Transcript
Speaker: Hi, everybody. Welcome to this episode of the Mercer Matters podcast. I'm your host, Ben Sharp. And with me today is Representative Meelan Tai, who is one of the two state representatives for Legislative District 41. She happens to hold position two.
Speaker: This district includes Mercer Island, parts of Bellevue, Newcastle, Issaquah, and parts of Renton. She's running against Michael Rosen in the election coming up in a few weeks in this November. So before we dive in, I'd like to remind each of you, if you like the podcast, please click subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. That way you'll be alerted whenever new episodes drop.
Speaker: And if you're new show, my goal is to have a discussion with each candidate during the election season to give you a chance to learn about them more and hear the positions on the issues that affect you in their own words. So if you enjoy the show, please share it with a friend on social media to help get the word out.
Speaker: Representative Tai, welcome to the Let's start with ah introducing yourself to our audience. Just maybe give a little bit about your background and maybe perhaps spend a little bit of time about what attracted you to politics and and why you decided to to serve our state.
Speaker: Great. Well, thank you, Ben. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to your audience. Yes, um my name is Milin Tai. I have been serving as a state representative for the 41st Legislative District um in the last eight years.
Speaker: It is an honor A little bit about myself, I am a refugee from Vietnam. I'm still the only refugee elected to serve in a Washington state legislature.
Speaker: I am very grateful for the people from the 41st who has given me this opportunity to not only give back to the people of the state, because when i when my family first came to United States in 1983, we landed at SeaTac Airport. I went to high school in federal way, attended ah University of Washington and met my husband there.
Speaker: So there's a lot of wonderful things ah in my life I owe to the people in Washington and Washington state as a whole. Professionally, I am a pharmacist. I earn a pharmacy degree at the University of Washington. When we have our two children and children,
Speaker: Again, back a little bit. Oh my God, I keep forgetting part of my life. No problem. you know it's ah it's a It's a long story for a short podcast here. So no problem. yeah Absolutely, absolutely. And so like ah like i after both my husband and he was done with residency, I was done with pharmacy.
Speaker: um We decided to pack our bag and ah went out to Casper, Wyoming. Don, my husband, practiced as a pediatric neurologist and we realized that ah the four state, ah Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota at the time, um do not have a pediatric neurologist. ah kids um with neurological condition was being sent to either Denver Salt or Seattle Children, um our own children's hospital. And so we decided to to go out there and provide the services to to kids and their family.
Speaker: wow We, ah both of our children was born in Wyoming. We came back to Washington because both of our moms at the time was um diagnosed with liver cancer and we wanted our children to spend the most time with their grandma.
Speaker: That um was when was born. I decided to spend more time with my children as well. And we both, Dawn and I, are the product of public education. And ah from the very beginning, it's it's it's it's always about making sure the kids is going to be in public education to be part of the communities, to understand the community they grow up in.
Speaker: And because of that, I ended up ah becoming a PTA a mom. um And as a PTA a mom, i um I volunteer in classroom, I volunteer in schools and different projects.
Speaker: um And I did listen to your ah podcast, Ben. I'm similar to ah your council member, Julie, she, ah that... um okay that ah we started as a PTA mom with the art project, ah reflection art projects, because, you know, that that's the thing that drives humanity.
Speaker: um And, and And in that space, I became the chair of scholarship for the Bellevue School District. And ah I've learned of the applicants, ah two of them in 2013 identify as undocumented students with their dreams. um They reopened. um reopened that that that locker that i put my past as a 15 years old who came to this country, didn't speak a word of English, trying to ah survive and fulfill a dream. um And I felt 20 plus years later, nothing has changed for the next generation. So I ran as school board director for the Bellevue School District with the intention of understanding policy and and system in order to help many of our young people achieving the dreams and the goal they set out to.
Speaker: um In 2018, when Representative Judy Clipburn decided to retire, communities came and asked me to consider running for state representative and I turned them down ah because I was so focused in education, I believe in education.
Speaker: My daughter reminded me that um I've been telling them about the stories of refugees, what works for for refugees and new immigrants and what doesn't and why I do what I do.
Speaker: um She say, You know, you have an opportunity to have a platform to share your story and your narrative in the bigger space in direct contrast to ah the then ah first ah Trump administration, first term of Trump administration, who constantly spew hate and misinformation about ah the refugee community, the immigrants community, and the communities who put so much a heart um in building their home, their community, and their nation.
Speaker: And um that probably I mean, honestly, that's the the reason why i ran. and And like I said at the beginning, I'm so honored that the people in the 41st gave me the opportunity to to serve them and um in a very small way to um to do something good for for for the space that ah that helped me grow.
