Will Wreck Budgets for Food

Will Wreck Budgets for Food

I have this image of Tim Eyman standing on a street corner with a handwritten, cardboard sign reading, "Will wreak havoc upon state budgets for food." Tim Eyman, who demands that Washington's state government find some way to do more with less revenue, does not believe that he should be expected to make similar economies in his own life. As such, he has decided to come out of the closet and convert his Permanent Offense assembly line anti-tax initiative machine into an above-board, supplemental source of income for himself.
I used to think that Tim Eyman was motivated solely by a narcissistic desire to hear his name on the radio and to see his face on television and on the front page of the newspaper. That was before he was caught with his hand in this organization's till. He paid a $50,000 fine for that indiscretion and contributions to his organization have fallen significantly. Since he was caught diverting money toward his own enrichment, contributions have fallen considerably. With less money available to skim and closer scrutiny from all sides, Tim Eyman has decided to bypass sneakiness and ask that people give their money directly to him.
Should he succeed in lining his pockets with their contributions, he could turn his next trick by writing and peddling a book through spam e-mail or perhaps on late night television talk shows. I can see it now. A fast talking Tim Eyman promises: "Circulate initiatives and make millions in your spare time from the comfort of your own home. My book will tell you how!"
Help Us Help Taxpayers is the handle given to his latest venture into entrepreneurial grass roots politics. It is essentially a hat that he is passing around, asking people to put their money directly into his checking account, thus sparing him the complications associated with surreptitiously diverting contributors' money into his own pockets.
"We simply can't afford to contribute our time, effort and expertise to these critical battles without being compensated for it," Eyman explained recently to his contributors. As he recently discovered, there are legal complications when one pockets money donated to support his chronic campaigning.
Originally, he said that he would only ask for personal enrichment if he succeeded in placing his latest initiative, I-807 on the ballot. He failed in that endeavor, but decided that he wanted the money anyway.
Contrary to his declarations of poverty, Tim Eyman seems to have squeaked by rather comfortably even before his skimming scam. His home in Mukilteo is valued at over half a million dollars. When his wife tells him to pick up a carton of milk, he picks it up in his Lexus SUV.
Since he was caught dipping into contributions, the Public Disclosure Commission has kept a much closer watch on Eyman. As such, we know a bit more about his money and his motivations. Documents recently surrendered show that over the past year and a half, Eyman had received $120,000 in gifts. He has also had to invest about $23,000 to solicit that money. During that same period, he spent $123,000 on attorney and accounting fees. His financial difficulties descend from his previous indiscretions.
Lawyers had better watch out. If he can't get people to pay his bills, it's entirely possible that his next crusade might be legal reform.
Eyman has established several fund raising organizations. One serves to pay his legal expenses. Another, Voters Want More Choices, solicits donations for campaign expenses such as printing, mailing and phone calls. Help Us Help Taxpayers is for himself and his lieutenants. This probably saves on accountants.
Apparently, Eyman's panhandling is legal even if it exposes an unorthodox code of ethics.
"Being compensated for activity in campaigns is nothing new. People do it all the time," according to Public Disclosure Commission spokesman Doug Ellis. "The interesting thing about this committee is that its sole purpose is to compensate."
If Tim Eyman genuinely expects people to fill his tip jar, then he should demonstrate his good faith by priming the pump as the first contributor to Help Us Help Taxpayers. And he should begin with the $200,000 he is accused of diverting to his own purposes previously.