Humane Society and PETA Are Liars and Crooks?

The Humane Society of the United States, the subject of a past scandal in Washington State, has been charged nationally with corruption in a civil lawsuit that includes the American Farm Bureau and many other organizations. The plaintiffs even suggest that the Humane Society has engaged in racketeering practices under the RICO act.

 One of the shocking facts that emerged was that HSUS was only giving about $2-3 out every $10 contributed to its fund raising to animal welfare, with the balance going to bribing witnesses, paying attorneys to file frivolous lawsuits and just plain outright corruption. In addition many states say they have been bullied and blackmailed by this accused criminal organization. For a look at this accused criminal behavior and the latest news on this subject here is the Humane Watch website.

 This group is the subject of investigations by, I am told, at least 9 state attorneys general around the nation for a laundry list of criminal violations.

 A few years ago the HSUS run Eastside Pet Adoption Center in Bellevue near Crossroads Center was charged with operating a filthy space with animal cage overcrowding which was a major scandal for King County. For many years the King County centers have been the scene of the slaughter of literally thousands of abandoned pets who are killed by lethal injections. King County changed this system with this proclamation. One fact that many Americans are not aware of is that the HSUS is the second largest killer of animals in the USA. The so-called Humane Society is second only to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) in murdering pets. On top of that PETA is also engaged in many of the activities that the Humane Society is being sued for.

If you look at the bogus TV commercials you want to send these crime ridden organizations money.  Weird world we live in here in 'Obama world'.

Washington State’s Economy Continues Its Slide!

In another shock to Washington State’s economy the February unemployment numbers showed that the state lost 6,970 jobs since January and more than 35,780 since December. The U3 number or the number of folks collecting unemployment benefits came in at 365,660 and the newly revised U6 percentage of 19% now shows a grand total of 668,033 unemployed in the Evergreen State.

Also the report had disturbing news about the number of people employed in the state has fallen since January meaning that 22,690 fewer people were employed month over month. Remember that a large percentage of folks that were laid off were NOT QUALIFIED for unemployment benefits but this is the real number of layoffs month over month. The other worrisome data was that 15,720 folks who were looking for a job in January gave up in February. Here is the terrifying look at unemployment U3 numbers by county on a statewide map!

This translates into the U6 numbers for the following largest counties in western Washington. King County 210,747 out of work, Snohomish County some 72,526 folks unemployed and Pierce County jumping from 10.6 to 11.3% for the U3 and 75,520 people out of work for the U6. Here is the full report that was issued today.

Special session Democrats pass spending bills like drunken sailors:

Democrats in the State House passed Bill Number 2561 which proposes to issue $861 million in general obligation bonds (money the state would borrow) to pay for energy retrofitting of schools and other public facilities. Because the bond issue would push the state beyond its 9 percent constitutional debt limit, voters would be asked in November to approve it. Here is more about the Special Session.

What is even more idiotic about this bill from “Fast” Hans Dunshee (not known to be the sharpest tool in the Demo’s shed) is that most school buildings have a limited life span, so energy retrofits are practically useless for more than 75% of the buildings. Energy savings are not even close to 10% of the bill’s cost which is more than $1.5 Billion.

Both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have warned Washington State Government officials that any further debt will cause them to consider downgrading the state’s credit rating thus driving up the interest payments on all state bonds and debt.

Just to give my readers an idea of just how dangerous the state’s fiscal affairs are because of this systemic/long term unemployment, I asked the State Treasurer to come forth on the record. What you will read is the e-mail exchange between myself and James McIntyre the State Treasurer followed by another e-mail response to Mr. McIntyre by the former Federal Auditor, founder of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, author of the report on this link and one time gubernatorial candidate Bob Williams. If this doesn’t scare you about what is happening in Olympia in the State Legislature, I don’t know what will.

Bob Clark to State Treasurer James McIntyre: I am hearing that Washington State Bonds are being downgraded shortly due to the enormous debt load that per capita that is more than the debt load on the citizens of California.  Do you have a comment?

