Cascadia today: WA moves millionaire tax forward + BC fast tracks mining, environment loses + OR cowboy poet wins again

WA senate passes millionaire tax

The Washington state senate did the right thing for once yesterday and passed SB 6346, which would impose a tax of 9.9% on incomes over $1 million, reports Washington State Standard. But true to form, it can never do one thing right without also doing something regressive – it also walked back an estate tax it passed last session. As Trump slashes federal budgets for health care, education, and food assistance, this is no time for timid austerity.

The Oregon senate, meanwhile, passed a bill that would temporarily disconnect the state's income tax from the federal code, saving Oregon from $311 million in lost revenue, KGW reports. The Oregon house also moved a bill, HB 4313, out of committee that would allow the governor to withhold money owed to the federal government if the feds hold back funds in violation of a court order. I talked about this bill and the need for Cascadia to assert its fiscal independence from the feds on the CityCast Seattle podcast last week:

Speak up for these bills in WA & OR:

So, here's your task if you live in Washington. Tell your legislators you support:
SB 6346, a tax on millionaires
SB 5754, creating a Washington state bank
HB 1938, redesigning the Washington state flag

If you live in Oregon, tell your legislators you support:
HB 4143, allowing the governor to withhold money owed the feds
SB 5017, disconnecting OR income tax from the federal code
SB 1570 prohibiting federal immigration enforcement in health care facilities

Will BC preserve mental health funding after Tumbler Ridge?

CBC reports that as the British Columbia legislature contemplates how to close a massive $12 billion budget deficit, there's pressure to preserve mental health care funding after the tragic school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, BC. In related news, the Tyee looks at the disturbing right-wing hateful reaction to the shooting after it was revealed that the alleged shooter was a trans youth. If you are trans and facing harassment, contact the Gender Justice League. You are loved and supported.

BC fast-track ignores environment, Indigenous rights

The Narwhal looks at the BC government's race to fast-track mines across the province, and how this ignores critical needs to protect the environment and live up to promises to meaningfully consult with First Nation. Instead, some argue, BC needs to reform its outdated mining laws:

“The Mineral Tenure Act is a colonial hangover. Since 1859 it has allowed prospectors priority use of the land and free entry into everywhere,”
– Nikki Skuce, director, Northern Confluence

OR cowboy poet Tom Swearingen wins third title

Oregon Arts Watch reports that Tom Swearingen, of Tualatin, OR, has won his third male Cowboy Poet of the Year title at the national competition in New Mexico. He won for work that includes The Klamath Will Run Forever, about the removal of dams from the Klamath River:

Native tribes led the charge
To right history’s wrong
Guardians of the river
Thank them for standing strong

Now above the former Iron Gate
The first chinook has spawned
The first in more than 60 years
A new day has finally dawned
--Tom Swearingen

Thanks for reading! --Andrew