From Washington State comes news from Secretary of State Sam Reed that mock elections involving some 15,400 school pupils resulted in a 53%-47% victory for Republican challenger Dino Rossi over incumbent Democratic Senator Patty Murray. This makes a certain amount of sense: conservative adults are more likely and liberal adults are less likely to be parents, and parents have a significant effect on their children’s political preferences.

But so, perhaps, do teachers. The young’uns favored not only Republican Rossi, but also the ballot proposition championed by Bill Gates’s father which would impose a state income tax on very high earners. Of course, much if not most of the money would go to teacher union members—“for the kids,” voters will be assured.

Of course, few children actually fill out or sign income tax returns, or give any thought to the potential disincentives  an income tax creates for employers.

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