Washington income tax ballot initiative smashed

The proposed new Washington State income tax (on the rich-- for now) failed tremendously in last week's election.

Even though it was on the wealthy for now, it was seen as cracking open the door for higher taxes on the middle class down the line-- hey, that's where the money's at!

Interestingly, it was supported by Bill Gates-- and especially, by labor unions (two-thirds of the funding and most of the energy). A great observation on that from William McGurn in the WSJ:

In a day when organized labor claims more members in government than in the private sector, it's not surprising to learn that public-employee unions are front and center. Their leadership raises a question asked by beleaguered taxpayers across America: Do state budgets exist to serve their citizens or their government employees?

If you read the talking points, the unions are involved in this initiative because they see it as the only way to maintain vital health-care and education services...Here's a better way of putting it. By taxing others, these unions want to insulate the governor and the legislature from having to make difficult choices about what the government should fund and what it might cut back.