I call bullshit. As I recall, during the past term Republicans wanted to actually spend more than Democrats. The difference was that they wanted to give more back in tax breaks.

I'll be interested in reading why the shortfall has come. Were the estimated revenues off? If so, then was it an accounting error or are the taxes just not coming in as expected?

I thought the deal was that we had a surplus this year, and that the Governor wanted to sock it away for future deficits, which is the responsible thing to do. The Retardlican party is no longer able to either tell the truth or be responsible, however, so maybe that's why they are outraged. But then again, they are always outraged.

results matter, not lies by those who are worse offenders, which is why Bush and his cronies in the House are down in the polls way way down.

Gov. Gregoire's spokeswoman, Holly Armstrong, called to explain the deficit.

1. She says the deficit was hardly a surprise—"we're just emerging from years of hard times"— and that's exactly why Gregoire and the Democrats set aside $941 million for for future education, healthcare, and pensions costs in the last budget. Armstrong calls the $941 million "money in the bank" to cover basic commitments that prepared the state for anticipated costs "so we could handle any shortfalls."

2. She also says, thanks to the much-improved economy, revenues are coming in higher than projected. Current receipts put the state $83 million above the original $22 billion budget for the '05-'07 biennium. That's good news, given that the $718 million deficit was based on the status quo, rather than steadily increasing revenues.

Isn't Peter Steinbrueck driving to work everyday and chiding the city for driving too much and not using public transit ANOTHER example of pot kettle politics?

If the GOP is running up a deficit (which impacts hundreds of millions of Americans) then they are hypocrites for making political hay out of deficits.

That's ugly pot kettle politics.

If Peter Steinbrueck can pass legislation that enhances mass transit & transpo alternatives for thousands of people, then who cares if he's a hypocrite?

That's gotcha politics.

Who cares? The citizens do: they're more likely to scoff at the idea of using his hundreds of new buses if he and the rest of the city council refuses to use them themselves.

Yes, that matters to the common citizen.

Josh:

You're every bit right to point out the hypocrisy of the state Republican party wailing at the Democrats' budget deficit at the state level, while saying nary a word about the Republicans' budget debacle at the federal level.

But, and this is a major but, that does not excuse the Democrats' actions at the state level. I mean, c'mon, you're seriously going to accept the explanation of Gregoire's spokesperson that the deficit is because "we're just emerging from hard times"? That does not pass the straight face test.

This session all the talk was about a $1.6 billion reserve, the highest in state history. The question is how did we go from there to a projected $718 million deficit in the next budget?

I'll tell you it has nothing to do with "emerging from hard times". We did that awhile back; hence, the $1.6 B reserve.

The answer's rather simple. This budget is 17% higher than the prior budget -- the highest growth, by far, since Gov. Lowry. Yet revenues are expected to grow 10% in the next budget cycle which, by the way, signifies a pretty healthy and robust economy.

What happens when 10% revenue growth runs into 17% spending growth? You have to dip into your reserves in order to sustain the spending. And, in this case, you have to completely drain them and you're still left with a deficit.

None of this is a surprise, as the Gov's spokesperson acknowledges. It's simple math, which the Governor knew when she signed the budget and touted all its "good things."

Such budgeting is irresponsible at the federal level, and it's irresponsible at the state level. It's beneath you to blindly accept the Gov's spokesperson's statement without digging or questioning further.

Cheers,

Donovan

Donovan raises a good point: how (or maybe the better question is... why) did the Stranger overlook the fact that our D-controlled state government went from having a $1.6 billion surplus to a $700+ million deficit?

I just noticed that you've made no effort to bring this up on the Slog.

If his facts are in line, then Donovan's point is valid. However, I still call bullshit. The proposed Republican budget spent nearly as much as the Democrat's passed budget and left less in reserves for the coming shortfall. Republican's plan would have spent more in tax rebates and less on social programs, but the bottom line numbers were only within a few million of each other - nothing near the $700+ million deficit.

By Donovan's logic then, both parties were irresponsible in their proposals. That's what makes the Republican line here hypocritical and it's far more relevant than comparing the national party's debacle to the local party's debacle.

HAHAHA, Democrat controlled legislature with a Democrat governor, and the government takes a big surplus and turns it into a big deficit... find some vague, semantic way to blame the Republicans! Absolve yourselves of all responsibility! Never stop blaming the Republicans, even when you're in the wrong!