Abolishing State Income Tax

I would prefer to not get political on my blog.  But, this is a bone of contention with me.  You can either read this article prior to my post, Emboldened GOP wants to abolish state income taxes , or read before (I would suggest).

The I-5 bridge across the Columbia River needs some serious revamping.  There is a project in the works called Columbia Crossing .  This is suppose to be joint effort between Oregon and Washington states to build a new and more "traffic friendly" span across the river.  This project would take Portland's light rail system (MAX) into Wasshington.  It would also allow for more pedestrian, bicycle and freer flowing automobile traffic to and from Washington.

Why does this article piss me off?  First of all, Washington has NO income tax.  However, they have sales tax, the highest gas, alcohol and cigarette taxes in the Pacific Northwest.  Oregon has income tax, no sales tax and lower gas, alcohol and cigarette taxes than Washington.  The amazing thing about this is that Oregon has the monies in reserve to pay for their half of the Columbia Crossing project.  Washington, on the other hand, had to put a measure on the ballot last year to attempt to put in place a toll for people who live in Washington and work in Oregon to cross the river twice a day to pay for their portion of the new span.  The voters shot it down.  So, what do I get form this?  Washington drivers would rather pay the higher gas tax and sit in traffic for 2 to 3 hours per commute than pay a toll (which would have been temporary by the way) to get to and from work faster.

This also reflects their total lack of consideration for the residents of the state in which they commute.  I live on the Oregon shore of the Columbis River.  I work in Lake Oswego, OR.  this is a distance of  17 miles.  It takes me less than 20 minutes to get to work.  However, the same commute coming home can take betweeen 30 and 40 minutes.  REALLY???  Come on Washington.  Buck up!!!  Let's make this better for everyone.

According to this article, Oregon is NOT one of the states that is willing to decrease, or eliminate their income tax.  I say kudos to Oregon.  I would rather pay my income tax out of each check than a sales tax on my everyday needs such as toilet paper and pape towels and such.  Our economy has rebounded faster than Washington's because anyone living on the Oregon border comes over here to shop to avioid the sales tax, higher alcohol, gas and cigarette taxes.  They also work over here and live over their because property and property taxes are cheaper.  But, what they also do is pay a part of their salary to Oregon by way of income tax.  So, basically they have paid some of the funds to build the new bridge.

Also, if you click on the link to the Columbia Crossing project, you can see that Oregon's side of the new span is WAY more extensive than Washington's.  Maybe Washington needs to open their eyes and realize that the current infrastructure is way outdated, needs to be seriously revamped and they need to buck up and do their part.