Speaker: Well, that's that's an ah incredible story. Thank you for for sharing. And I'm glad you remembered all all all the story there. ah so So thank you. Yeah, i ah I can relate to being in healthcare. I i ran an outpatient physical therapy company for a while, and actually we ah went down and and met with Judy a number of times when she went his office to advocate kind of for, for our industry. So, um so yeah, thank you very much for, for your service and, and for, ah you know, spending time ah representing all of us. um I guess the next question. So I understand you're the deputy majority leader um of the, of the party.
Speaker: ah You sit on the appropriations committee. Can you tell us just a little bit about that journey from being elected to now being a part of the the house leadership and kind of what that looked like?
Speaker: Oh, wow. Thank you. ah If only I know the secret, then I i think I... um ah This is just me when when i meet with with students or constituents and they ask, like, if I would look into ah or I would share what would be the trait for people who in ah the space of of service, um what would i what would I highlight?
Speaker: And ah for myself, the two traits that I constantly remind me um was one humility and the other is curiosity.
Speaker: um As I share, I still pin myself as, oh my God, i i serve as a state representative, ah first generation refugee, sort of insane.
Speaker: um And because of that, um i I always ask and seek understanding before making any judgment and or decision.
Speaker: And i I believe that that's how I work in the state legislature. i um When I first came to Olympia, the come committee I served on was education, healthcare, and civil rights judiciary.
Speaker: mentioned I'm a pharmacist. Civil rights judiciary is all about laws and judicial spaces. Ben, I had no clue.
Speaker: And I remember at the time telling myself, like, yeah who is a brilliant idea put this person in civil rights judiciaries? so So I decided to learn as much as I can in order to ah to serve the people of of the 41st well.
Speaker: um And if anything I can say about what I love about this job is people are so willing to educate you as long as you want to learn.
Speaker: and then you you mentioned you went out and met with Representative Clipburn and share with her your industry. That is very much like our job as well.
Speaker: And i think the thing about it is I don't just listen and meet people as sort of like, this is my job. I'm going to just do it and get it over with. Right. um I do it with true intention of understanding. i still remember my my very first session sitting in healthcare care and wellness committee. The bill in front of us was, um,
Speaker: to ah to to to take out the personal preference for measles vaccine because in 2019, Southwest Washington has as a a a um an outbreak.
Speaker: of measles and ah public health came to us and said the one way to help them contain ah this outbreak is to get more people vaccinated and we have to take out the personal ah preference the religious reasoned um medical conditions um all of those stay intact um thousands of people, pros and cons um in Olympia. It's sort of like, as a school board director, it's just like you, I came down to Olympia advocating for education every year.
Speaker: so So I knew the ground, yeah but um but to see people show up ah to express um as a pharmacist, you you probably know exactly where I stand on vaccine. um But at the same time, I do understand the other side of conversations as well. These are parents who care deeply for their children. and and also as a pharmacist, I know nothing is a miracle of drugs. Everything has it good and and and it's bad, right? It's risk. And so I think that's how I i work as a legislator, whether a brand new legislator or now eight years into the service. I continued ah with
Speaker: with um honest Honesty, of wanted to understand stakeholder process is always meticulous, um inclusive and um and and and deeply listening to how certain policy would impact people.
Speaker: um There was time struggled with which way to go. and in conversation with many of those who gone before me, one of the advice has still stuck with me.
Speaker: um The advice is, Milen, when there is a policy in front of you that um that is is is is for this group versus that group, really ask yourself which of these two groups um Historically, traditionally, consistently um a loser in our system.
Speaker: So if they get to gain a policy in their favor in order for them to have a chance to survive, a chance ah for opportunity to improve themselves, then maybe that is something to be considered.
Speaker: So that advice ah still is the thing for me to use, to wait in after I listen to both sides of the conversation around a policy and use that as a a a balance, a weight, if you if you would call it, to help me reach a decision of what who need a little more support so that they can get the opportunity they they they are seeking. I see. So you're rooting for the underdog fundamentally.
Speaker: Fundamentally. And and i guess that's that's how my colleagues see see me. um And that's how they they see the decisions um i or the measure I use to make decisions.
Speaker: and um And certainly um they saw that as... ah as a way to to lead the caucus in my role as a deputy majority leader and to struggle along with many ah to balance a budget for our state.
Speaker: So it's a good it's a good segue. the The first question, you know, kind of dive into some of the issues here that I wanted to ask you is, you know, in your mind, as we sit here in 2026, what are the primary issues that you think voters care most about?
