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Thursday, March 14, 2013

Olympia State Lawmakers' Jobs Just Got $300 Million Harder

Posted by Goldy on Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 1:03 PM

If you think the legislative session has been contentious thus far, just wait until the budget battle kicks off in earnest, a battle that was just made all the more difficult by the latest caseload forecast, which just grew the budget shortfall by another $300 million, largely due to increased demand for Medicaid services

The total shortfall now stands at $1.3 billion, and that's without the court mandated billion-or-so dollar downpayment on the McCleary decision.

Today's forecast only makes the budget writers' already impossible job even more impossibler. There is absolutely no way that lawmakers can simultaneously close a $1.3 billion gap, add a billion or two more onto K-12 education, maintain higher education spending at current levels, and protect our social safety net, all without raising taxes. Which is exactly what a lot of lawmakers have promised to do.

So something has to give, right? Sure. My guess is that legislators will not in fact make that much talked about "downpayment on McCleary." Only a substantial infusion of new revenue could make that downpayment remotely possible, and I don't see the Republican-controlled Senate allowing that to happen.

But hey, this is what you get for putting ideology ahead of pragmatism.

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They could always do the following:

1. Kill the Deep Borrowed Tunnel that we never could afford (either that or cancel the necessary SR-520 bridge).

2. Expire all tax exemptions, including for non-profits, other than those for small business earnings below $25,000 (median US income).

3. If a tax exemption - AKA TAX GIVEAWAY TO RICH PEOPLE - is still needed, put it on the ballot and let voters decide if they want to maintain these tax exemptions OR INSTEAD pay a flat 1 percent income tax (as our Constitution allows to be created by the legislature) on all earnings, including dividends and capital gains (beyond basic house exemption in statute).

Simple.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on March 14, 2013 at 2:36 PM

@1 - the Deep Bore Tunnel, like all state transportation projects, is funded in a separate Transportation Budget with money dedicated to transportation under the 18th Amendment to the state constitution.

Killing the Tunnel would make funding available for other transportation projects like the 520 bridge, but wouldn't do anything to address the larger General Fund budget problem addressed in the article.

Posted by SuperSteve on March 14, 2013 at 5:30 PM

They should simply ignore McCleary. The Washington Supreme Court has no right to tell the legislature how much money to appropriate for anything.

Posted by Unbrainwashed on March 14, 2013 at 5:35 PM

@2 so you agree it's a good idea. You're just arguing semantics.

The dying Red Districts have no right to tell the job-creating tax-paying Blue Districts anything.

We pay the bills, not them.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on March 14, 2013 at 5:42 PM

They should get rid of the unnecessary bicycle and pedestrian deck on the 520 bridge.

Posted by Unbrainwashed on March 14, 2013 at 6:32 PM