Jeff Jacobs | Emerald City Journal

Senate Joint Resolution No. 8223 (Not Supported)

Published on October 8, 2012

I will be voting against the Senate Joint Resolution No. 8223 which allows “universities to invest specified public funds as authorized by the legislature, including in private companies or stock.” I think any of our money giving to the universities should be highly regulated. We certainly shouldn’t let them make investments into the stock market with it or other gambling ideas which they think would be better. First off, we shouldn’t giving the universities any money at all. They should be rewarded by graduates only and should support themselves. The universities charge way to much for tuition and books and their management, CEO, football coaches are making big dollars. Universities make a lot of money and their business model is simple to make things work (students to teacher ratio). The schools, however, should be regulated by the state as they are now just for doing business in the state but we shouldn’t be giving them more money to gamble on other investments which doesn’t help the school or students working hard there.

In fact, if they are just considering putting into the stock market then that tells me they have way to much money to be thinking about already.

With that being said, that is a no thanks on Senate Joint Resolution No. 8223.

Initiative Measure No. 502 (Marijuana – Supported)

Published on October 8, 2012

I support Initiative Measure No. 502 concerning making marijuana more legal. I hate the fact that the only real reason the measure is even on the ballot is because tax revenue will be generated off of it similar to liquor. If it were a free resource, then it would not even be considered or presented to the people. The state is only ok with certain initiatives if they are getting their “fair share”. Same reason why prostitution will never be legal (unless it’s highly taxed and regulated). That is another topic, obviously. Seattle’s poor leadership is always on the wrong side of history. They will support this measure as long as the tax revenue is collected.

As I do support the initiative, I also don’t like the 21 and over legal requirement. If you can legally smoke at 18 now, then it should be the same with marijuana. There is no real argument around this age except it is a bargaining chip for lawmakers to get their tax money.

Another reason why I support the law is because we’ve spent billions of our tax dollars trying to fight it. The courts are filled, lawyers are greedy, and it’s a bad situation overall. Our city waste so much tax money on efforts that don’t matter. For the record, I don’t smoke.

I would have liked to have seen how this tax revenue would be spent. I would feel better knowing it would all support the schools, education, and safety. My fear, history, and experience tells me it will be another wasted revenue stream abused. If they started to collect millions and millions of dollars, Seattle will continue to claim poverty and force more taxes from the people.

I think supporting Initiative Measure No. 502 is a movement in the right direction.

What is Initiative Measure No. 502?

Initiative Measure No. 502 is not specific to Seattle but is a measure that was approved by voters statewide in Washington State in 2012. This initiative legalized the possession and private use of marijuana for adults aged 21 and over. Here is a summary of its provisions:

1. Legalization of Marijuana:

Adults 21 and over can legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana, 16 ounces of solid marijuana-infused products, or 72 ounces of liquid marijuana-infused products.

2. Regulation and Licensing:

The initiative authorized the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (previously Washington State Liquor Control Board) to regulate and license marijuana producers, processors, and retailers.
It established a system of state-licensed marijuana growers, processors, and retail stores where adults could purchase marijuana.

3. Taxation:

I-502 imposed a 25% tax at each transaction level: producer to processor, processor to retailer, and retailer to customer.
Tax revenues were designated for specific purposes such as substance-abuse prevention, research, education, and healthcare.

4. DUI Standards:

The initiative established legal intoxication standards for driving under the influence of marijuana, similar to blood alcohol levels for alcohol.

5. Decriminalization and Law Enforcement:

The measure aimed to allow law enforcement to focus on other crimes by reducing the time and resources spent on enforcing marijuana-related offenses.
However, public use of marijuana remained a civil infraction.

6. Federal Law Consideration:

Despite the state law change, marijuana possession and distribution remained illegal under federal law. However, in practice, the enforcement of federal marijuana laws became a lower priority in states where marijuana had been legalized and regulated.

I-502 was significant as it represented a shift in drug policy and had considerable implications for criminal justice, public health, and the economy in Washington State. The legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington has also been part of a broader trend towards marijuana legalization in the United States.

Update: Voters approved I-502 legalizing marijuana in Washington State.

Initiative 502 was prevailing at 55 to 45 percent, garnering backing from over half of Washington’s counties, both rural and urban.