Speaker: if If we isolate 2026 to its own, I think voters care about affordability that is every day in front of us. um So the next question we should ask,
Speaker: affordability to what? Affordability to gas, affordability to food, affordability to healthcare, care affordability to housing.
Speaker: And honestly, the thing that I feel that people have not talked about much, but it is waiting in in their their mind, affordability to education. um We as a nation put education, we as a state put education in our constitution.
Speaker: Our school district constantly struggle with how to serve each and every student in their in their schoolhouse. The state constantly trying to figure out how to appropriately fund schools so that they can get all these services to students.
Speaker: um So affordable affordability from my vantage is across the board, every part of our life. I mean, affordability to heat when it's cold.
Speaker: and certainly affordability to cool when it's hot. Affordability is is is is seen in every walk of life um and it didn't happen in um in vacuum.
Speaker: This has been this has There's so many policies that led us to this space. And i wouldn't want like I wouldn't want to isolate 2026 from the the spectrum of time. wouldn't want to isolate Washington from the 50 states in our nation.
Speaker: Washington is one of a United States states. um as a nation. So whatever happened at national is impact to us at state level.
Speaker: Absolutely. And that's not to say that is an excuse for for the state dealing with budget um the last two years and certainly 2027. um But i i I'm trying to answer your questions right, Ben, in the way that um ah our system were created to isolate so many things, create so many um um as ah separate space so that we became so disconnected.
Speaker: And those space, let's call them state agencies, um like ah anybody else, wanted to quote unquote hog their appropriation, their funding, because they too want to do their best to provide services for the people.
Speaker: ah so the idea of collaboration, the idea of break all of those barriers open, break all that silo open and see how we can plan work.
Speaker: how we can see the support from one agency to another ah with that single vision, how to build Washington the way we see each and every one of us in the Washington that we're building.
Speaker: Thank you. and make Makes sense. And I agree. mean, affordability is just there's no question that it's dramatically worse today than it was, you know, even eight years ago. um So And it didn't happen overnight. No. And I mean, it continues to to get worse. you know The last inflation print yesterday came in hotter than expected. um it's It's headed in the wrong direction, I think.
Speaker: um you know Thank you for that. So i the the next set of questions I've got are... really just based on things that I'm hearing in the community. And, you know I'm not super active on Facebook or Nextdoor, but I do go there to do a little research for this show.
Speaker: And and so these questions are really, I think, you know, hot button issues, if you will, for for the community of Mercer Island. um And I think, you know, probably definitely more broadly as well.
Speaker: um the the first The first set of questions i want to ask you about is is House Bill 1110, which is the so-called you know middle housing bill or housing density bill. um I want to talk to you a little bit about some of the pushback I'm hearing in the community and just and just get your thoughts on it a little bit.
Speaker: um So prior to the bill's passage, the Mercer Island City Council wrote a letter in opposition to the bill. And there's been ah a petition by Mercer Island resident named Matt Augustine to amend the bill to allow local municipalities to introduce things like buffer zones for low-income housing.
Speaker: And I think I checked just before recording that has about 2,000 signatures on it. um The first question, now that the law has been in place for a couple of years and things are starting to you know, starting to materialize, people are going in for permits for these things. um What have you heard from constituents about the bill, either either pro or con?
Speaker: Thank you. Thank you for the question. um i hear both. I hear both pro and cons. um It's is almost a natural thing that ah the pro or the other people whose um ah whose's who's who their family have grown and move on ah Those sort of, um I don't know if I, I will call myself middle-aged people.
Speaker: Well, my children are grown and we constantly figuring out if we sell our house, which has a three bedroom now, it's just me and Don. If we wanted to downsize, we couldn't find a place that we can downsize to.
Speaker: um or ah newly recruited ah police officers or newly recruited teachers in our respective neighborhood our ah school district, um they couldn't find a place. I mean, even if it's just rental, let alone um start the process of the American dreams, right? Owning a house. Yep. They just couldn't with their salary. and And Ben, I don't know if you last checked how much our teachers are being paid.
Speaker: um At least in King County, as far as regional ah living wage and standards concerned, the state ah was trying to to figure out how to help school district recruit teachers because if it's paid so low, it's impossible to recruit teachers when we had the initiative for lower education.
Speaker: classroom, ah the size of the classroom. right And then the the opposition certainly are, um again, sort of like my own neighbor. ah My neighbor who are concerned of ah Well, we have been sort of like the residential area for a long time. We build our community. We know exactly whose house is next to us. And and ah for the consideration of of safety versus ah some of us, I myself have lived in apartment ah in my young young age.
