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News & ArtsTuesday, April 13, 2010
Olympia A Budget!
Posted by Eli Sanders on Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 1:49 PM
It's all over in Olympia, after legislators finally managed to agree on how to fill the state's $2.8 billion budget hole (by taxing your beer and candy, among other things).
Hey, it was either that or taking away Basic Health and other essential public services.
"We are standing behind the people of Washington State and the things they care about," said senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown in a statement. "We did the right thing."
1
I think this will cause me to vote Republican in the next election. Democrats have become their own stereotype.
3
Taxing stuff I don't consume to pay for services I don't need.
Gregoire gets my vote in the next election.
Gregoire gets my vote in the next election.
5
So they spent more than 50 percent of the budget on K-12 and increased higher ed funding like I-728 and I-732 told them to?
...
oh, then NO, they didn't do their job.
...
oh, then NO, they didn't do their job.
6
@4 - highways and prisons. Cut MJ enforcement and you don't need the latter. Change MJ to a fine and it's a revenue stream - use it for higher ed funding (that would be cool).
8
Hopefully when next year rolls around they'll bite the bullet and pass the high-earners income tax. And while they're at it, they can ditch the B&O tax and apply the new income tax to businesses.
9
so what's the word on the privatization of liquor stores?? is this going to happen? is it a good thing? does this mean i'll be able to buy liquor until 2am now? why isn't this a good idea?
10
"So what should be cut to fill the gap? "
State workers salaries, benefits and retirement funds. Across the board.
Of course, these taxes don't really affect me. I do all my big online purchases out of state so probably safe $1000 K in sales taxes that way.
State workers salaries, benefits and retirement funds. Across the board.
Of course, these taxes don't really affect me. I do all my big online purchases out of state so probably safe $1000 K in sales taxes that way.
12
@10 - half of those "state workers" are people working on federal or private grants, for which the state acts as a pass-thru for - if you cut that, the grant money gets spent in other states by the feds and the state gets even MORE unemployment (it cascades).
LOL.
Cut the prisons.
LOL.
Cut the prisons.
13
I don't get why allowing anyone passing a criminal & credit check to open a liquor store, order their spirits, and sell it would be a bad thing. It works quite fine as a system in New England where I'm from. You tax it all, and bang, insta-revenue at no cost to the state. And you're not limited to just what the state feels like carrying, then.
It's ghetto, but my wife and I both like the Bacardi Big Apple Rum in mixed drinks for sipping. You can't buy it at our stores--they stopped ordering it 3~ years ago. I know because I cleaned out the last three bottles in the stores by Broadway and 12th over a year ago. What if someone else wanted a weird scotch? Some vendor could order it for them rather than the people ordering online.
That keeps the tax revenue local as well.
Seriously, why would this a bad thing? I don't get it.
It's ghetto, but my wife and I both like the Bacardi Big Apple Rum in mixed drinks for sipping. You can't buy it at our stores--they stopped ordering it 3~ years ago. I know because I cleaned out the last three bottles in the stores by Broadway and 12th over a year ago. What if someone else wanted a weird scotch? Some vendor could order it for them rather than the people ordering online.
That keeps the tax revenue local as well.
Seriously, why would this a bad thing? I don't get it.
15
@14 - enough that we should give all released prisoners a map to his house and when he isn't home.
18
@4 Prisons, Government salary (you note that nobody there took a pay cut except to not get paid as much for their OT), homeless shelters, highway patrol, drug enforcement.
And why tax beers unevenly? Why not tax church property? Why raise taxes on the very people who are struggling to begin with, but letting the rich get out of a lot of those taxes? This is a shitty compromise and the Democrats should be ashamed of themselves.
And why tax beers unevenly? Why not tax church property? Why raise taxes on the very people who are struggling to begin with, but letting the rich get out of a lot of those taxes? This is a shitty compromise and the Democrats should be ashamed of themselves.
20
@10:
I can't imagine there's anything you could possibly afford that would allow you to "safe $1000 K" a year in WA sales tax.
Do the math (and the spelling - if you can) eejit.
I can't imagine there's anything you could possibly afford that would allow you to "safe $1000 K" a year in WA sales tax.
Do the math (and the spelling - if you can) eejit.
22
@21 the quote was "$1000k" which is $1,000,000"
$1000k=one thousand thousand, which is a million, right?
$1000k=one thousand thousand, which is a million, right?
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