Rossi: Ditch estate tax, revive spending limits
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 7:00 AM PDT
By Janine Manny
Printable version
E-mail this articleRepublican Dino Rossi held his 12th and final "Idea Bank" forum in Longview on Tuesday night, ending a two-month tour around the state.
The forums, which Rossi insists are not part of a campaign tour, are to gather ideas on how to make Washington a better state, he said. The Forward Washington Foundation board will determine which ideas would be the most beneficial, and they will be compiled and presented to the state Legislature at the beginning of the 2008 legislative session.
At Tuesday's forum, Rossi "primed the pump" with a couple of his own solutions to problems in Washington, including getting rid of the estate tax passed by Democrats in 2005. "It chases entrepreneurs out of our state," he said. "It is better to die in any other state of the union than in Washington."
He also called for reinstating the spending limit voters passed by initiative in 1993, which he said the Legislature repealed in 2005. He said the newest budget passed in Olympia had a 33 percent spending increase, which is unsustainable.
"I spent seven years in Olympia," he said. "You'll find a whole lot of people there who think they know all the answers. But the real solutions will come from people closest to the problems. We need an agenda that is people-driven, instead of coming from the top down."
Members of the audience --- about 30 people --- jotted down problems and solutions ranging from nuclear energy to immigration to health insurance mandates.
State Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, was in the audience. Rossi thanked him for being there.
"Notice he's not saying a word," Rossi said. "Ed Orcutt is here to listen to his constituents."
One member of the audience said the state needed to cut all benefits for illegal immigrants and that the state should examine all tax returns of businesses, looking to see if the employees are legal.
Rossi responded that it could be unfair to hold employees responsible until the federal government gives them the ability to do needed background checks.
Shannon Barnett of Kalama said that as a business owner, he could check with the Social Security Administration to see if a Social Security number was valid. He said he also could ask if the name on the card corresponded with the number, but that was all the information available.
Barnett also brought up the problem of the state releasing inmates early, and many of the inmates committed more crimes.
"If there are repeat offenders, there are repeat victims," he said. "One of the core functions of the government it to protect the citizenry."
After discussing the ideas presented, Rossi told the group not to lose faith.
"Sometimes we think we can't do anything," he said. "But these problems were created by human beings and they can be undone."
While sounding very much like someone on the campaign trail at Tuesday's forum, Rossi said he is not a declared candidate for the 2008 gubernatorial race and won't announce until December whether or not he will run.
Rossi, a former state senator, lost to Chris Gregoire in 2004 by just 133 votes. Gregoire's victory was the closest gubernatorial race in the nation's history and came after two recounts and a court challenge.
After the forum, Rossi said that the tour had been "amazing."
"Some times it's a little piece here and a little piece there, and it turns out to be a great idea."
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