A recent survey gives us some insight into the things that our fellow Washingtonians think are the most important issues to be addressed. Let’s dive in and see what the priorities are!
Here are Five Fast Facts on the most important issues for Washington voters:
- 💰 It’s The Economy, Stupid - As is almost always the case, the economy was the #1 concern. Interestingly, it seems most WA voters feel like they’re doing fine but they’re worried about everyone else, with a 26% difference in optimism level for their own household vs everyone else.
- 😀 Safe And Sound - Also not a surprise is the #2 concern: public safety. Almost a quarter of responses listed this one, and with the rise in crime over the last few years we totally get it.
- 💸 To Tax, Or Not To Tax - Voters have gone back and forth on taxes over the past few years. In 2015, 58% said “yes” to increase capital gains tax; in 2021, 54% said “get rid of it.” Apparently, they like the idea of taxing other people, but when it turns out those taxes hit them…not so much.
- 🤔 What To Do - Historically, voters want money spent on things like schools, social services, and climate change rather than cutting taxes or building reserves. It’ll be a legit question this year, because Washington’s cap-and-trade program seems to have brought in about $1 billion more than expected. Isn’t it great that your wallet is so much lighter??
- 👐 Man (Or Woman) Up! - The most crystal clear answer on the survey was that of government accountability. More and more officials like to claim “legislative privilege” so they don’t have to share info that should be public record. You know, like where money is spent, their communications, and so on. A whopping 82% of responses demanded transparency, one of the rare moments of bipartisan agreement on the survey!
🔥Bottom line: These are all big issues, and there’s a lot of debate to be had about them. Where you stand probably depends a lot on your party, but no matter what we should be having those discussions and expect our elected representatives to do what we sent them to Olympia to do. Particularly because most (if not all) of them impact our Paychecks!
How closely do these priorities match with yours?
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