Spokane Taxpayers Stage Telephone Strike
Thousands of residents have joined a coordinated refusal to pay increased utility rates following legal advice that the jump is not backed by state law.
Incensed at what they describe as an attempt to collect excessive telephone rates, thousands of Spokane citizens have signified their intentions of refusing to pay the new rate which went into effect August 1. This action results from an opinion by Ben Johnson, an attorney, in which he declared that there is no law to compel payment of the new rates; nothing but a federal court order affecting the state government. All Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane citizens need to do to effect a saving of millions of dollars is to refuse to pay the new rate. Telephone subscribers should simply mail checks for the same amount they have been paying.
“All Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane citizens need to do to effect a saving of millions of dollars is to refuse to pay the new rate.”
Consumer pushback against utility rate hikes is a recurring theme in urban Washington, reflecting the ongoing civic argument over whether essential communications services should be treated as a public good or a private revenue stream.
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