This voting outcome positioned Washington and Colorado to the left of the Netherlands regarding marijuana legislation, establishing them as the focal points of a novel societal experiment with unpredictable outcomes. Media from across the nation and around the globe observed as the vote totals were announced at I-502’s election-night celebration in Seattle, sparking waves of ecstatic cheers.

“I’m prepared to deliver my victory speech now. Post this, I can sit down and halt the trembling,” proclaimed Alison Holcomb, the campaign manager and main architect of I-502.

Molding The Perfect American Citizen

Published on October 6, 2012

I find it incredibly interesting how American citizens are molded from a young age. How and why they stand for or against a certain topic then calculating why they believe that based on history or their early environment. We all our products of our environment. A simple example is Christianity in America. Surveys suggest that roughly 92% of Americans identify themselves with the religion. Every once in a while I will ask one if their family growing up was religious (not always). Then I ask do they think they would be a Christian if they were born in another country where a different type of religion was more popular such as Buddhism in Cambodia (95%) … they of course say no and that they would still be Christians. The reality is that our environment plays a huge impact of what we are. We all start out as products of our genes, food and growth is provided by our environment, experience is learned through events, parents help guide us, then opportunities for decisions. Some we have control over and others we don’t. We all are hardwired with certain things like fight or flight.

I was talking with a guy and some of his friends I met at the Ram Restaurant recently. He has given up on American and has made the decision to leave it all behind and move to Ecuador. I found the topic interesting because I personally have considered doing a “World Tour” myself. However, he was done with it here and made the decision already. He wasn’t going for a few months – he was going forever. Upon hearing the plans his friends asked him, “what about the stability of the country?” He replied, “you mean the stability of a country whose banks don’t do horrible loans or invest is derivatives? “You mean the stability of a country where the general population has the courage to march in the streets to make a change or throw out all the corrupt officials out of office?”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little on the inside because he was exactly right. In America, our citizens have been molded to believe in staying inside political boundaries “protest zones/areas”. Most Americans through complacency are cowards to political activism. To make a real change we are to believe that your vote really matters and emailing their Senator several times a year can help. In America, marching down the street in a large crowd is viewed by many uncivilized and even unpatriotic.

The example above about protesting is just one of many topics Americans think differently about. It’s concerning how much power the media has on all of us. It reaches into all our homes and pursueds the young or old through the years. There isn’t a king, pope, or general who can even compare to the few dozen who control the information and ultimately we make decisions on. So many American do not even see it. They completely fail to realize that they are being manipulated.

For many years now I have been educating myself of what other countries think of Americans. Some countries are good, however, most are bad. We are viewed as egotistical, flag worshipers, greedy, thinking the US is the center of the World, vain, & loud. Many view us as being to over the top with our own nationalism (we are the best talk). I can’t blame them this is what we hear all the time. There is a constant voice in the media that we are the best. “America The Beautiful” type.

Why are we so committed to believe this type of media or perfect citizenship. Is it our environment or we simply don’t know better because that is all we hear and know. The truth is many do believe and will continue that hardcore commitment in believing we are the very best. Even though when compared to others countries we simply are not. Our education system is ranked at the bottom, our leaders are corrupt, we have lost our status of a Wold Leader by many. What about our freedom? Gay marriage is not allowed, drinking age is higher than many countries, drugs are viewed as a crime where other countries have monetized it and using it to help people medically. We owe more money then money we have in circulation available, our culture is a blend of everyone else’s so we don’t have the best as its a mash up, we have no real plan to spend less, and finally all politicians are bribed and bent to their opinions based on who has paid them.

So are you molded to be the perfect American citizen?

Initiative Measure No. 1240 – Against

Published on October 6, 2012

At this time I’m against Initiative Measure No. 1240. Our schools are constantly needing more money now and obviously can’t manage what we have in place so I can’t imagine them digging any deeper into a hole with charter schools. I do support the idea of the charter school system and perhaps would support it in the future. At this time, however, better management, reviews, and oversight is needed in our current public schools to see where the over spending is happening and how improvements can be made. Our public schools today are constantly complaining about lack of funding (I blame it on spending), however, with the money they are getting now through enrollment – it would be passed to the charter schools making it even more difficult. It’s a very messy situation and the main reason I can’t support it at this time is because our current system (financial for schools) needs to be examined and repaired first.