Secondly, I understand that the State of Washington, even with the tax increases will be out of cash flow before August of this year. Is that True?

Thanks

Bob

James McIntyre to Bob Clark and Bob Williams: “No, neither comment is accurate.  Last December I notified the Governor and Legislature that:

“While I am confident that you can and will take the necessary steps to meet the state’s fiscal needs…Without added revenue and/or severe program cuts such as those the Governor has proposed, Washington may soon be at material risk of running short of the cash needed to pay its bills…With no improvement in the state’s overall cash position, the entire state treasury could be depleted as soon as September 2010.”

Since that time both houses have produced revenue and budget packages, which when combined with the cash management actions of this office I believe will alleviate any potential cash shortfall.  Of course, this presumes a prompt resolution to the issues of the current special session.

Regarding the state’s credit rating, Moody’s moved Washington’s outlook from “stable” to “negative” in early January, as a result of the forecast decline of roughly $2 billion in revenue subsequent to the enactment of last session’s budget.  It is this is NOT a downgrade, and may be removed once our forecasts stabilize.  Our ratings continue to be AA+ (S&P), AA+ (Fitch), and Aa1 (Moody’s) – one notch below perfect.  Yes, it is true that Washington’s debt load is roughly twice the national median on a per capita basis, but it is not double California’s debt load.  Looking only at long term capital debt, Washington’s per capita debt is about 15% higher than California’s (not including all of their operating debt).

Hope this helps clarify the situation.

Jim

Bob Williams to Jim McIntyre the State Treasure and Bob Clark Red County: I am really confused by your reply. Your December 10, 2009 letter to Governor Gregoire and Legislative leaders clearly indicates "without significant increases in cash levels, Washington risks finishing fiscal year 2010 with the state general fund in a negative position."  Jim, that is in a little over 3 months.   Your February report indicated that the state general fund had a DEFICIT of $1,492,924,868.67.  That is a very significant cash deficit.   You further warned that "delaying corrective action and underestimating the severity of the problem only serves to make matters worse."  Both of those have occurred and the budget the legislature is considering adopting is balanced by counting on an additional millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds that has not been approved by Congress.

You are further aware that no tax packages have yet passed the legislature and when they do they will not bring in the amount of revenue needed to avoid a cash deficit in the state general fund by June 30, 2010 (the end of the fiscal year).  You also warned that the entire treasury could be depleted as soon as September 2010.  That could still occur due to the overreliance on questionable federal stimulus funds.

Regarding the state's credit rating:

  First the Moody outlook being negative occurred in December 2009 not January 2010. Second, Moody expressed more concerns than you indicated. They are concerned about: -"deeper and longer recession or muted recovery that restrains consumer confidence, leading to prolonged revenue weakness and employment erosion." The National Governor's Association says states haven't hit the bottom yet.

        -"protracted   structural budget imbalance" That situation is worse in both the House and Senate budgets.

        -:"increased reliance on one-time budget solutions."  Legislature compounded this problem in both the House and Senate Budgets

        -"cash flow narrowing, leading to strained liquidity."  Your monthly reports show this is occurring.

        -"failure to adopt plan to cover expenditures once federal fiscal stimulus monies are no longer available" The state has no plan on covering expenditures when federal stimulus funds expire.

Jim, I mentioned a concern to you in an earlier email about our state's debt load. 

        -We have gone from $8.5 billion in outstanding bonds as of June 30, 2003 (DATA Book page 47) to $15.4 billion as of January 27, 2010!   Public Link#1

        - Moody's expressed concern on December 31, 2009, when they talked about our state debt per capita at $2098 being twice the national average. It is now $2,306.38 Public Link #2

        - On top of this, the state has $12.7 billion in bonds authorized but not yet issued as of June 30, 2009.  The amount of authorized but not issued bonds as of June 30, 2005, was $6.3 billion!  - a102% increase in 4 years!!!! Public Link #3

As you mentioned we have a debt load per capita that is 15% higher than California.  Your office's fiscal note (Agency 010) on Rep. Dunshee's bond bill raised serious concerns Public Link #4.  "The increased general obligation bond issuance potentially raises the cost of all capital funding by the state as the state's bond rating would likely suffer from additional debt of this magnitude.  Washington's per capita debt load is now roughly twice the national average."  It goes on to talk about the additional cost that "would be incurred for all state issues- general obligation bonds and COP issues - for the foreseeable future." Several months ago the Governor said she would not sign a bill that would risk the state's credit rating. 

