Congratulations to Doug McLaughlin for not calling someone an unkind name in his letter of April 11. It was a first. Having said that, I still disagree with his slavish devotion to the National Taxpayers Union, whose goal is to “starve the beast (government) until it is so weak it can be drowned in a bathtub.”

Now, he blames the county assessor for “a shocking increase in the valuation” of his property at a time when “real estate values are plummeting.” The same assessor increased my valuation from 2005 to 2007, when property values were rising rapidly. However, my 2008 valuation decreased slightly, and I expect the next one will be lower still, and none of them ever reached my mortgage company’s appraisal.

As far as taxes are concerned, Tim Eyman’s proposed Initiative 1033 is just another way to make governing the state harder. Does anyone think the state is better off than before his Initiative 695, which reduced all car tag renewals to $30?

Voters defeated Eyman’s proposal to eliminate the estate tax, which is a major source of income for our state colleges and universities. Some rich people said it wouldn’t be so bad if wealth were taxed a little every year instead of all at once. Oh, sure. Then it would be an income tax, which they wouldn’t like either.

Some say when times are tough, government should spend less. But when we have a surplus, they say the people should keep what they earn, calling for “tax relief.” Think about it. Reduce revenue in good times, and spend less in hard times. Sounds like a bad business model to me.

In this downturn, our county commissioners are eliminating some of their benefits and the sheriff is laying off deputies to trim the budget. For heaven’s sake, lay off the anti-tax hype and let them do their jobs.

James Bruner

Oak Harbor