Speaker: um it depends on which apartment complex you live in. You can know a hundred people who live in that apartment or you know nobody ah because you walk into the apartment ah complex and and you just work walk straight into into your own into your own space. So, right, the idea of building community ah with multi-unit structure seems to be harder to get to. And of course, there's other reasons. And I...
Speaker: i I would not make the assumption that it's it's for personal gain or benefit without understanding the need of housing for our neighbor.
Speaker: ah So I like to your question, I hear both. ah While data keep telling us that Washington State need housing and all kinds of housing, It's not just apartment, it's not just condo, it's not just starting housing, it's not, right? While we see sort of like the the building, if there's any housing and building that that that you see in your neighborhood, I see in mine, most of them, um like a a tiny little home that was built in the 70s or 60s, I live in Somerset, so it's more older sort of type of housing. yeah um After turned, it became this two, three stories McMansion.
Speaker: And so the executive housing type is being built more because of profit. um The people who need housing continue to be shut out of the ah the ability to afford one.
Speaker: And not only housing for those who currently a house or rent, but housing for those who lost housing altogether became the unhoused.
Speaker: um And we see that number ah keep growing. ah So the state has to respond. So do you think, you know, one of one of the arguments I hear often is, um you know, there's there's there's a lot of ways to reduce the cost of housing potentially, but, you know, one one is through, you know, legislation like this potentially, but then the, you know, another is by reducing regulation and making it easier to build some of these things.
Speaker: Do you think there's enough being done on that kind of second lever or do you think there's opportunity there to make it easier to build some of these things? Absolutely, absolutely. We've done quite a bit in that space. We did kind of condo liability reform um in the last five years. um Former representative Tana son Sand in in in in on West Island ah has been instrumental in that work as well um and it's continued.
Speaker: um We heard from CD ah and i hear from developers who told me, Representative Tai, could you please standardize the process of permitting? So speed up ah and taking out red top red red tape in permitting, um making the process effective.
Speaker: ah smoother, faster. And what developers have been asking me is to make it more standard. Because for them, when they go to mussa Island, there's a different ah set of requirements. But when they go to Renton, there's different set of requirements. As you know, lands are scarce. It's less and less available, right, to build. And when a developer wanted to, and and and they they ah fully support the idea of if if they build something, they want they want to partner with us ah to build something for their profit.
Speaker: But then they also wanted to build something for their neighbor. Right. who at this point in time, they recognized couldn't afford housing. um We hear loud and clear from ah the realtors. um They don't have ah inventory right to to to to provide housing for people. And so the the question is, if we do standards, what does it look like? And Ben is not...
Speaker: I mean, we are a democracy, right? Even that is the ask the state had to ask cities because that city drew addiction.
Speaker: The state cannot just come in and say, hey, CDs, you've done a terrible job at speeding up permits, ah like work among yourself, have an agreement. So there is standard among yourself. um And the state cannot just say, um we're going to do it because you don't.
Speaker: Well, we've done a few of those things. But the balance between um local, ah ah because they they are closer to the community they serve, they understand, one, the need, and two, the challenges. yeah um State is far removed from it. And so, yeah, while we all wanted that standardization, um we go very slowly at that.
Speaker: we want to make sure that cities and county has a voice in that and tell us what the pitfalls are if um if we if we do that, as you can see with, as you mentioned, House Bill 1110.
Speaker: So I want to build on what kind of that tension that you were talking about there, because I think that is, you know, if if I sort of take a step back and think about, you know, the the complaints people have with the bill,
Speaker: I think it's that tension, right? It's like, it's we've lost autonomy ah locally. The state has sort of crammed down these these rules. um and And so, you know, your colleague, Senator Wellman, who I think represents the Kirkland area, um told the the reporter that she'd be open to some reasonable adjustments.
Speaker: I mean, from your perspective, with the benefit of hindsight, Specifically to this tension between local and state, I mean, are there any adjustments to that that you that you think would be reasonable or you'd be willing to consider moving forward?
Speaker: Oh, we always look for adjustment, Ben. We always do. Or I guess what specifically, maybe specifically you think would make sense. Right, exactly. And so... um the tensions ah was always there. and And the thing about us, i I spoke earlier about the isolations in the the pockets, um and I use the example of agency. I'm going to use that now in in the system as a whole. um One, the fact of the matter is my vote at the state level impacts, the policy impacts the entire state.
Speaker: correct yeah it It doesn't. like ah If it benefits the 41st, the 41st is part of the state. And I need to ask myself it benefits the what kind of harms if there is um to the people on the east side of the cascade, right to the farmers, um ah to those who grow food ah ah to to support our everyday life?
Speaker: um And vice versa, if i if I vote for something that benefits the east side of the mountain, how is it how is it harmful, potentially harmful to the people in the 41st district that I i represent?
