It should come as no surprise that the state legislature is trying to pass an income tax referendum to tax the wealthy in our state. It is the old political game of class warfare, pitting the majority against a minority. The legislature is trying to close a 2.6 billion dollar deficit in the state budget, but instead of cuts in spending they are raising taxes left and right. Did you know that while Clark County’s unemployment is over 14% Olympia’s (Thurston County) is only 7.8 %? This shows that while the rest of us suffer the effects of an abysmal job market, government employees are exempt from the rules of the real-world. I say the Washington State income tax should come as no surprise because it flies in the face of simple economics. Most of those in the legislature and in the administration have never worked in the private sector; they do not understand the sweat and tears that go into owning and growing a business; they do not understand the heart ache of employers who must lay off employees for the sake of the survival of that business. The wealthy create jobs by investing their money in companies that hire the rest of us. More taxes means less money to invest and that means even higher unemployment right around the corner.

WASHOUGAL- Jon Russell, Republican Candidate in Washington's 3rd Congressional District is announcing his departure from that race. In doing so, he is giving his endorsement for that race to State Representative Jaime Herrera. He will be formally announcing his candidacy for Washington State's 18th Legislative District Position #1 on March 8th in his hometown of Washougal.