Initiative Measure No. 1240.

“This measure would authorize up to forty publicly-funded charter schools open to all students, operated through approved, nonreligious, nonprofit organizations, with government oversight; and modify certain laws applicable to them as public schools. “

As I do support the idea of charter schools and would most likely support it down the road, due to to the current situation of public school system I can’t support this initiative at this time. We need to root out the problems with our current system first.

Initiative Measure No. 1185 – Supported

Published on October 5, 2012

I’m tired of the constant and steady (and sneaky) raises in my taxes. It’s always the same story each time and it goes a little like this “we’re broke” or “the recession is hurting us” or perhaps “they keep cutting our funding”. It’s troubling especially with all the revenue being generated from every sector. The revenue being generated is at it’s highest! I believe the problem is with the spending and management and it each department needs to become completely transparent with line item spending. Until that happens I will never be for raising taxes.

I believe most people would support raising taxes if they knew where each dollar was going. They wouldn’t have a problem supporting their schools or the local fire department, however, without honesty and complete transparency, the public will not support it because they know it’s due to wasteful spending internally.

Initiative Measure No. 1185

Initiative Measure No. 1185 is already the law but will be expiring soon. Your vote supporting it renews the law making it more difficult to raise taxes on all of us. Your vote for Initiative Measure No. 1185 “would restate existing statutory requirements that legislative actions raising taxes must be approved by two-thirds legislative majorities or receive voter approval, and that new or increased fees require majority legislative approval.”

Just two years ago, 64% of voters approved this measure. I stand with them to re-instate this measure for many years to come. Don’t raise my taxes unless you come to me with a plan and full transparency (line item spending) for your department/program. We then can make a decision if its useful or useless.

Unemployment Rate A Broken System

Published on October 5, 2012

The numbers for unemployment came out today for September and it just so happened to decrease to 7.8%. I’m not here today to call the calculations a little suspect due to the timing of Obama’s re-election and the next debate, however, you can find a lot of people online pointing fingers and calling it bull.

I just wanted to write this up to give you a better insight into these unemployment numbers and tell you why the system is broken. First the system is used to give you encouragement. It’s development in nature and technical aspects are pieced together to make America look really good. Well lets just give the system the benefit of doubt and say these numbers provided (7.8%) of Americans are unemployed. So if these numbers are right they are saying less than 1 in 10 are unemployed. Seriously – u believe that? That just sounds ridiculously low. I am confident I could claim 20% (2 out of 10) in my group of friends for sure right now. Think about 10 people you know and see if that makes sense to you.

Second and most importantly, the system doesn’t count “discouraged workers” which they say is 802,000 people. “Discourage workers” are defined as people not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. First problem here is for a big system like ours in America there is no way to track who is “Discouraged” or not discouraged. No one calls you after you’re fired or let go to know your personal situation. They don’t know if you’re looking handing our resumes or not. There is no way to track (unless they are getting unemployment checks – A LOT don’t bother with that hassle) who is sending resumes or who have given up 100%. It’s all just based on make believe info when it comes to “discouraged workers”. If I’m out of work how do they know that I’m trying hard to find a new job or not – They can’t and I shouldn’t be labeled a “discouraged worker” (not in the unemployment calculations) because I can’t find work.

The 7.8% does not include the “discouraged workers”. So if I’m working at McDonald’s and I’m let go, don’t file for unemployment, I’m now discouraged. Geez that is just about everyone who loses a job whether they are filed or let go. These people are not calculated into the 7.8% figure. If they say we only have have 802,000 “discourage workers” who just gave up that they know of – then realistically there must be millions and millions.

To fix this the system needs to add everyone into one pool except underage, state disabled, never had a job, and retirees. That, however, will never happen. If it did Americas unemployment rate would be around 20% or more!

That my friends is why the unemployment rates are completely false, not accurate, and completely broken.

Seattle Police Twitter Transparency

Published on October 3, 2012

It’s official the Seattle Police Department will become more transparent. They introduced “Tweet By Beat” and I must say it’s an amazing step in the right direction. The program was started last week and gives the the ability to interact with the community better. It allows the public to get a better idea of what is happening day by day. Say there is a shooter or robber in your block – now you have a way of knowing and can lock the place up. Right now they have 51 neighborhood twitter accounts being updated and running wild. They even automated the process so it’s hands free for staff.

