David Spring for State House!

 Working to build Better Schools and a Better Economy        

For a Better Future for Everyone!                                

Home

Welcome to our Home Page!

 

“As a parent and teacher, I believe our community deserves better, more effective representation in Olympia. Our middle class pay some of the highest State taxes in the nation, yet our kids are forced to attend some of the lowest funded most over crowded schools. Money that should go towards schools instead has been diverted - by my opponent and others in our corporate controlled legislature - into billions of dollars in tax breaks for wealthy multi-national corporations - who then ship our jobs overseas. It is time to elect a representative who understands the needs of working families. I will work for quality schools, economic security and fairer taxes.” 
 
The 2010 election is extremely important for the future of our economy and the future of our children:
  • This election will determine whether we restore school funding so that one million school children will have a chance for an adequate education – or instead stand by and do nothing as thousands of teachers lose their jobs. 
  • This election will determine whether we rebuild our economy - or continue to allow thousands of hard working families and small business owners to lose their jobs, their homes, their health care and their life savings.
  • This election will determine whether we roll back corporate welfare or continue towaste billions of dollars on tax breaks for wealthy multi-national corporations that bribe our State legislature and outsource our jobs.
  • This election will determine whether we reign in political corruption in Olympia  - or continue to allow corporate lobbyists to sell elections to the highest bidder - who turn around and give away billions in tax breaks to their corporate bosses.
 
We are facing one of the greatest economic challenges in our nation’s history. Thousands of people have lost their jobs due an economy crippled by the fact that the richest one percent now control 90% of our nation’s wealth. Thousands of small businesses are on the edge of bankruptcy because their customers no longer have the income to shop at their stores. Thousand of families have lost their homes due to predatory lending practices. Thousands more have lost their health insurance - and some have even lost their life - in order to feed the greed of Wall Street executives. And thousands of senior citizens have lost their life savings due to stock market swindles.
 
Here in East King County, we are at Ground Zero of this crisis. Our middle class pay some of the highest State taxes in the nation – over $1,000 per family per year ABOVE the national average.  This is the price every family in Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Snoqualmie and Maple Valley are paying for the corporate corruption in Olympia.
 
At the same time, our kids are forced to attend some of the lowest funded and most overcrowded schools in the nation. The Issaquah, Snoqualmie Valley and Tahoma School Disticts are three of the lowest funded school districts in the United States! Our public schools are funded at a rate which is $1,000 per pupil below the State average and $3,000 per pupil per year below the national average. This is the price our children are paying for the corporate corruption in Olympia.
 
Finally, even though small businesses generate two out of every three new jobs in our State, and have close community ties, they are forced to pay State Business and Occupation taxes are rates which are often two to three times the rate of multi-national corporations – corporations whose only loyalty is to short term greed regardless of the consequences to our local communities.
 
This summer, things will get even worse as thousands of teachers lose their jobs and thousands of small businesses are forced to close their doors – causing even more families to lose their jobs, their homes and their savings.
 
It does not have to be this way. If we all work together to win this election, we can:
  1. Restore School Funding to the National Average – permitting us to hire thousands of teachers instead of firing thousands of teachers - and giving our kids a fair chance at a successful future.
  2. Reduce State taxes on our Middle Class downto the National average – saving every family over $1,000 per year. This will give families more money to spend on local businesses which will help jump start our economy.
  3. Rebuild our Economy by reducing small business taxes to the national average – allowing small businesses to compete on a level playing field with multi-national corporations. Helping small businesses will restore over one hundred thousands jobs here in Washington State – allowing families to earn pay checks instead of unemployment checks.
  4. Roll back corporate welfare to the national average. Tax exemptions have skyrocketed during the past 10 years – from $20 billion dollars a year in 2000 to $50 billion dollars a year today.  Requiring mega corporations to pay their fair share of State taxes will generate $10 billion dollars a year which can be used to restore school funding back up to the national average, as well as lower middle class and small business taxes back down to the national average.
 
This election is not merely about whether the 5th District will be represented by a Republican or a Democrat. Both political parties claim they support public schools. Yet both political parties have cut billions of dollars in school funding and diverted it into billions of dollars of corporate welfare for some of the richest corporations in the history of the world.
 
This election is about whether we will continue with the failed corrupt corporate dominated policies that got us into this economic mess – or whether we will go in a new direction which focuses on better schools, a stronger economy and a brighter future for all of us.
 