You state debt load overloads the unfunded pension liability and the $7-10 billion unfunded retiree health care liability.  In fact, we cannot find any elected official who knows the current unfunded pension liability due to the big loss that was suffered in the stock market last year.

Jim, do you really believe Moody's will eliminate our negative outlook when they look at the actions of the 2010 legislature?

Do you really believe there is no chance of the entire Treasury being depleted at some time this year?

Thanks

Bob Williams

Response from the Treasurer

Bob-

We are fully aware of our cash and debt circumstances.  With regard to your questions:  (1) yes, it is possible that the negative outlook may be removed once our revenue forecasts stabilize; and (2) it is highly unlikely that the Treasury will be depleted this year.

All the best,

Jim

To the Treasurer from Bob Williams:

Jim, If you are "fully aware of our cash and debt circumstances" what are you doing about Rep Hans Dunshee's $861 million new debt bill that passed the House today (3/16).  This could easily damage our state's credit rating (your own office sounded a warning on this bill).

 Bob

Washington state taxpayers are suffering from a serious cycle of abuse…let's call it Battered Taxpayer Syndrome. The cycle is predictable. We work and pay taxes. They take the money, get drunk, beat us up, manipulate a little language until we quiet down a bit and then start over again. This is the pattern established after a few decades of one party rule. How does one get a restraining order on these people?

As the bruises set in from the drubbing we got over I-960, the legislature is cranking up the cycle of abuse with their special session due to start Monday. After weeks of releasing ghost bills, (bills with just a tittle and number, but no text), shutting down and obstructing opportunities for public comment and shamefully staging public hearings with the socialist freeloading brats from Evergreen State, I am feeling somewhat desperate on how to escape this cycle. Can the citizens call a restraining order on the democrats?

It turns out one of the ghost bills was a proposal to institute a state income tax on "high earners." It gets better. Senator Lisa Brown, who has for years been trying to convince us that if we really know what's best for us we would all support a state income tax, proposed that a version of this ghost bill be presented to the people for a vote on November's ballot. The people would be allowed to weigh-in on this bill by answering one simple question that will appear as a referendum: "Should the state reduce the sales tax and institute a 4.5% income tax on high earners?"

What does this mean? It means that Olympia democrats are doing what they always do: inciting class warfare to get what they want. What will really happen if the voters answer "yes" to this question? After a year or so the sales tax will go back up (because they will tell us that orphans are lining the streets and grandma is eating dog food) and the state income tax will expand to include "middle-high income earners," until it eventually includes everyone who works. They are counting on our gullibility and guilt to get more money to fund the commitments they've made to their interest groups. This is the manipulative part of the abuse.

Perhaps even more beguiling is why they bother to put this legislation on the ballot for public vote. They just repealed an initiative (I-960) that we passed three times and one that they attacked and challenged in court four times. Why would we believe that they actually care about the will of the voters anyway?

But what about all the cuts to services and programs that the legislature has had to make? Aren't the poor getting turned away for much needed services as it is? The dirty little secret is that our legislators, in spite of the wailing and tearful speeches, have increased spending by $1.3 billion for the 2009-2011 budget! That is not a typo--the total spending for the next budget includes new spending for new entitlements and programs.One example is a new middle class entitlement for pre-k education. Read more about the legislature's Enron-style budgeting in this State of the State Report by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

Add to the increased spending the fact that legislators are counting a one time federal stimulus payment (that we are projected to get in 2011) as revenue available to help cover this new spending. That's a little like deciding you can afford a more expensive mortgage based on your 2011 tax refund. Last year lawmakers balanced the budget by using a one time $3 billion federal stimulus payment, while keeping and increasing budget obligations.

