This year Kirkland’s adopted budget is 15 percent greater than the last budget. To say the budget went up because of “unanticipated” expenses, revenue declines, and inflation is nonsense. Are we to believe our elected officials and staff do not know what they are doing? It’s time to ask just whom do they serve, themselves or us.

It’s plain and simple, the city takes in more revenue than they need to run the city and they spend it. Instead of sticking to the budget, they’ve blown right through it every year taking more than $12 million more per year than what they need. This budget will be no different.

For Mayor Lauinger and Councilmember Burleigh to call for our state legislators to do something about the taxation structure in this state is reflective of their belief that government should serve government instead of serving people. They are probably talking about a state income tax. Taxpayers don’t want it.

First and foremost, elected officials should work for and protect citizens. Instead of taking away our freedoms and reducing our ability to take care of ourselves, they should protect and enhance everyone’s quality of life, not their own special interest.

Robert L. Style, Kirkland

Goodbye free enterprise

Just as Congress sheepishly went along with Bush’s violation of our civil liberties after 9/11 because “this war on terror and these times are different,” Congress today is doing the same thing by going along with Obama’s violation of our market economy with his big government stimulus package because “this recession and these times are different.”

But they’re not so different, really.

Jeff E. Jared, Kirkland