The state’s economy continues to tank, home foreclosures are ongoing and companies are laying off more workers. What should the state do?
To hear some Democrats, the answer is raise taxes.
“I’m assuming there will probably be something that goes on the ballot,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, was quoted as saying the other day. Over in the Senate, Majority Leader Lisa Brown of Spokane said she’ll likely bring ballot-measure ideas to her caucus.
The problem is that the state doesn’t project enough income over the next two years to pay for everything it has on the books now.
The latest revenue forecast now puts the state shortfall at about $8 billion. That’s up from a $6 billion figure the lawmakers faced in November.
And, yes, those are billions, so a real problem exists.
Part of this problem is the state’s own doing. Over the last several years it has added workers, increased wages and benefits and started new programs. Now it wants to continue those efforts. Unfortunately, there’s not enough to do that.
That means cuts or more taxes. Democrats seem to be leaning toward the latter.
This isn’t a rant on Democrats. But that party does control the state House and Senate and Gov. Chris Gregoire is a Democrat, too. Any decision will be theirs to make.
Actually, Gregoire who campaigned on a promise to NOT raise taxes, could duck the problem. Any tax increase measure passed by the Legislature and sent to the ballot would go there without the governor’s signature. Still, her leadership will play a part in whatever is decided.
Democrat murmurings indicate that they would target specific programs to go before the voters. One could be new taxes to pay for health coverage for low-income people. We expect a push for new taxes for other health and safety issues, too.
What we’re sure we won’t see is a call for new taxes to increase state employees’ pay and benefits. That doesn’t pull at the heartstrings like the image of people tossed onto the streets.
It doesn’t have to come to this. Former Gov. Gary Locke instituted budgeting under what it called the Priorities of Government. Lawmakers looked at what the state did, put them in a priority from high to low and then spent its money from top to bottom until it ran out. The lowest priorities got trimmed or eliminated.
The challenge facing the state today is more difficult because the economic squeeze is greater, but the philosophy still is sound.
If paying for health care for the poor is more important than giving state workers pay raises, don’t give the raises. If some wages have to be cut – or some less-needed employees let go, so be it. It’s not like this isn’t happening in the private sector.
What isn’t acceptable is making taxpayers dig deeper into their increasingly empty pockets so the state not only can pay for needs but also wants. Until we’re all out of this recession, those times must be considered long past.
