The initial SB 6614 bill digest states “Requires the state treasurer to transfer the sum of two hundred thirteen million dollars on July 1, 2018, and one hundred ninety million dollars on July 1, 2019, from the budget stabilization account (Rainy Day Fund) to the state general fund.” The problem was, in order to tap into the Rainy Day Fund, Democrats would need three-fifths super majority which they did not have.

Democrats creatively out-maneuvered the Rainy Day Fund’s three-fifth majority requirement by amending the original bill.  The final SB 6614 bill digest states “Redirects a certain amount of revenue, generated by the additional state levy, to the education legacy trust account in fiscal year 2019.” Democrats controlled Senate passed the bill on a 25-23 vote. Senator Walsh (R) was excused. Redirecting the money lowered state general fund revenues, as a result reduced the amount of money going into the state’s Rainy Day Fund by more than $700 million! State Treasurer Duane issued a statement “Senate’s Attempt to Divert Funds Sets Dangerous Precedent” and said the move to direct money away from the Rainy Day Fund could negatively impact the state’s bond rating, ability to pay down debt and flexibility to weather economic downturns. He called the move “short-sighted” and urged “the Legislature to not start a terrible precedent of diverting Rainy Day funding”.

In 2007, 68% of Washington voters approved SJR 8206 to amend the state Constitution and “to establish a Budget Stabilization Account (Rainy Day Fund). Each fiscal year, one percent of general state revenues are deposited to the Budget Stabilization Account.” Washington voters also deliberately made the money hard to spend by requiring “withdrawals from the Budget Stabilization Account may be made only by a three-fifths vote of the Legislature.” In 2011, 67% of Washington voters approved another ballot measure, SJR 8206, to amend the state constitution again by requiring “at the end of each fiscal biennium, three quarters of any extraordinary growth in state revenue is transferred to the Budget Stabilization Account. ” Both measures were approved by a majority of voters in every county.

By raiding the Rainy Day Fund without 60% super majority vote. Senator Patty Kuderer ignored the will of a strong majority of Washington voters. Kuderer betrayed voters’ trust, and she now wants voters of 48^th LD to trust her for another term? The answer is NO. Vote Patty Kuderer out!

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Rodney Tom is running for 48th LD State Senate. People from local Chinese American community have found that Tom’s views on education, taxes align with their views. To show their supports, more than 20 people attended a home fundraising event this past Sunday, and they raised $8,900 during the event for Tom’s campaign.

After a brief socializing period, Rodney Tom formally introduced himself. He started telling people that education was the reason that he got into politics. He had served in K-12 and higher Ed committees while in Olympia. As Senate Majority Leader, he lowered state college tuition for the first time in Washington’s history, making college more accessible.

When a lady asked Rodney Tom to name three things that differentiate him from his opponent, Patty Kuderer, Tom quickly pointed out three things that set him apart from Kuderer:

1. Student-focused education system (vs. teacher-centered). Tom wants to provide incentives to recruit the best and brightest to be teachers, and reward teachers based on their performance.
2. Limited-sized and responsible government (vs. giant government taking over everything).
3. No state income tax, no capital gains tax, no head tax. When he was the Majority Leader of the Senate, he balanced the state’s budget without raising taxes a single time.

Tom’s answer apparently resonated well with this lady. Within minutes, there was a feed in WeChat quoting the three points Tom outlined. Half hour later, another feed showed up in WeChat from another attendee praised Tom’s views on education.

Other than education, taxes, people also asked Tom how he plan to engage people, especially Asian Americans, from his district. Asian Americans represent 24% of population in 48th District, Tom’s opponent, Senator Patty Kuderer, not only failed to engage Asian Americans in 48th District, she also showed no interest in listening to their concerns when they strongly opposed SB6406, a bill that Kuderer sponsored. Tom said that he would have coffee shop meetings or attend home gatherings to engage conversations with people from his district. Tom also gave out his email and phone number, and encouraged people to call him to discuss issues that they concern about.

