This has been the elephant in the room, for trying to get anything new done at the State. It shows that our economy is far from ‘back to normal’ as the revenues are still far below needs. From what I’ve heard, our legislators don’t want to hear any asks for anything outside the current needs. It seems that someone, sometime is going to have to start telling the voters that if they want everything they are asking for, our tax system will have to be reformed. There is no way that we can get everything we want, and rely on the system that was such a good idea in 1865, when we had what seemed like unlimited trees to cut, and relied on virtually no big businesses for employment. Now, with the profits from Microsoft, Boeing and other global businesses being funneled into tax havens like Nevada and Delaware, the burden for all these needs falls on the people least able to pay for it, the public. But so many of them don’t want to hear about a progressive income tax. Without increasing new taxes, the burden for implementing McCleary for example, is going to fall on all the other state agencies, such as environmental protection, cleaning up waterways, fish and wildlife, higher ed, and the like. Is this really what you expected when you voted for these new measures? Where did you think the money would come from?
Washington state lawmakers are facing a projected budget gap of more than $2 billion for the next two-year budget ending in mid-2017, in large part due to a new voter-approved initiative to shrink class sizes, according to a state budget outlook released Wednesday. That projected shortfall does not include half of the expected financial obligation needed to increase funding for education as directed by the state Supreme Court, nor does it count the additional amount needed if collective bargaining agreements with state workers are approved. Rachel La Corte reports. (Associated Press)
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/11/19/3497083/washington-state-budget-outlook.html
Filed under: Government | Tagged: budget, washington state |