Speaker: um and And that's who I am when I talk about breaking down silo. um So if we... if we multiple times when people come down to Olympia and ask me to support one policy or another, i kept asking themselves, you understand that this is not only about you, you understand that you ask the state to take away certain power that you hold when the state pass certain and policy, right?
Speaker: um So what the city of Mercer Island, i'm I'm trying not to to put a a blame in any shape or form, ah which I try to communicate number of times whether it is it was effective. The bill that we passed around um middle housing about increasing the number of ah various types of housing across the state,
Speaker: There are cities who came to the legislature and say, we try to do this. You keep saying that. You city don't do anything and the housing needs keep increasing and the unhoused number of people keep increasing and we need to solve this problem. So please come to the table and help us. Like, can you do something? Because that is your jurisdiction.
Speaker: That within your power. And these elected officials would come to us and say, these are the but barriers and the challenges we face in our cities. We want to do the right thing.
Speaker: But there are a group of people in our cities when we make a proposal, um the opposition. So recently I learned another term ah beside NIMBYs. I learned another term called bananas.
Speaker: I don't know if you heard it, Ben. What's a banana? I don't know what that is. just learned that it's something like, ah okay I need to think about it. Build absolutely nothing. Build absolutely nothing anywhere anywhere near anyone. Yeah, something like that. So they're anti-development. Yes. And so these these CDs come to us and say, we need you backing us because we want to do the right thing.
Speaker: ah Can you back us? I mean, here's the thing. Legislators are a bunch of generalists. We are not, we are, well, some of us subject expert in certain area, but most of our bill is like, yes, it's like we are generalists. Yeah, you're expected to be generalist. We expected that, right? We are breadth, we are not depth. So for any policy, it's not,
Speaker: It's not like the state legislator brilliant enough to figure these things out. I'm the first to say that. It is a lot of the work from cities and local elected people who came and say, these are ah these are the challenges we've seen.
Speaker: And if you can put this kind of legislation in place, you give us a baseline so that we can take this and keep moving forward in order to provide housing for the people in my neighborhood, in our city, in our counties.
Speaker: So maybe Moose Island never asked for it, but Moose Island need to know that there are cities across the state asked for it. And the ads become louder and louder and louder until...
Speaker: these kinds of legislation being presented and eventually being passed. And we need to also look at it since like it was not being passed on the very first time it's being proposed. right So there's a lot of conversation happening. um And and i and i wouldn't I wouldn't say that we take any of these lightly. Right.
Speaker: So back to my question, is there anything sort of specifically that you think in hindsight should be adjusted? Well, I think because I do not serve in a housing committee, the conversation in caucus, in that committee is something I did not have the privilege to sit in in terms of, first of all, stakeholder ring. It's extremely important to do stakeholder ring hearing directly from from the community being impacted by it and consider them um and really consider them against the intent
Speaker: of the policy, if the intent of the policy is to assist um building ah housing, building not only more housing, but building housing faster, ah if they dial back what Does it meet the intent?
Speaker: um And I depend on ah my colleague who serve in housing committee who who get the privilege sitting in those space and hearing those conversations and debate the issues to ah to eventually brief me and help me figure out how we can move forward.
Speaker: Okay. That's fair. um ah Switching gears a little bit, you know another issue that is on a lot of people's mind is the the state income tax or the quote millionaire tax as it's being framed.
Speaker: um I believe you supported the bill and I've done some research and about a third of the people who will be paying this tax live in your district. Yes. So I'm curious from your perspective, what's what's the case you make for supporting the the the income tax?
Speaker: Well, you know, um as I share, i served school board director ah for ah for the Bellevue School District. though So I served in that capacity for five years.
Speaker: And before that, as a PTA, I went out to Olympia during the McCleary decision, knocking on door um and being a space of curious asking why are we the way we are? Number one, education is is our paramount duty. ah Number two, we we and we we as we are we estate embell of resources. We are state, more importantly, embell of ah people who care deeply about education.
Speaker: um So why are we in the space of like asking for nickel and dime ah for for education and serving our kids? um Along all of that, and then eventually having the honor to serve as state representative, um ah at one point I served on a finance committee. It is a committee that ah that looked deeper and and debated, ah having conversation deeply around ah tax and tax preference. Another word for tax preference is exemption in tax. So everything related to the revenue.
Speaker: um So the the revenue committee for the state, whereas appropriation is the spending committee for for the house specifically.
