Hard? Appealing to voters' greed and mathematical naivete with the aid of a half million dollars that Michael Dunmire once again gave you and your paid signature gatherers for this "grassroots" initiative?
My genuine compliments on your marketing skills, however, Tim. I hope you will someday use them to better society instead of appealing to people's greed. Now that would be hard.
Posted by Bruce at November 3, 2009 10:49 AMI have written several times to you and your organization about getting getting an Initiative going to exempt schools, fire departments and transportation projects to be exempted from sales tax.
State sales tax on schools and tranportation projects is just legalized money laundering of the gas tax and property taxes to the state general fund.
Why not do this and save our schools money?
Posted by Shawn Davis at November 3, 2009 10:59 AMIt is easy for those that cannot do to criticize those that can.
If doing an initiative is so darn easy, why don't YOU get off your rear and do one? You can't because you are nothing but a lazy armchair pundit incapable of contributing anything but criticisms.
Posted by pbj at November 3, 2009 11:09 AMYeah, I mean how dare we taxpayers think that we should be allowed to keep any of the money we work hard to earn, as long as government is here to be a wasteful stewards of the ever increasing amount of money we send their way. Last time I checked, Bruce. Government didn't earn that money, I did. So don't whine to me about "greed" when it's me that earned it and it's government that burned it. Starve the beast? You bet.
Posted by Rick D. at November 3, 2009 11:09 AMYour fundraising wasn't hard. An investment banker gives you $300,000, you give $250,000 and that's about 95 percent of your money. And the $250,000 loan you took out will just be paid by Dunmire, like it was last year, so that's not hard.
You paid yourself $120,000 earlier this year for what? Paying Jack, Mike and signature gatherers to do the hardest work associated with the campaign?
I bet most of your supporters wish they could earn six figures for going on TV and giving their opinions.
Posted by Mike Mitch at November 3, 2009 11:19 AMJust this morning, Snohomish County Utilities is out in front of my place making some drainage improvements. The County has a single track-hoe operating at about 1 house per day, digging a 48" x shovel width trench. The trench is then being filled with gravel.
So, how many dump trucks, per day x a few trips does it take to depart the removed soil from a 100'x 4'x 2.5' trench?
No less than three dump trucks sat idle, empty with drivers sitting in trucks. Three full size dump trucks! To only make this model of efficiency better, there were *only* dump truck drivers there. No Track-hoe operator, no shovelers, no-one tamping or operating the bobcat, nothing. This is the second day in a row where for several hours in the morning, dump trucks (plural) sat unloaded and on idle.
I'd bet that a single dump truck could be parked for the entire day and not fill up based on the progress of the hoe operator. They would not even have to take a single trip. I wonder if those other two dump trucks even operated that day? Perhaps one had a load of gravel???
I-1033 all the way, there's plenty of more costly examples of excessive waste at the expense of the taxpayer, it's time to tighten the belt.
Posted by Boxxerace at November 3, 2009 12:06 PMsome of the others?
a bonehead in blain who doesn’t think he should have to wear helmets while riding motorcycles
an initiative for a state run health care system
an initiative to repeal the b&o tax
some nut who thinks the state should recognize the ‘Supreme Ruler Of The Universe’ – who, undoubtedly, is Thor
way to pat yourself on the back, tim.
TIM EYMAN IS A PRACTICING HOMO SAPIEN!
Posted by Mr. Cynical at November 3, 2009 12:44 PMTim's next initiative - funds to replace the shift key for annoying bloggers whose keyboard must be missing one.
Posted by yaddacubed at November 3, 2009 01:43 PMWhy should well-paid state employees get to retire way before the rest of us, and with a cushy pension as well? Ending this practice would save billions.
Posted by MOR at November 3, 2009 01:50 PM#15 Do who? :)
Per R-71, anyone you want...:)
Posted by Shanghai Dan at November 3, 2009 02:50 PMTaking it from me may be greed, but me wanting to hold onto it sure as hell is not.
Posted by jvon at November 3, 2009 04:37 PMEyman gives me hope.
Real hope.
Hope for change. :)
I contributed money to the 1033 campaign and it was worth every penny. Just for the hope.
Posted by Bruce Guthrie at November 3, 2009 09:13 PMThe only strong message that got sent was it is easier to steal votes by mail than when it required actually stuffing a ballot box.
Posted by FurryOldGuyJeans at November 3, 2009 09:19 PMYou see socialist scumbags like you turn this state into a cesspool. It's indecent attitudes like yours that completely pollute the body politic and make it unlivable.
Posted by Crusader at November 3, 2009 09:44 PMIt lost for two reasons: because it was outspent 8+ to 1, and because Eyman's very name is the kiss-of-death in our blue state.
I watch just MINUTES of TV every month, and this month I saw at least 30 NO commercials, and I also saw 100+ campaign signs.
At least 1/3 of the NO campaign's money, by the way, was from government unions. What I mean by that is this: it was TAXPAYER MONEY, repackaged. Your money was thus used against you. Why is it that an individual can only donate $5000 but a government union can donate $330,000? Guess this wasn't covered in any campaign finance reforms...
The Eyman haters are intellectual deviants. When a guy wants you to pay less in taxes and all you're thinking about is homicide, you're a bona fide nutter. NEVERTHELESS, I think Eyman is finished as an initiative guy. All opponents have to do now is flash "TIM EYMAN" next to the initiative name and it's dead in the water.
Posted by gulliver at November 3, 2009 10:36 PM