Meet the corporations and corporate trade groups trying to buy your vote this November…
Alcohol Profiteers
One big box retailer that badly wants to sell liquor, along with two liquor distributors who have their own rival scheme, are responsible for the two liquor privatization measures on our ballot (Initiatives 1100 and 1105) which would cost Washington hundreds of millions of dollars, adding to the deficit at a time when we can least afford it. We won’t gain from their schemes, but they will. And that’s all that matters to them.
Big Oil
Four oil companies – all, coincidentally, owners of refineries that pollute Puget Sound – are major contributors to Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1053. Oil industry lobbyists hate the thought of the companies they work for having to give up even a teensy little bit of the billions in profit they make every year to pay for cleaner water and cleaner air.
- BP (yes, that BP)
- ConocoPhillips
- Equilon (Shell)
- Tesoro
Insurance Giants
A trade group that primarily serves as an insurance broker for homebuilders, along with one of America’s biggest insurance companies, have their sights set on the destruction of Washington’s publicly administered industrial insurance system, which takes care of workers who get sick or injured while on the job. This system has worked well for decades, protecting both workers and eliminating liability for businesses. For-profit insurers, however, want to take control. That’s why they’ve poured big bucks into an initiative to cripple the Department of Labor & Industries.
Soda Makers
Three major soda makers (The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple Group) and their bottlers have poured millions of dollars into an initiative to repeal tax increases on soda, candy, and gum, even though the tax increase was minimal and is paying for badly needed public services. The beverage industry evidently thinks people won’t buy as much soda if it costs a bit more. Actually, they’d be okay with higher prices for soda, but they’d have to be the ones pocketing the profits.
Wall Street Banks
Several Wall Street banks have made common cause with big oil companies to bring us Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1053. Bank lobbyists are afraid that the Legislature might end a tax loophole that benefits out of state banks in the next legislative session. Even though losing that tax break wouldn’t make even a tiny dent in their quarterly profits, they can’t stand the idea of being required to pay their fair share. Their welfare is simply more important than ours.