Speaker: um In that space, I learned ah about the regressivity of our tax system. And i i I jokingly say, you know, before I had the opportunity to learn all that, I was simply somebody who wouldn't mind paying tax at all because I know that I myself could not feel that pothole on the street that I i and my children and drive on. i depend on many of us putting putting dollars into making sure the street is safe. I could not, I don't have a ladder tall enough to replace the light bulb of the the street light.
Speaker: I depend on so many things that we all kind of like put our our dollars together to make sure that safety is ah is important ah for for our neighbors and community.
Speaker: So ah the the farthest knowledge I have is that I am more than happy to pay my fair share in the tax system. So while serving, I've learned that ah the regressivity of our tax system is that the people who make the lease pay the most.
Speaker: um And our tax system continue to depend on sale tax. And to your point, ah when you hear the report yesterday on inflation, ah that is when our revenue is being impacted the most.
Speaker: ah Because when when inflation is high, cost is high, affordability is the problem. Our state revenue, when it depends mostly so on sale tax and fine fee, um it would not provide the kind of revenue that the state can ah continue provide supports and services for the most vulnerable people among us.
Speaker: um So that was my beginning of digging further into understanding. So if this if this way that we've been doing for the last, I don't know how many years, few decades for sure, is not working for the people of Washington, then what what other way?
Speaker: ah to do it? ah How do we make our tax more fair? How do we make sure that during inflation, which Washington state alone cannot control or cannot change, right? um There's certain impact outside that we have no control over. How do we have a buffer so that we don't just solely rely or mainly relying on sale tax?
Speaker: um when When I look to Idaho, when I look to ah to Oregon, when I look to Montana, when I look to ah many states as our neighbor, what do they do? How do they do it? And and ah the the the solution at this point is not to keep doing what we've been doing, showing a negative result.
Speaker: do something else. So this is one of the ah proposal of doing something else in order to change the result that we all want.
Speaker: So that's that's a great segue because I was wanted to ask you, so as I look at Oregon, is that in your mind more of a model where income tax takes more of the share of the revenue for the state and maybe sales tax starts to come down? I mean, is that Is that part of the trade-off as we look five or 10 years in the future in your mind? Well, in my mind, this is where I would advocate. And I don't know if my, if my colleague agree or not, you know, that's the legislative process, right? Try, try to influence. This is just me. This is just me. What I, what I see the, the, the, the structure. Number one, I want to,
Speaker: either eliminating sell tax or reduce significantly because once again, um but people buying things that are important and needed for their family, um it shouldn't be the burden on them. yeah ah Number two, I want to reform ah People normally say sales tax is the most regressive. It is the most regressive, truly, truly. and number but two, I want to reform B&O. Our state i was deaded and economic engines is our business, especially our small business. We are the state of startups. We are the state of innovations. We the state that like brings so many um
Speaker: ah ah new ideas, great ideas, and this is where it's being incubated. That's right. So I want to reform B&O tax. um And what would that look like? Well, it to start out with, it should not be taxed on on gross receipt.
Speaker: ah it it' We should look at being taxed on the net profit. Right. because grocery seed is is just ridiculous.
Speaker: I mean, at the state, at the at the national level, at the federal level, IOS, like look for net um as so as ah as a way to promote and and and support business, right? Why aren't we?
Speaker: on the same page. um So that's that first. I like anything more than that. I need to learn more then. wouldn't claim that I know more. um And really last is property tax. um That has to be part of the housing conversation um because data showed us more and more unhoused people are our senior.
Speaker: um They spend they spendned all their life paying into um ah paying to their their housing, their home And then when they don't have, they when they ended up with a fixed income um and the way property values continue to rise and property values rise because of lack of of of housing availability, right? in In the circle where our seniors do not have a lot of control over and when they couldn't pay their property tax, they're being forced to lose the only wealth. that they've been building to give to the next generation.
Speaker: Well, and I think it's even worse than that. You know, they're, they're forced to move, right? Like, I mean, a lot of these people, I know people that have lived in a community 30, 40 years and, you know, their house is worth a lot of money. That's great.
Speaker: um You know, on paper, but they can't afford the property tax. Right. They cannot afford property tax. It's crazy. And adding to that layers, our schools depend on property tax, which pitch the the school district like Bellevue School District with high property values against the very neighbor school district, Renton.
Speaker: that property values, like if I am a homeowned homeowner, yes, I'd like to see my property values going up because when I sell, I make a profit, like good equity on my house, right? But the reality is is far from that, like you just mentioned, right?
Speaker: And so if we say this is the way we've been funding our school and our schools continue to struggle, once again, why are we keep doing the thing that didn't give us the result, that didn't give us the outcome that we all want and not looking for way to change.