It’s to bad it took so much pressure from the public and the DOJ to make the Seattle this happen but none the less it’s an amazing step forward by the City, the Dept, and Seattle Police Chief John Diaz.

Here is a screen shot to give you an example of what it looks like:
(or sign-up if wanted)

Now if we can only get more agencies across the nation to be more transparent like this. It would be a great way to keep everyone informed about tasks and program spending by line item. Proceedural items could be discussed faster and loser programs would be notice faster so they could be eliminated before going broke.

I’m so proud of the Seattle Police Department for taking this step they did a fantastic job.

Romney vs Obama Debate Tonight

Published on October 3, 2012

The time has finally come where we get to see the Romney vs Obama debate. It will be interesting for sure to see who will be the leader. We all know Obama is a good talker and this debate may just win him the election if done right. There are many problems he is going to have to have a response to such as both the low jobs and economy numbers. I suspect his answer will be the typical point the finger to Bush and blaming the Republicans for holding up his proposals on the table. As of right now, I don’t believe Romney is a very good talker so we’ll have to see how that works for him.

History has told us many elections are won or lost during the debates. This election comes down to giving Obama another chance or letting someone new in there to see what he can do. It’s a matter of how many people believe the excuses President Obama gives regarding his past and like I said he is a great talker. You see Obama on talk shows like the view for example because they know talking good is one of his greatest assets. Then as Romney mentioned in secret, that 47% of Americans are being supported by the Government so they are of course going to support Obama until the end. Why would they change anything and vote for Romney? No way they would. Many people were easily convinced with the hopes and changes he was preaching 4 years ago and many are still on-board with the President. It’s sort of like it doesn’t matter what he says – just how he says it (which is amazing). I expect to see Romney start to say and support the things Obama supports to try to pull some additional votes. We’ve seen this already with him supporting President Obama’s immigration policy. More than 60% of voters supported Obama last time in 2008. He will be making more and more promising trying to convince the Obama supporters to change their minds and try a new path.

If you’re watching the Romney vs Obama debate tonight you can find it on pretty much every tv channel at 6pm PST.

Over 50 million are expected to be watching the debate tonight.

Lets get it on!

Madonna Concert In Seattle

Published on October 2, 2012

The icon Madonna will be in Seattle tonight (Oct 3rd) at Key Arena. It’s a sold out concert but tickets are available if you look around on the Internet. You better bring the cash though as ticket prices are very high. I saw a few suite tickets for $300 each minimum.

Born Aug. 16, 1958 as Madonna Louise Ciccone she has sold more than 300 million records across the World. She is the top selling female artist of all time. That record even stands with the Guinness World Records. Madonna was born in Bay City, Michigan and moved to NYC for actually modern dance, however, the music thing worked out better. Her first album was released in 1983.

Key Arena is a great venue for music. I love the personal feel of it because it’s much smaller than Century Link for example.

Seattle Landlords Got A New Boss

Published on October 1, 2012

If you’re a homeowner and decide to rent your home down the road, you just got a new boss. That new boss is the City Of Seattle. City Council is expect to pass legislation that would require landlords to get their rentals inspected. They will need to register with the city (pay their fees) and hire a private home inspector to go through their rentals for repairs. The scarcity of the bill that pushing it through is the inspection of mold and safety issues. However, we all know it’s a way for the city to build up more revenue. Lots of money is changing hands with this bill. You have the city fees (old and all future rentals all pay registration fees). You have the repair fees and I assure you that private home inspectors will happen to find every little change that needs to happen (it’s in their best interest financially). Then you have the sales tax revenue generated on those “must have” rental repairs they fill are necessary. The City Council says it’s not about the money… it’s about the safety. Sounds like legal corruption to me personally.

The bill is backed by the Tenants Union of Washington. We all know anything to do with Unions is about the money so we know their agenda. On their website they claim this bill is “the closest we have ever come in over twenty years in the fight for healthy homes for all in Seattle.” I guess they think money grows on trees. They say they fight for “healthy and safe homes”. They forgot to add at the dime of everyone else or by any way possible.

