"Heads vs. Fed" Tour Rolls into Washington

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Politically, A Hard Sell

Like a lot of states, Washington is facing an enormous budget shortfall and one of the proposals being floated by some Democrats would be to redefine candy as non-food, which would make it subject to sales tax.

Because such a change would only generate $28 million in its first year, a few legislators have suggested that the funds should be earmarked for public health initiatives, but as you might imagine, in between the cries about the potential affect on candy manufacturing jobs, they are already facing soundbites such as follows;

"We’re going to be putting a tax on 5- and 6-year-olds? I mean, come on," said Orcutt, of Kalama. "I think it’s a downright shame that we’ve gotten to the point where we actually have to tax kids to balance our budget."

Quickie: Unplug Ears, Watch Mouth

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) has introduced legislation to codify guidelines aimed at keeping television commercial volume on par with the surrounding program.

And on NPR's Morning Edition, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) seemed to diss the Alabama workforce which is drawing polite, but strong reaction from its elected officials.