Speaker: So for me, those are the three top that I want to significantly look at, reform and shift direction so that we can appropriately fund our our school our education so that we can make sure that Washington State continue to be a place where business is thriving and truly flip the regressivity of our tax code to a more fair so that our Washington continue in the trajectory of thriving for everyone.
Speaker: So I appreciate the the candor in your responses. And i I'm going to ask you another question. I'm curious, like, why when the when the bill was voted in, why were some of the like, I think it's ah reasonable to say, hey, we're we're adding tax here, but then removing it elsewhere.
Speaker: Why, it seems to me like strategically that would have been a stronger case to make. but yeah Why was that not done in in your opinion? Like, why were some of those measures that you talked about not put into place at the same time in the same bill?
Speaker: Right, right. Yeah.
Speaker: There's so many reasons. um I would just say before the time served in the legislature, Ben, if you recall, ah the state legislature put together a workforce or a task force or whatever they decided to name. But ah functionally, that group ah with representation from four corners, i.e. Republican and Democrat in the House, Republican and Democrat in the Senate, and and state agencies, um definitely Department of Revenue and OFM, which is the Office of Financial Management. yeah
Speaker: This was during the time when the state legislat legislature was like not in um not in the red as far as our budget is concerned. And the beginning of conversation of our tax system is being regressive um and and start the conversation of reforming our tax system.
Speaker: um That group was tasked with, so we know what are the regressive tax. We know what is a more fair way of taxing.
Speaker: yeah um If we put it on an equation, in order to reduce regressivity, what do we need to do ah over at the fair ah way of taxing? um yeah yeah for for for Washington ah with the goal of neutral neutrality, there would be no increase in revenue for the state.
Speaker: it's it's It's equal out to zero, right? So that information is still there. um ah the the group, the workforce, the task force, ah work group, whatever they call it again, went on a road trip.
Speaker: It just happened to be ah ah some of them are are in person and some of them are not. um And from that that road trip, they came back the office. to the communities that they have done engaging with and and say that we're presenting these information to you. ah This is the way to to shift the tax system to be more fair in our state.
Speaker: Which of these formulary, again, I'm going to punctuate, it would be a neutral in revenue. Which of these you would prefer? Mm-hmm. you like Washingtonian. and the answer at that time was like, don't do anything.
Speaker: we We don't want you to do anything. ah i i I assume you can guess why. um and And so. No, I'm curious. what Why do you think that is?
Speaker: Well, because change is hard. Okay. Okay. we we are We are the creature right of of adaptable. So we learn how to adapt with this terrible system we call regressive tax system, but we adapted to it.
Speaker: We learn how to live with it. we We don't want change because if change happened, we need to adapt to a new way. While logically we say it's good for us,
Speaker: But from the inertia of of of of our our own nature was like, well, it's really is not that bad. So maybe now is not the time.
Speaker: Until now is the time. ah um so So to answer your question, when we look back at those formulary, in order to get us to neutral, because we have those data, in order for us to get us to neutral, these are the conditions that need to happen. Mm-hmm. And mind you, our state is currently not in the space of of of neutral.
Speaker: Our state is currently in the space of ah of a a budget crisis. right Right. Right. And I can see in 2027, there's going to be more cuts.
Speaker: ah Where do we cut? Continue to hurt my heart. um But that is the task that we're doing. ah as ah as a legislature.
Speaker: um And that is the reason why we couldn't yet. And that's another thing I want to highlight, yet is an important thing ah to to bring us to the place where we truly could reform ah the regressivity of the system.
Speaker: ah We want to make sure that our budget is at the place where it is stable ah before we make any significant shift and change.
Speaker: um And I call that being responsible. So really enjoyed this conversation. We're almost an hour in, so I'm going to wrap this up because I know you've got other things, other things to do. i enjoyed it too. I have no idea how long it's been. Well, yeah, I know. Hey, you know, it's ah time flies when you're having fun. I, I, I just want to ask one question as a followup on the budget, you know, your opponent, Michael Rosen, um I talked with him last week and one of his, his big,
Speaker: you know One of his big points was that the budget has ballooned from you know whatever, $33 billion or so in 2013 to $80 billion today. um So a big you know ah a big increase, you know over almost two and a half times. um you know it is from from where From your vantage point, and you have a bird's eye view on this, um is there areas in the budget where you'll concede that we've overspent or spent unwisely?
Speaker: um as that budget has ballooned and in is part of the challenge. yeah There's two levers. There's revenue in and there's expenses out. We all know this from running our our home finances. Right, right. Are there areas with the state that you feel like um you know we've overspent or or done things poorly?
Speaker: There is never a perfect system. um That is the reason why the state ah put in ah multiple space to audit ourselves.