Tom has been attacked for allying with Republicans in 2013 to take control of the state Senate. When asked about those attacks, Tom said “My positions have not changed. The parties have changed.” Indeed, in Mr. John Carlson’s 2013 article, Understanding Rodney Tom would teach Democrats a lot, he wrote “Other critics call him inconsistent, but his views — not on parties certainly, but on issues — line up today with where they were when he entered politics.”

Discussions continued on WeChat after the fundraising event wrapped up. As more people learned about Tom’s experiences and views, more people are convinced that he is the right choice for 48th LD State Senate. Donations continued to pour in after the event. Within 24 hours, the fundraising event reached its goal of raising $10,000 for Rodney Tom’s campaign!

To learn more about Rodney Tom, or donate to Tom’s campaign, please visit RodneyTom.com

中文链接

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Although the Bank of North Dakota is generally a well-run institution now, even its President and CEO, Eric Hardmeyer, advised against starting a state-owned bank in his article on New York Times. In Mr. Hardmeyer’s own words “Today, the bank receives many calls from people interested in starting a state-owned bank, and our response is consistent. We do not advocate the use of this model elsewhere.”

Mr. Hardmeyer said in his article “the Bank of North Dakota is successful because we are partners with North Dakota’s financial institutions, not competitors. However, according to the bill report of SB 5464, “The state bank would compete with private banks on a wide array of services that are offered and available by private banks, without having to pay taxes.” In other words, Senator Kuderer’s state bank would do exactly the opposite of what Bank of North Dakota has done!

Furthermore, when the government owns the banks, lending decisions become increasingly driven by politics, rather than economics. A 2002 paper from a Northwestern University economist found that areas with stronger political parties get lower interest rates from public banks.

The state is on the hook to guarantee all deposits in the state bank. When the first American public bank, the Vermont State Bank, failed after only six year’s operation in 1812, it costed the citizens of Vermont the equivalent of almost $3 billion in today’s dollars. Are Washingtonians ready for this kind of risk?

Update: A recent Bloomberg Businessweek article pointed out that startup costs of a public bank could be in billions. The Businessweek article said “The anticipated startup costs have derailed past attempts to found public banks. Massachusetts abandoned a proposal for one in 2011 after an analysis pegged the required capital at $3.6 billion. The chief legislative analyst for the L.A. City Council issued a report in February saying the costs there could be “exorbitant.” ” . On Nov. 6, voters in Los Angeles will be voting on a public bank. We will update readers on the result when it comes out.

Update: L.A. voters rejected measure to create public bank with  57.81% votes.

The post 48th LD Sen. Patty Kuderer’s State Bank is a Terrible Idea appeared first on WA Asians For Equality.

• Tom is for fully funding education. Education’s share of the state’s operating budget has grown to 51 percent, and Tom said a top priority, if elected, is to guard against lawmakers backsliding on public-schools funding.
• Tom wants to allow principals to hire and fire teachers at their schools, and install merit-based raises. “We need to make sure we have the best teachers in the classroom, especially in some of our more difficult schools,” Tom said.
• Tom also wants to protect traditional education funding. He does not support putting some social programs—such as homeless school children—under the umbrella of more traditional education funding.
• Tom is passionate about making higher education affordable. Lowering tuition, offering some college books online at fraction of the cost are some of the ideas he constantly talks about.

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Tom’s campaign needs donations and volunteers. To donate to Tom’s campaign, please visit Rodney Tom’s campaign website, and click the DONATE tab. You need to be an US citizen or green card holder to donate. There aren’t any restrictions, for anyone, on volunteer activities such as doorbelling, as long as they are performing a service that is not compensated by anyone. If you’d like to volunteer for Tom’s campaign, please sign up below, and we’ll be in touch. We’ll work with Tom’s team to get training materials if needed.

The information your provided below will be shared with Rodney Tom’s campaign team.

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