They are devising ways to increase your taxes (reducing your take home pay) to fund increases such as state employee benefits and salaries. State employees received a 25% increase in their salaries between 2005-2009, even while they earn an average $5,302 more per year than their private sector counterparts. Funding these premium benefits on the back of taxpayers is unsustainable.

One option suggested and practiced by several states, is to contract out to private companies some of the services provided by government. It's a better deal for the taxpayer and keeps services operating more efficiently on a business model, rather than on a bureaucratic model. The Governor had the option of declaring a state of emergency (which they often do with spending bills that require more taxes, but are loathe to do when it comes to cutting their spending). By declaring a state of emergency (given that we are operating on a path toward certain bankruptcy), the Governor would be allowed to renegotiate state employee contracts. 

They won't consider this option….state employee unions play the role of abuser's mistress. She gets the flowers and expensive penthouse apartment, while we get to pay for it.

Now a special session is under way. They are not in gridlock about spending cuts, but on which taxes to increase.They can't decide whether to aim for the gut or to haul off and bitch-slap us. And so the cycle of abuse continues.

 I am unable to make Rep. Adam Smith's town hall in Federal Way tomorrow, so I just mailed this letter to him via his website.

"Dear Rep. Smith,

Last July in your telephone townhall you rightly (and bravely, I might add) pointed out that despite the many sensible things President Obama was saying on the public circuit, the fact was that he had no actual proposal of his own for health care reform legislation.

Your principle concerns were that the proposed legislation at that time did not address the most pressing problems, which you described as a). access and b). cost containment. You ultimately voted for it citing "strong misgivings"  that HR 3962 itself did not address many primary concerns, though it was a positive step toward reform.

Might I suggest that the Senate version suffers from the same problems (not sufficiently covering those who need coverage nor lowering the cost of delivery)? Should the current legislation set before you pass, the result will be economically devastating to our weak economy and will set in motion a downward direction in the quality and access of healthcare in our country for decades to come.

Fundamentally speaking, attempting to cover more people by government fiat when our current government programs (Medicare and Medicaid) have shown themselves to be unsustainable, is a disastrous approach. Additionally, while the President continues his public relations assault on private healthcare companies, what many fail to see is that Medicare (government healthcare) is more guilty of the failings for which the President accuses private insurers.

Medicare, by a wide margin, rejects more insurance claims than any private healthcare company and pays the lowest reimbursements to providers, which forces private insurers to pay more to compensate for the loss that providers absorb for taking Medicare patients. Yet private insurers are tagged with blame, while they carry the burden of absorbing most of the healthcare costs.

It would be an unprecedented act of defiance against the will of the American people to pass this unpopular legislation that effectively confiscates 1/6 of our economy and obligates the next few generations to unsustainable debt. Currently, 55% of the public disapprove of what is referred to as "Obamacare."

When Social Security and Medicare passed earlier in the 20th century, both programs enjoyed broad support by the American people (with over 70% approval). This is clearly not the case with the Senate's version of healthcare that you are expected to vote on next week.

Furthermore, I know the politics being played in this issue are mind numbing. Pollsters show that it is a losing issue for Democrats whichever direction you choose. You lose the liberal base if you vote against it, but you lose independents and an even larger voting block should you support it.

This is why it is critical to vote for the right reasons and not to tilt toward the distressing and abusive pressure that is swarming around House democrats right now. This legislation is a test of character, not political savvy.

Please vote against this legislation. It does not serve the interests of the American people. History will show that this legislation was more about repairing the lost credibility of the President and creating his legacy by expanding federal control over the lives of Americans. This is the saddest reality to me, a military veteran and patriot. 

Please don't do this to our country. We can reform healthcare in an organic way that respects freedom, individual choice and encourages innovation. Do whats right for America, not what serves the personal ambitions of Speaker Pelosi and the President.

Sincerely,

Angie Vogt

Record Home Foreclosures in WA State!

