice.

Bill Biery

Sequim

Cuts will target all of us

Last month, all but one Republican member of the U.S. House voted for a budget resolution that would dramatically cut Medicaid to pay for rich people’s tax breaks. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office recently determined that Republicans cannot make the spending cuts they want without taking an ax to Medicaid or Medicare or both. All to make wealthy people wealthier.

Many people will suffer if these programs are slashed, and the damage will have huge ripple effects. Rural hospitals are particularly vulnerable; Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, our major provider, derives 74.3 percent of its payments from Medicare and Medicaid. The facility is still recovering from the financial impacts of COVID-19, the need to hire traveling staff to fill gaps, and long stays for patients in an older-skewing population. Even as OMC is seeking a partnership to keep its services sustainable, starving Medicaid and Medicare could doom those efforts. This poses a direct and acute threat to our community.

While we must strongly urge our own representatives to oppose the cuts, it is the Republicans who most need to hear from their constituents. Tell your friends and relatives in red states and districts: these cuts will target all of us. They will not just harm individuals, but close down hospitals and health services that whole communities depend on. Their representatives need to hear from them now.

Janine Blaeloch

Sequim