Hey, I don’t like taxes, either.
Trying to raise three kids and trying to figure out how to eventually pay for college and trying to pay the bills, every dollar matters. All this despite my exorbitant salary as a journalist (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). These struggles, I’m sure, are shared by a lot of people, and I am well aware that many families have it tougher than we do.
But while I often am annoyed by taxes and typically feel that my wife and I can spend our money more efficiently than the government can, I also am annoyed by rhetoric. Webster’s tells us that rhetoric means “language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or reasonable,” and it seems as though that is the accepted standard when it comes to talking about taxes.
Which brings us to a discussion The Columbian’s Editorial Board had Friday with Susan Hutchison, the chair of the state Republican Party.
By the ultimate scorecard of political success, Hutchison is doing a bang-up job. Republicans are winning elections and have made strong gains in both houses of the Legislature since she took over in 2013, turning Washington into a two-party state after decades of Democratic dominance. Whether or not they can win a statewide election remains to be seen, but that is a discussion for another time.