Thread by @GirmayZahilay

There’s a life and death policy battle coming and I need everyone to retweet this and prepare. Washington state’s upside down tax code exacerbates every major issue we have in our region, whether that’s our housing crisis, homelessness, racial disparities, or climate change. 1/

But every attempt to fix our regressive tax system, which disproportionately burdens the poor and middle class, is met with organized and well-funded resistance from some of the wealthiest people in our state. One such campaign is coming to defeat the recent capital gains tax. 2/

Cap gains tax is a historic progressive revenue source passed by #waleg last session. It will fund critical needs for Washington’s children, working parents, teachers, & more. Only the super wealthy would be taxed and it will become effective Jan 1, 22. 3/
seattletimes.com/education-lab/…

Cap gains tax is one of our first real steps in the long journey to undoing the devastating impacts of a tax code that punishes the poor and middle class.

They’re coming to defeat not only cap gains, but also #JumpStart, & any future progressive tax. We have to organize now. 4/

The campaigns to end all progressive revenue in Washington state will come from usual suspects like Tim Eyman via Initiative 1408, but also from a less visible network of ultra rich donors, venture capitalists, and conservative organizations like @WAPolicyCenter. 5/

Here’s one example from these less visible networks. Matt McIlwain, a director at Madrona Venture and one of the leaders behind the repeal effort, shares a video from @WAPolicyCenter contending erroneously that Free Markets Destroy Racism & unchecked capitalism is anti-racist. 6/

https://twitter.com/mattmcilwain/status/1440549921069830149

It’s critical for everyone to become aware of this life and death policy battle. We need to highlight this issue and organize. Progressive revenue is critical for our state’s ability to help children, working parents, and people struggling in these harsh economic conditions. 7/

8/ If you stand with Washington’s kids, working parents, teachers, and anyone struggling in this economy; if you want our state to fix the housing crisis & address climate change; RT this whole thread to elevate this issue and also sign the petition below:
wa4kids.org

9/ For more information on this topic, here’s some great reporting from @hannahkrieg at @TheStranger:
thestranger.com/slog/2021/10/0…

10/ Also more context in Dr. Blanford’s tweets below:

https://twitter.com/stephanblanford/status/1450173036460589058