02/07/2008: "Part One: Sustainable"

This is my first column of 2008. I have been in a humorless slump since last Christmas. The reason for my lack of production is pain. I have discovered that nothing extinguishes “funny” more than pain. Sure, it’s funny when someone falls down and rips the crotch out of their pants. But it is not funny to the faller if both legs are in casts for 8 weeks. I just got one cast off and will be in the other one for several more weeks. I predict that my sense of humor will improve with the healing of my feet.

The following column was inspired by the Council’s request for opinions on “Sustainable Growth”. I must warn my faithful readers that this column is not intended to be funny (some may laugh). It is so long that I divided it into three parts. It is also probably not what the Council had in mind when they asked for opinions on the subject. As usual, they might not like what I have to say at all. Here goes.

Part 1:
Sustainable Growth must include pragmatic planning for population growth, economic growth, and growth of government. These three things are inevitable and must be anticipated in a reasonable way. The question is how can government use existing resources to promote a healthy economic and social environment for citizens without destroying the ecological balance of our Islands?

If this is indeed the question then I have several ideas for the future based on specific demonstrable principles. I will try to explain these 3 assertions one at a time:
1. The current trend of government growth is unsustainable and destructive.
2. Population growth cannot be sustained without addressing the issue of affordability.
3. Real economic growth is essential to sustain future population growth.

Unsustainable Government Growth
The incredible growth of government we have seen over the past few years is not sustainable. We know higher taxes make it difficult for many people to live here but we keep raising them anyway. We are faced with skyrocketing property taxes that give us the highest per capita tax paid in Washington by almost 2 to 1 over second place King County in a State that ranks 4th in the U.S. for the highest taxes. The evidence to support this is clear.

Too much spending is the real problem. Taking every increase in property taxes and looking for more money to spend through REET taxes, grants, sales tax, and added fees destroys business and future investment and raises the cost of living for everyone in the Islands.

The Council has been creative in seeking new ways to spend more money. The storm water fee is a good example. New careers in consulting, communications (spin), facilitating, coordinating, etc. have been created out of no urgent need. This growth in government is creating the “bow wave” of spending that threatens to destroy affordability and sustainability in our beautiful County.

Grants are the fertilizer that grows big government. No grant to date has ever offset any overall spending. Our annual budgets increase dramatically each year regardless of how many grants we get. All these grants have exclusively been used to grow government. We need to stop this insatiable desire to spend, tax, and grow government now. Less spending means lower property taxes, more productivity, people with more of their hard-earned money to spend, and a more sustainable quality of life for everyone.

Our unbridled spending has already fundamentally and unnaturally shifted the social dynamic in the Islands. It is changing who can afford to live here and who cannot. If this trend of government growth continues unabated we will choke out and destroy the very social diversity we all cherish.

Next
Part 2: Affordability (shameless teaser)
It is people not just our beautiful natural surroundings that distinguish and characterize a place. The prescription we’ve swallowed for protecting the natural environment first, and people last, has had a nasty side effect. We are watching our social environment crumble underneath our feet.