I am a teacher, a parent, a small business owner and a long time resident of East King County. I am a volunteer for my daughter’s Elementary School PTA and I have served on King County and Washington State Planning Commissions. I hope you will not only vote for me, but call and email your friends and neighbors and encourage them to support me. Together we can and will restore school funding, rebuild our economy and provide a brighter future for all of us.
 
In the following pages of this website, I provide further details on what I mean by corporate corruption in Olympia and how we can take back our communities from corporate corruption. I hope you will take the time to read these pages as they explain about what is really going on in Olympia. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or if you would like to volunteer to help out our campaign. I appreciate your support.
 
Regards, David Spring M. Ed.
Director, Fair School Funding Coalition
PO Box 57 North Bend WA 98045
 

Three Different Plans for Balancing the State Budget

Written by David Spring

  • PDF
  • Print
  • E-mail

 Our State is facing a budget shortfall of $3 to $6 billion dollars. What the legislature does to solve this crisis will affect every person in this state. I, and the two other candidates running for Position 2 in the 5th Legislative District have very different plans for solving this problem. As a voter, you have a clear choice in this important election.

 

One of my opponents, Glenn Anderson, wants to raise property taxes by raising the levy lid to 30% - balancing the budget on the backs of homeowners. I am opposed to any increase in property taxes,  which are especially harmful to those living on a fixed income.

 

My other opponent, Dean Willard, wants to increase taxes on lower and middle income families by imposing a “value added tax” or VAT on top of our current tax burden. Here is a quote from a recent Seattle Times article:

 

Willard, who has a background in technology consulting, including with major consulting firm Accenture, and has raised $67,000 so far for his run, opposes a state income tax but advocates a value-added tax. Value-added taxes are broad-based levies that collect taxes on a good from production to consumption. They are commonly used in Europe. Here, Willard said, they could bring more stability to the state's revenue picture. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012573245_5thlegdistrict09m.html

 

I am opposed to a Value Added Tax (VAT) because, like the sales tax, it places too much of a burden on lower and middle income families. The problem is that these families spend their entire earnings and thus their entire income would be subject to the VAT. But a millionaire might only spend 10% of his earnings and thus only 10% would be subject to the VAT tax. In other words, the effective tax rate on the middle class would be 10 times higher than the effective tax on millionaires –  impacting these families in the same unfair way as a sales tax. Our State already has one of the most unfair tax structures in America. A VAT would make our tax structure even more unfair. According to Robert McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice, “The Value Added Tax crushes the low income and the elderly.”

 

Mr. Willard claims that a VAT “could bring more stability to the state’s revenue picture.” This is not true. The VAT is a consumption-based tax exactly like the sales tax. During a recession, when sales fall, a VAT tax would plunge in exactly the same way that the sales tax plunges. Value added taxes also harm the economy by reducing sales and consumption. The last thing we should do in the middle of a recession is add another form of sales tax. As a consequence of these drawbacks, no state in the nation currently imposes a Value Added Tax. The State of Michigan had a VAT for a few years. But it was repealed in 2006 by voter-initiated legislation.

 

The only way to achieve revenue stability is to pass I-1098 so that everyone – including billionaires - pays their fair share. In 2009, as sales were taking a nose dive, the income of billionaires actually rose 20%. Had the wealthy been paying their fair share , there would not have been a shortfall of a billion dollars in school funding. Nor would the legislature have needed to raise taxes on the middle class. It is important to note that I-1098 is not a State Income Tax! Less than one person in 20 would pay this tax. It would take a majority vote of the people and of the legislature to change even one word of I-1098.

 

Of the three candidates in this race, I am the only one who has consistently opposed any tax increase on lower and middle income families. These families are already overburdened with state taxes that are 20% above the national average.  It is morally wrong to raise taxes on our middle class just to protect tax breaks for billionaires. The only way we will ever restore our economy is by cutting taxes on middle class families so they have more money to spend on local businesses.  

 

If you believe it is time for billionaires to pay their fair share, I hope you will not only vote for me, but also encourage your friends and neighbors to vote for me as well. There is only a few days left to mail in your ballot. Thank you for your support.

Best Regards,

David Spring, Candidate for State House of Representatives, 5th Legislative District, Position 2