Speaker: um So i ah Ben, I don't know if you if you know there's a... So whenever ah finance committee in the house pass any policy, whether it's estate tax, ah ah property tax, and in this case, a millionaire tax, um or we pass any ah tax preference, i.e. exemptions, um we always put it, ah or like in my case, as a prime sponsor of the working family tax credit, um we always put those policy to an entity we short called JLARC.
Speaker: I think it's Joy Legislative Administrative Review Committee. okay And that committee annually do review of the exemptions.
Speaker: Are these exemptions good? and They actually get to the intent of the the exemption ah to either support a a a a a a startup, a new industry, um or increasing job opportunities for people. If it doesn't, should we Should we get rid of that exemption?
Speaker: um The working families tax credit, is it actually get to the intent to put ah ah dollars back to the pocket of the people in attempt to to ease the regressivity of the sale tax specifically to the people who make the least and pay the most into our our our tax system?
Speaker: right We receive these reports regularly to help us readjust um how we work through the tax system.
Speaker: um In other area, healthcare care included, ah investment and ah in infrastructure, whether it's it's ah in the capital ah budget or in transportation budget, we do have various checkpoints to tell us the thing we've been doing doesn't work, what needs to be changed. And that happened all the time.
Speaker: um To say, ah if we overspend, and also to your point, like the state couldn't print money, how is it that we, if we say that we spent 80, whatever the dollars is, like 80 billion ah in the budget, um would the state need to have roughly 80 billion in revenue?
Speaker: The state is not federal, is not Congress. We cannot borrow money. We cannot print money. i cannot do any of that. So the like if we ask the question of spending, we need to also ask the questions of revenue.
Speaker: um And the next question we need to ask is where are those spending? um While ah we hear from our school district saying the state is not aptly, appropriately, fully fund educations.
Speaker: So where is the spending?
Speaker: Suspending spending to to support and and create services for unhoused people. Suspending around a century ah pandemic that every single one of us get an hour of its day alive, having a a a kind of trauma that mental health impacts so significant that we wouldn't even know where to begin to provide services and support. is a spending of putting forward the 988 system is spending around to provide a social um worker to to go with our police when there's a call because there's an individual, there's a neighbor who's in crisis and how we can best support them. um is spending around, um you know, making sure people who with intellectual or developmental disability ah gain their employment, get the training and the trade skill ah that they need to feel that they belong to the community. um
Speaker: like ah Like, we need to ask ourselves what are the spending and I am so more than happy ah to share that out. um Because none of that is in secrets.
Speaker: the The data of where the state spent, where the dollars goes. So if we ask if the spending was appropriate and things need to change, remember legislature has a push string.
Speaker: We appropriate funding to education, healthcare, care housing, any of that. It's the executive budget. right?
Speaker: Who would make decisions of within those spaces, where is it going to go Who's going to get these dollars and and how it's eventually get to the grassroots level to your neighbor and to my neighbors, right?
Speaker: ah was the The legislative structure cannot well, sometimes we can, but we shouldn't, um step over what the executive is doing.
Speaker: So we need that partnership with the executive to understand whether we want fund appropriately and and fund different. But then we also need to ask the executive,
Speaker: to to do more scrutiny into the work that their various agencies are doing, does it actually get to the people who need these services the most?
Speaker: ah Those who continue struggle because that is how our system is built. It's built so that legislative, executive and judicial ah as a three-legged tool to check each other out, to keep us balanced as a whole governance structure.
Speaker: So unless we say that structure is no longer working, then let's figure out how to change the way of government works. All right. Well, let's, let's ah a lot more that we could talk about and I've enjoyed this discussion and and appreciate you taking the time. um Lastly, ah for people listening, if they want to learn more about you and your campaign, where can they go to, to do that?
Speaker: Oh my goodness. Thank you so much, Ben, for that opportunity. So um we ah we we we consistently want to hear from you. ah my ah My campaign email is simply electmylin. It's E-L-E-C-T-M-Y-L-I-N-H at gmail.com. We also have a website. It's www.mylinthai.com.
Speaker: We love your engagement. We love your support. And um this is the last stretch of the campaign. um Any dollars ah that you ah feel ah that you want to contribute to the campaign so that we continue to reach out. to voter and one, defend their voting rights and to support them um in the knowledge and information they needed in order to participate in the voting process. And lastly, ah to make sure that every vote counts. I ask for your support and your vote.
Speaker: Awesome. Well, thank you very much for your time and for joining. And I wish you the best of luck in the remainder of your campaign here. Thank you so much, Ben. All right. Take care. you too.
