Opinion

“We’ve been blessed by growth and trade, but if we don’t make the infrastructure investments our economy won’t be able to keep up,” U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., recently said regarding the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law by President Biden in November.

All Washingtonians should contact their state level elected officials and make it blatantly clear that we want no more taxes placed upon Washingtonians until they start charging those that work in our state from neighboring states a fair and equal income tax for working in our state that those states charge our citizens. These out-of-state freeloaders rarely, if ever, pay our gas tax as they buy from their home state. These freeloaders do not pay the higher property tax our state uses as a large portion of its revenue base and these freeloaders do not respect the traffic laws of our state.

The state of Washington prohibits an income tax on wages. So, what is an 0.58% tax on wages for the Washington Cares Act, if not an income tax?

My two cents worth, regarding packing Spokane like a can of sardines. I was born and raised in Spokane. I am a baby boomer and remember when the "Spokane Population" sign, when entering Spokane down Sunset Highway, said 100,000. I was employed by Washington state, Department of Corrections, for 34 years.

Here we are again. I can't help but wonder how things would be if we had elected the other guy running for mayor.

Once again, carnage goes to school. Once again, American students are used for target practice. But conservative leaders are on the case. Recognizing the ongoing threat to our children, they know it’s time for decisive action.

The First Amendment to the Constitution grants everyone the right to practice the religion of their choice. The belief that an unborn child deserves the same personhood as a living and breathing human being is just that, a belief. It is true that the Constitution does not explicitly grant a right to abortion. Neither does the Constitution explicitly grant a right to drink water.

When reading Mark Theissen's article about the Supreme Court ("On abortion, Supreme Court is set to overturn decades of wrongs," Dec. 5), I saw a bit that stated women's rights to abortion were not mentioned in the Constitution. When I read that I had a great big laugh.

Interesting story on the shortage of Christmas trees ("CHRISTMAS TREE SCARCITY," Dec. 8).

As Spokane’s most prominent organization dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings, Spokane Preservation Advocates is dismayed to learn that the Cowles Company plans to demolish the historic Chancery Building, a contributor to the National Register-listed West Riverside Historic District and a Spokane icon.

I was appreciative of Shawn Vestal's article "Amid homeless crisis, city ignores funds for solution." (Dec. 5)