Initiative King Tim Eyman took a hit this week when I-864 failed to garner enough signatures statewide to make the November ballot. Many, including this newspaper, agreed that the proposed 25 percent cut to property taxes simply went a bit too far.

Some 41,600 signatures shy of hitting its mark, the failure of I-864 shows that despite the heavy tax toll we all bear, state residents still hold service above savings. This one would have sliced budgets at fire departments, libraries, cities, counties and ports, leaving huge gaps in the governmental structures that support our standard of living.

Despite coming up nearly one-quarter short on votes for a ballot spot, like Schwarzenegger, he’ll be back. Eyman’s one guy who can turn a failure into a media circus and a media circus into success.

Initiative 864 — in one form or another — will also be back, says Eyman. If it is, we hope it takes into account that the public is fully aware that great savings can also come at a huge cost. As written, I-864’s cost was simply too large for the voting public to accept.

The idea is a sound one, after all, who really likes high taxes? But until we can find a way to pay for the primary needs of our societal body without cutting our own throat, they’ll continue to be as inevitable as the grave.