Let's examine Ralph Nichols' continuing government phobia through the tale of an average guy sitting down to pay bills. I'll call him, Joe.

Joe flips on KVI Radio or 770 "THE TRUTH" as he settles down at the kitchen table.

He's got a high stack of bills to pay but not as much in the checking account as he once had.

He just got a new lower-paying job. His old company, eager to further slash costs and explode its profits, outsourced his job to another country.

At the time of the outsourcing, the CEO at Joe's company was making more in a day than Joe earned in a year.

(Twenty years ago, the average CEO made 42 times more than the average production worker.)

Of course, at Joe's new job he doesn't have a union to stick up for him or negotiate a raise.

Joe examines a bill from the doctor. The insurance company didn't cover much of it even though he has a high co-pay and large insurance premiums deducted out of his paychecks.

His new company is also struggling with providing health insurance to its employees.

Joe's family is one serious illness away from bankruptcy. Too bad, the bankruptcy laws have been rewritten to penalize families.

Next, Joe makes the giant mortgage payment on his house. (In Seattle, the median price of a home is over $400,000.)

He picks up the Exxon credit card statement. Wow, that 3-buck a gallon gas adds up, especially with his longer commute.

Funny how Exxon-Mobil just reported the largest profit ever in the history of the world. Sounds like they passed on their added costs-and more-to their customers.

Joe notes his daughter's college tuition has also skyrocketed

And so it goes through bills for groceries, home repairs, car maintenance and more.

Then, he spots his tax statements.

Joe explodes, "That Ralph Nichols is sure right. It is the government that is forcing us hard-working citizens into serfdom."

As Joe's story illustrates, blaming government for all our woes may make for entertaining talk radio but it is rather simplistic.

Ralph is upset because voters in the last legislative races chose the Democratic Party's vision over the Republican Party's vision.

The majority of state voters believe government can play a positive role in their lives.

That is why we are seeing groundbreaking legislation on family leave, health care, education, Puget Sound cleanup and other issues. Highline's Democratic lawmakers have been leaders on many of these issues that benefit middle-class families like Joe's.

With the economy on the upswing, this is the time to break the gridlock on these issues.

In fact, gridlock is what contributes to the increased costs. A case in point is the still-stalled State Route 509 extension. The budget previously was estimated at $870 million. With endless delays, it will now cost $1.3 billion to do the same project.

Sure, the state should save for a rainy day and watch spending just as we do with our household budget. But that doesn't mean we should reject legitimate programs.

Finally, Ralph embraces a new initiative drive by the discredited Tim Eyman.

Eyman's Initiative 960 would require a two-thirds legislative approval or voter approval for tax increases, legislative approval of fee increases and advisory votes on taxes enacted without voter approval.

Even the conservative members of Highline's nonpartisan city councils can tell you about the headaches caused by past Eyman initiatives.

We hire our legislators to study and decide on the complex issues that come before them.

The voters have the final say by voting for their legislators.

In Highline and around the state, the voters have embraced the Democrats' views.

He can decry Sen. Karen Keiser and her "nanny state agenda." But in the last election against a spirited Republican candidate, Keiser received 63 percent of the vote.

That is what really makes Ralph grumpy.

Eric Mathison can be reached at ericm@robinsonnews.com or 206-388-1855.