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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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In Our View: Inslee Must Respect Voters

When it comes to new taxes, governor should revert to his stance as a candidate

The Columbian
Published:

With lawmakers facing a difficult budget-writing session in the new year, Gov. Jay Inslee sounds much different from candidate Jay Inslee.

A little more than two years ago, while running for governor, Inslee said, “I would veto anything that heads the wrong direction, and the wrong direction is new taxes in the state of Washington.” But on Thursday, Inslee is expected to unveil a proposed state budget that will include at least $1 billion in new revenue. And in government-speak, “new revenue” means taxes.

Certainly, the needs of state government can change over time. The economic landscape continually evolves, and state revenue forecasts can be fluid. But, given the status of the economy, Inslee’s change of heart is all the more curious. For the coming biennium, budget writers are expected to have $3 billion more than in the current biennium, thanks to an improving economy. True, they have been handed a multi-billion-dollar bill to adequately fund K-12 public education — but that invoice was handed down in early 2012 and comes as no surprise. In other words, little has changed to trigger Inslee’s flip-flop. But government’s insatiable desire to perpetuate itself through the contributions of taxpayers has remained inviolate. This, despite repeated messages from voters that should be easy to interpret.

In 2012, 64 percent of statewide voters approved Initiative 1185, making it more difficult for lawmakers to raise taxes. Portions of the initiative were declared unconstitutional in 2013, but the will of the people was clear. Then, in 2014, Republicans made gains in elections in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Considering that Republicans have clung to a mantra of “no new taxes,” it should be easy for Inslee to interpret the will of the electorate.

According to the Office of Financial Management, state government is facing a $2.35 billion shortfall for the 2015-17 spending cycle. About $1.2 billion of that would go toward meeting the K-12 spending provisions spelled out in the state Supreme Court’s McCleary v. Washington decision. Another $600 million is raises for state employees, and $400 million would go toward cost-of-living pay increases for teachers.

To close that $2.35 billion gap, Inslee is proposing more tax increases than cuts, while critics have called upon him to implement reforms that can save money. Sen. Andy Hill, R-Redmond, told The Seattle Times’ Jonathan Martin, “In the last two budgets I’ve written, he’s resisted violently booking any savings based on ‘lean management.’ ” Hill added that Inslee should borrow from former Gov. Gary Locke’s “Priorities of Government,” which forced state agencies to rank the importance of their work. “That only works if you have an executive willing to say, ‘No, I need you to really tell me what your high priorities are.’ “

David Schumacher, director of the Office of Financial Management, countered that, “After seven years of cuts, the ability to get significant amounts of revenue from ‘efficiencies’ is just not there anymore.” By law, the governor also is required to submit a second budget that includes no new revenue, and Schumacher said that plan will require cuts to universities, social services and prisons. Republicans, meanwhile, have been reluctant to suggest which programs will face cuts without new taxes.

Certainly, there are no easy answers. But the governor is starting the process based upon a faulty premise. Rather than proposing tax increases and moving forward from there, Inslee should sound more like candidate Inslee. Voters have indicated that is their preference.

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