When word reached Washington State economists of the extent of the real estate foreclosures underway during the first two months of this year in the state, many became convinced that the state was entering into a ‘double dip’ recession! The real estate sector is already reeling from bad news, but this negative economic sector bombshell has major ramifications for the state’s 2010 economy AND tax collections. The primary fear is the fact that some 17% of workers in Western Washington are involved in new home construction! A sizeable number of them are already unemployed, but this could dump even more on the unemployment lines, and that means that this summer’s unemployment numbers could take a major hit.

RealtyTrac released its national data and it was so negative that even the FOX Business Network was trying to play it off as not as bad as the previous month. Unfortunately RealtyTrac had its own version of the facts and they were extremely pessimistic. As many of you know my revelation of the real extent of the unemployment disaster in the state put the lie to Governor Quagmire and the Washington State Democrats who released a press release saying the ‘seasonably adjusted’ data was good news while the number of people in the state who receive unemployment benefits rose from 9.4% to 10.2% in January, a major calamity. In my recent blog I reported that more than 600,000 folks are unemployed in Washington State.

Then in an article in the 3/12 Wall Street Journal (see note) they are reporting that economists are predicting a nationwide foreclosure tsunami beginning in the month of April when literarily millions of home mortgages currently in default will be foreclosed on. Just to give you an idea how bad things are already here in Western Washington in what we sometimes refer to as the tri-county area (Snohomish, King and Pierce counties), there are currently more than 18,000 homes that have been foreclosed and are currently on the block (8,602 homes in King County, 6,096 in Pierce County and more than 4,000 in Snohomish County). Here are the links with foreclosure data on the cities in King County and cities in Snohomish County.

Now the major question is why hasn’t the Obama mortgage rescue plan worked? Well, several factors are at work. One is many of the folks who are in default with their house payments are unemployed and they do not qualify for re-financing. On top of that a very high percentage of these home owners in default took out equity loans or second mortgages and the banks refuse to re-finance people in this situation. To make matters worse people are defaulting on their mortgages in order to keep their credit cards current so they can put food on the table. Things are that bad in communities all over the State of Washington.

What impact will these foreclosures have on Washington State’s economy? It could be devastating! Home construction has been a very powerful job generator and with the housing market flooded with foreclosed homes on the block in ‘fire sales’ by the banks, this coming summer’s construction season could put tens of thousands out on the unemployment lines here in Western Washington. One developer I talked to this last week indicated that this was only part of the problem, he could not find one single bank or lending institution to loan his company the money to embark on any real estate development at all!

Editor’s note: The on line version of the Wall Street Journal is only available to subscribers who pay to read it and the Wall Street Journal is now not allowing us to use their links for their copyrighted content!

The Waking Giant just released for public consumption a venomous e-mail, purported to be from State Representative Dennis Flannigan's office, unloading his sarcasm and contempt on a angry taxpayer. The taxpayer, from Snohomish County, sent an angry e-mail to the representative threatening to campaign against all politicians who continue to defy the will of the people (a reference to Olympia's repeal of I-960) and increase taxes. It is unclear if the Snohomish County resident wrote the e-mail himself or forwarded an e-mail as part of a coordinated campaign against Olympia legislators.

The response from Flannigan's office is dripping with contempt and sarcasm and typos. Here is the unedited version I received:

From: Flannigan, Rep. Dennis [mailto:Flannigan.Dennis@leg.wa.gov <mailto:Flannigan.Dennis@leg.wa.gov?> ]
Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 1:50 PM
TO:<>
Subject: RE: STOP SPENDING / NO NEW TAXES!!!!!! – OUR FIX

I appreciate your warm words of encouragement. I know you?ll work hard to defeat me. You should begin sending money to the anti-me campaign immediately. It will be well spent, and assure that I do not return to the legislature. Hurry, write that check, make it count. And, I appreciate your forwarding the same letter every other idiot is forwarding. Glad to have people who don?t think for themselves weigh in on such important issues. Since you live in Everett, I imagine you?ll be driving down daily to doorbell in my district. I?m so impressed with your ability to work all over the state from your cave in Snohomish County.

Dennis
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