As a rental owner, the way the program works is pretty shady. First you must register with the city. If you don’t register you’ll pay a fine. It’s going to be monitored through your utility bills. You then need to pay an inspector to come out from a private company whose sole purpose is to find problems with your rental. Maybe it’s code violations, maybe its water damage, maybe you didn’t mow the lawn, maybe your roof could leak over the winter. Who knows really. It could be nothing but most likely thousands of dollars depending on how much the private inspector needs the money or if his car payment is late that month. After that is done, you need to get the repairs fixed and if you’re late doing that it’s going to cost you a $150 PER DAY fine.

I have seen this game played in several businesses now and it always leads to the same conclusion. The owner is at the mercy of the City. They’re always holding a carrot in front of your nose just to make sure you are aware of who is the real boss here. It’s a power trip when it comes to licenses and they are always looking over your shoulder. Typically the people telling you how to do things are people who have no experience, never been in your field, and think they know better then you how to run your business (or rental). That is the reality and how this game is played. It will also be how this new program is going to work.

The sad thing about this bill, the Seattle City Council, and the government is that they think they need and must “help” everyone. Business owners, landlords, drivers, etc just want to be left alone. Nobody (read all the comments on the Seattle times or news tribune about this bill) likes being told what to do or how to do it better by someone who has never done it themselves. I know the only thing I want from the Government is to be left alone. Just quite trying to “help” me. It’s easy to pass bills like this because most people will never be financially sound enough to have a rental, probably are broke or near it most months, feel bad, or just don’t care about about others because it doesn’t and never will effect them. I compare it to the 1% paying for everyone else. It’s great for elections also….Why would the majority 99% care about the rich paying a little extra to help everyone else. Sad but true.

Regarding this new legislation. I understand there are many slumlords out there. Compared to the masses of landlords that number is low, however (like %10). I guess we need the 90% to be burdened and pay the city extra and support the inspectors businesses just to fix the bad 10%? Do you think renters are stupid and won’t leave if they don’t have heat or see mold where their kids play? Seriously! We have laws about rental and tenants already in place to handle bad landlords and these situations. You got mold in your rental and you didn’t see it when you did the initial walk through the rental, MOVE OUT, it’s unsafe and you have that right by law already. The heating doesn’t work? MOVE OUT you’re all ready protected by law. Good landlords don’t need to pay all the fees and have all the worries by these new bosses who know it all. Yet they should pay the price also? Registration fees each year and private inspectors looking to make money for their own business are not going to come out and work for free you know.

Another item to consider is that many rentals are supported income for the elderly. They paid off and worked hard for an extra home/rental many years ago and the failed programs like social security don’t provide enough to live on. They are no bad landlords they are just getting by with the property taxes, insurance, and higher costs of home ownership. Again, if their rentals are not safe to live in, then by law the tenant can move out. These laws are already in place to protect people. We don’t need to be hurting the elderly financially – they’re struggling enough and worked damn hard to have an extra rental. In addition, these homes or rentals are 50 years old – you know how much it’s going to cost them to get repairs by their new inspector bosses. Some new doors with locks will cost more than what they’ll make the whole month in rent. This program just causes more harm than good. It’s way worse than anything a robber could do to them an alley somewhere.

It appears many of the Seattle news agencies have reported on this. The comments from people are ALL negative and don’t support it. Most describe it as I do above with Government getting bigger and continuing “helping” everyone to fill their pockets because they can’t manage a city financially. Do they really have to try to “help” with everything and everyone all the time. It’ seems like everything is “helped” someway by the Government now. Everyone is expecting a helping hand, living rent free in luxury apartments, health care, cell phones etc the list goes on and on.

You have to understand there are many angles not discussed here such as pushing out the old who purchased 50 years ago for the new apartment luxury condos. They bill causes more damage to the 90% of people who worked hard and paid the price to have that rental/s only to get a new boss to come in and bankrupt them (or force them to sell) because they simply don’t have the money for all the “must repair or fined” repairs that the inspector thinks the elderly in retirement really has.

This is a horrible bill and I don’t believe it’s really been examined fully to move forward into law. We already have laws in place we don’t need to have more bosses in our lives who think they know it all and dangling the carrot over our heads. Just back off and let people live how they want too. Perhaps they can experience the little bit of freedom that is left in this country.

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Jeff Jacobs has 235 articles published.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 8223 (Not Supported)