Local View: State’s budget choices require head and heart

Responding to the economic crisis calls for both brains and heart. Yes, the state budget has been hit hard by the recession, and smart minds and sharp pencils are needed. But the number-crunchers can’t forget the human impact of the recession, and need to make humane decisions.

None of the proposals hits that sweet spot yet. But it’ll get there, because we can’t end the special session until we agree on a centrist, moderate budget. It’s time to compromise, and the compromise will be better than any of the extremes.

On the humane, “heart” side of the equation, we are seeing some improvements. The latest Republican-led budget proposal from the Senate no longer includes their earlier cuts to schools and higher education. Good. There’s still some room to go, though. Under that proposal:

14,500 disabled people lose their medical coverage.

10,000 disabled people lose their homes.

3,350 poor families lose income assistance.

12,300 poor families lose their food assistance.

Reforming these services could be productive, but simply eliminating them has human consequences that should be weighed carefully.

On the fiscally responsible, “brain” side of the equation, it’s clear that both the House and Senate budgets have shifts. The House delays payments to schools by one month, a shift worth more than $300 million. The Senate skips a year of pension payments and shifts a pollution clean-up account into the state’s general fund, a shift worth more than $200 million.

Here’s the kicker. Both sides spend almost exactly the same amount. The Senate Republican-controlled budget spends $30.7 billion. The House Democratic-controlled budget spends $30.8 billion. The total difference is two-fifths of 1 percent.

We should have reached compromise a month ago. Government must live within its means, and as we struggle to reach compromise now, we must use our hearts as well as our minds. Since the recession began in 2007, home foreclosures have affected 68,000 of our children in Washington. From 2009 to 2010, 84,000 more Washingtonians slipped into poverty.

Surgical cuts

We’re not going to abandon our neighbors. America has always been both economically powerful and generous of spirit. American strength and responsibility has always included being a member of a team, and standing up for the underdog. The poor, the disabled, the elderly, and the vulnerable are part of our team. They are Americans. They are Washingtonians. They are our neighbors. And we stick up for our own.

Our budgets are about who we are as a people. Inclusive of all faiths and codes of ethics, these times call for meaningful reflection on the sentiment behind the words, “Whatsoever you do to the least of these, that you do unto me.”

The eventual budget compromise should use fewer budget shifts, and it should make surgical cuts that minimize the damage to real human lives. We haven’t seen that solution yet, but I believe we will.

Why? Because this is Washington state, not Washington, D.C. We’ve handled fiscal responsibility much better here. Our state is spending less per person, adjusted for inflation, than it has at any time in the last 25 years. Consider this: If gas prices had followed the same trend as state spending, a gallon of gas would only cost $1.88 today. Washingtonians know that government is supposed to keep its cost to the taxpayers down, and provide good services at a good price.

And, in Washington, we have heart. We know that if we’re well-off, it’s due to hard work, and also partly because we’re just blessed and fortunate. And we therefore have humility, and stand up for the less fortunate when they need a hand.

State Rep. Tim Probst, D-Vancouver, is vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee for Education.