Democrats see California’s budget crash and think, “Let’s try that.”

Taxing the Roller Coaster

Gov. Bob Ferguson is pitching a 9.9% income tax on high earners as a way to “rebalance” Washington’s tax system. Supportive coverage from the Spokesman-Review focuses on history and inevitable court fights, but skips the bigger, more inconvenient problem: income taxes are wildly unstable—and building a state budget on them is fiscal malpractice.

We already know how this movie ends. California went from a $100 billion surplus to a $56 billion deficit in two years after betting its budget on high earners and capital gains. Research from the Hoover Institution shows that in a downturn, income tax revenue drops hard and capital gains can evaporate by tens of billions overnight. When markets wobble, budgets implode.

Washington Democrats want to copy that model—doubling down on capital gains and now layering on a millionaire income tax—despite decades of warnings from tax officials that these revenue streams are among the most volatile there are.

Meanwhile, the people who actually rate state finances aren’t impressed. S&P Global Ratings recently downgraded Washington’s outlook thanks to Olympia’s spending spree, but they’ve been crystal clear on one thing: Washington’s lack of an income tax is a strength. Sales-tax-based systems are less sensitive to economic cycles, which is why Washington borrows more cheaply to fund schools and highways. Less volatility means fewer tax dollars burned on interest payments.

Democrats frame this as “fairness.” But as Thomas Sowell famously noted, there are no solutions—only trade-offs. The trade-off here is swapping one of Washington’s biggest fiscal advantages—revenue stability—for a boom-and-bust system that’s already blown holes in other states’ budgets.

The credit agencies have spoken. California is the cautionary tale. The only real question is whether Olympia’s Democrats are listening—or just determined to learn the hard way. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Climate Math That Only Works in Olympia

Washington Democrats’ favorite climate trophy—the Climate Commitment Act (CCA)—is looking a lot less impressive once someone actually checks the math.

A new report from the Washington State Department of Ecology claims $1.5 billion in CO₂ tax revenue magically delivered nearly 9 million metric tons of emissions reductions at a bargain-basement price of $40 per ton. Ecology even compared it to taking 40% of gas and diesel cars off the road for a year. It all sounds very bold, very virtuous—and very wrong.

In reality, the report’s own underlying data quietly collapses under basic scrutiny. Roughly 86% of the claimed emissions reductions come from just eight projects, allegedly cutting CO₂ for $1–$4 per metric ton. That’s not optimistic—that’s fantasy. There are effectively no real-world climate projects anywhere that achieve reductions at that price.

One standout example: the City of Ellensburg used a $4.1 million grant to install heat pumps and electric upgrades in 170 buildings. Ecology’s report claims this single effort reduced emissions equal to 60% of all residential CO₂ emissions in Washington for an entire year. That’s not just implausible—it’s absurd.

Even worse for Democrats, staff at the Washington State Department of Commerce, which helped compile the report, admitted there was a data error. Ecology was informed. Then… silence.

Despite this, Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller praised the report as “transparent,” and Seattle Times climate coverage eagerly promoted it without a shred of skepticism—treating the press release as gospel.

Once the obvious errors are corrected, the picture changes dramatically:

• Actual emissions reductions drop to about 14% of what Democrats claimed
• Average cost balloons to $395 per metric ton
• Meanwhile, the state’s CO₂ tax is only $70 per ton, and the state’s own “social cost of carbon” is $99

Translation: Washington is spending $395 to avoid $99 in harm—and that’s before Democrats wave their hands about vague, unmeasured “co-benefits” they never bother to quantify.

And here’s the kicker: about 70% of CCA spending isn’t even expected to reduce emissions at all, including millions for things like bicycle education programs that don’t claim any CO₂ impact whatsoever.

This isn’t climate leadership. It’s spreadsheet activism—where inflated numbers justify higher taxes, sloppy accounting gets a free pass, and anyone who questions the math is told to “trust the process.”

If Democrats want billions more through new taxes—including an income tax—they could start by telling the truth about what their flagship climate policy actually delivers. Right now, the CCA looks less like a climate success story and more like a cautionary tale in how ideology replaces accountability when no one’s willing to check the calculator. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Manufactured Outrage, Seattle Edition

Seattle’s activist-Democrat ecosystem is back doing what it does best: staging a protest in search of a reality. This time, the pretext is Venezuela—despite there being no bombing campaign, no U.S. ground war, and no “endless war” of any kind.

An email blast tied to Seattle Indivisible urged activists to “Find a march near you!” over Venezuela, complete with slogans like “NO BOMBS, NO BILLIONAIRES!” and the usual anti-Trump, anti-capitalist script. The problem? There’s nothing actually happening that resembles what they’re protesting. Even the dramatic claim that the UN “condemned” Trump’s actions is stretched beyond recognition, relying on the familiar Democratic activist formula: facts optional, outrage mandatory.

This is the same playbook Democrats and their activist allies always use—declare an emergency, blame Trump, mobilize a march, and count on friendly local media to nod along. Venezuela is just the latest prop. The real goal isn’t helping Venezuelans (notice how few actual Venezuelans show up). It’s opposing capitalism, billionaires, and U.S. power in general—repackaged as moral urgency.

In short, Democrats’ activist wing isn’t persuading anyone or solving anything. They’re just recycling fake crises to keep the protest machine humming, even if it means pretending a two-hour non-event is “yet another endless war.” Read more at Seattle Red.

Vote No, Take the Credit Later

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is getting heat for an awkward contradiction: Washington state is set to receive $181 million for rural healthcare—from a fund she voted against.

The grant comes from a rural healthcare fund created under the Trump administration and congressional Republicans, designed to keep struggling rural hospitals alive. Yet Perez opposed the very measure that unlocked the money, even as hospitals and clinics in her own district face staffing shortages, aging equipment, and the constant threat of closure.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is calling it a case study in Democratic priorities: party-line voting first, local consequences later. Their argument is simple—had Perez and other Democrats gotten their way, Washington wouldn’t be seeing a dime of this funding.

Critics say her vote risked delaying emergency service upgrades, limiting access to modern medical equipment, and forcing rural families to travel farther for basic care—all while she maintains a public image of fighting for working families.

In the end, the money is coming despite her opposition, not because of it. And once again, Democrats are left explaining how voting against lifesaving infrastructure somehow counts as leadership—especially when rural communities are the ones left holding the bag. Read more at Seattle Red.

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