[Article first appeared at Red County.]

Like the plot of a slick science fiction thriller, Washington residents are about to be framed for the crime of murdering their own economic future. After the Democrats in Olympia failed to muster the courage to ram an income tax down the throats of Washington State taxpayers, it only makes sense that someone would try to slip the knife into the voters’ collective hand to finish off the job.

Initiative 1077 is the poisoned blade du jour, and its intent and full negative effect will both be hidden by supporters in their attempt to give the hand of government a new right-of-way into your wallet.

The I-1077 campaign is being fronted by retired Seattle attorney and father to the second-most wealthy man in the world, William H. Gates, Sr. The measure is being advertised in typical populist terms — a swap to exchange taxes paid by the middle class for a new tax on the wealthy. The appeal echoes the key notes in Oregon’s successful ballot measure from earlier this year to raise income tax rates on the highest income bracket, demonstrating that the initiative’s sponsor, Lonnie Lopez, at least knows how to imitate a winning formula.

Lopez, self-described on his MySpace profile as “a 34 yo guy who lives in Capitol Hill in Seattle” and “a socialist and literary theorist and critic,” filed the initiative in March. His claims of being a literary critic are technically true, and the reader review posted on Amazon.com for Ahmed Shakwi’s “Black Liberation and Socialism” provide good evidence that his self-identification as a socialist isn’t just a whim either.

Lopez, who reviews on Amazon.com under the username “The Red Reader” wrote, “I just finished this book and it is amazing. In the wake of the ruling class’s racist response to the survivors of hurricane Katrina, this book is an essential tool for not only understanding how capitalism and racism are intimately linked, but provides clear ways to end both.”

Whether I-1077 is an insidious way of killing capitalism and the racism Lopez perceives to be toxic and fused is unclear, but if those aims are the end goal it is unlikely that they will be front and center as its supporters work hard to beat the signature-gathering deadline of July 2. Outside of the grocery stores and ballparks, signature gatherers will likely steer toward the “candy” in the initiative, the proposed law’s lowering of property taxes and business and operating taxes for small businesses.

Although the union’s army of petition hawkers may take a fall back on selling I-1077 to voters as a swap, trading in some of the taxes middle class property owner’s pay for a tariff on the money those filthy rich folk pay, the truth is that it isn’t a swap, and the middle class will not be getting much of a break. The glitzy packaging touts a 20 percent property tax cut, but fine print is important, as an attorney with Gates, Sr.’s standing will surely attest. The cut is made to only the state portion of property tax demands which generally make up 10 to 15 percent of the total assessment, meaning that in real terms that net reduction to the average homeowner is closer to three or four percent of their total property tax bill. Maybe burdening the state economy with sales taxes, business excise taxes, and income taxes still sounds like a good idea even knowing that, but voters should be aware of the facts before putting their signature on the petition forms.

Perhaps more important are the possible outcomes from creating negative incentives for high income earners in our state economy. Of the rock and hard place California finds itself between, the hard place is almost certainly its punishing income tax. The state is not only hemorrhaging revenues, it is shedding residents who are fleeing to less burdensome states. It has been suggested that California’s loss of population will result in the state losing at least one representative to the Congress after the 2010 Census is tabulated. The economic effect is that previous projections for revenues in the state continue to fall precariously short, exacerbating budget gaps. The governor of Idaho has already put out the welcome mat for Washington residents and business to come on over. The lakes are clear, the mountains high, and the taxes low. Meanwhile, I-1077 will make it harder for Washingtonians to stay in Washington.

Nevertheless, when confronted by difficult facts, supporters will speak persuasively on the subject of fairness, of shifting the tax burden onto those who have gained the most from the system for which our taxes pay. Put aside for a moment the notion that any of us want to be absolved of making our own investment in society, for many of the opponents of this measure consider taxes a responsibility worth fulfilling and quarrel mainly with the amount taken and the irresponsible manner with which the takings are spent. Before we even begin to discuss the abstract concept of “fairness” in our tax policies, we need to approach the issue of trust.

Without trust there can be no guarantee of fairness. If I play chess with a partner who moves the pieces around when I’m not looking, I can’t expect fairness to be an outcome of the game. So, when I-1077 supporters claim that the definition of what high income is cannot be altered without going to a vote of the people, remember the Murder on the Olympia Express that was committed by Democrats in the State Legislature to get rid of the pesky impediment of having to have voters approve tax hikes that were embodied in Initiative 960.

When I-1077 supporters make the case that any similar move by legislators to reset the income thresholds and ensnare more Washington workers in the government net would be met by fierce opposition, remind them that fierce public opposition to the Legislature’s actions earlier this year and it didn’t stop them then. We should have no illusions that it will stop them in the future, and electing Republicans has not been an inoculation against fiscal mismanagement and top-down thinking in Olympia.

The only way to ensure that the government doesn’t eventually come to our door demanding more of what we earn is to lock the front-gate, metaphorically. Reject measures like I-1077 before they reach the ballot to send a clear message to Olympia that you’re paying attention and make sure to continue that message when casting your ballot in November of this year.

Popularity: 9% [?]