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Dear Friend,
On April 15,
tax day,
I joined more than 5,000 every-day Washingtonians on the steps of your
state Capitol to demand that this Legislature take a stand against
raising your taxes. With homemade signs and shouts of “no new taxes,” we
sent a powerful message to those lawmakers who are brokering the budget
behind closed doors –- we won’t stand for tax increase proposals.
This grassroots effort happened because here, in our state, we are
facing a crisis of mismanagement that has led to a
$9 billion shortfall.
It is time for state government to live within its means -- just like we
all do in our home budgets. The truth is, despite what you will hear,
the
state has enough money
to meet its responsibilities.
As your state representative, I’ve spent my time here working for the
individuals, families and employers in Southwest Washington. With each
vote, I’ve asked myself three crucial questions: does this bill
protect people’s jobs;
does the bill control
government spending
and prevent higher taxes; and does this bill help families and
employers, or make state government a greater burden on them during
these difficult times?
There have been a number of bills before the Legislature that I have
opposed; proposals to
increase the state sales tax,
increase the cost of tuition
for middle-class families and
cut core government safety-net
services.
All the while, there are programs the majority party continues to
protect at the expense of these responsibilities.
We must pass a budget that is an acceptable solution for the people of
Washington -- one that does not raise taxes and does protect our most
vulnerable citizens.
We can and must do better.
Jaime Herrera
State Representative |