Spec Sess Day 1: Protesters want more taxes, but don’t agree on where
OLYMPIA -- Protesters filling the north steps of the Capitol seem united in their call for at least some new taxes to help close the gap in the state budget.
But the source of those taxes may lead to disputes among the protesters as well as among legislators who start their special session today.
While some speakers led the protesters in a chant of "half-a-cent is what it takes" to help save Medicaid -- a reference to Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposal to raise the state sales tax for three years by a half cent on every dollar spent -- others were clearly opposed.
Tax the 1 percent, not the 99%/ No Sales Tax" said a large sign in the back of the crowd.
While many held the standard protest signs, other demonstrators showed some originality. Members of Hero House, a facility for adults with developmental disabilities in Bellevue, had salvaged more than a dozen dress forms from a nearby recycling center, attached them to long poles and dressed the forms in T-shirts that carried messages against further cuts in state services.
Kari Moore, an employment specialist for Hero House, said 25 staff members and clients made the trip from Bellevue in a caravan of min-vans.