9 Billion Short Last Year--2 Billion Short This Year What is Washington to Do

[basketballdad]

Just wondering what all the political animals think about our states projected 2 billion dollar deficit for this coming up legislature. With only a couple of months before they have to deal with it what is our government going to do? Not going to be anymore federal stimulus money to offset deficit. They did not raise any general taxes last time. Can they avoid it again? Any yes there is waste in government but where is 2 billion dollars worth? Just wondering?

[yote19]

BBD--you are the rah rah guy for our great state liberal govt.  What do you think Christine should do?  I know one good fix---resign.

[basketballdad]

What is the the "Day of Avoiding the Subject" day. Admittedly, I voted for Gov. Gregorie and am a Democrat. Not a secret there. However, if you read my post on how to the states economy going I had many ideas that even EW would agree with. Labels are handy for the simple minded but it takes a lot more than that to solve the problem. Since everyone is shy I will start. As far as the revenue side I would gladly pile on the sin taxes. No problem there. Although I would love to see  a progressive state income tax combined with a reduction in the sales tax that is not politically feasible. Since I am practical as while as idealistic I will wait for another day for that idea. I am against a general sales tax increase since it is regressive and tied to a rapidly changing economy. I hate to agree with my conservative friends but property taxes are more than high enough. As much as I would like to see some of the tax incentives switch from big business to small business this is not the time.I would continue to freeze all COLA's for state employees and teachers. (this has been going on for a while and teachers actually took a pay cut when the state took away a LID day) Much as this would negatively impact me but I am just thankful for a job so can buck up for another year. I would like at easing the prison system by encouraging alternative sentencing options for non violent offenders. When I think of criminals the ones I want put away for a long time are those that physically hurt people. Begin privitazation of the liquor system to see who it works. Just a few thoughts.

[EWSoccer64]

BBDad, and everyone else,

My wife is a lawyer who works for the state.  Between unions, higher payments towards this and that (mandated), particularly insurance, and lack of pay increases, her net pay has acutally gone down the last three years.  In the meantime, the number of beaurocrats working for the government has actually increased.  And the average pay/compensation for the increased positions (at the federal level at least) has been higher than what she, an experienced attorney, makes.   ( I told her that she should have gone into tax law, if she had I would be sitting pretty and not have to slave away at my own business right now!)

The increased activism by the state beaurocrats is driving - in and of itself - more small businesses in this state out of business.   Our stimulus money, going to state government autocrats, is actually working to depress the economy by driving businesses under.   I was actually told that to meet a new Olympia directed beaurocratic fiat directive, I should apply to get a "stimulus loan" to meet the new requirements.   Err, a loan is something that you have to repay.  (Unless you are the government).    The government solution is to create more problems, have people borrow from the government (and become more under their thumb) to address the problems, and raise costs for everyone, while being under more government control every step of the way.

The situation is bad and getting worse.   But the (private practice) lawyers are gettting rich.

EW64

[goldengoal]

Just wondering what all the political animals think about our states projected 2 billion dollar deficit for this coming up legislature. With only a couple of months before they have to deal with it what is our government going to do? Not going to be anymore federal stimulus money to offset deficit. They did not raise any general taxes last time. Can they avoid it again? Any yes there is waste in government but where is 2 billion dollars worth? Just wondering?

Yes we can get rid of it with 2 solutions:

1. A liberal tax where you tax just those people who want government programs that we can not afford.

2. NO- if you can't afford it, say NO If we need to help our neighbors then let us do it, I don't need the government to tell me who I should help

[HandBall]

Just wondering what all the political animals think about our states projected 2 billion dollar deficit for this coming up legislature. With only a couple of months before they have to deal with it what is our government going to do? Not going to be anymore federal stimulus money to offset deficit. They did not raise any general taxes last time. Can they avoid it again? Any yes there is waste in government but where is 2 billion dollars worth? Just wondering?

First, no way on new taxes. This state government has exploded over the last 3 decades and doesn't need or deserve another penny.  Since 1980 the great state of Washington has increased its budget at an annual rate of 7%. That is nearly double the growth of the Federal Budget.

And what of priorities? The current biennial budget spends $25.2 billion on Education, with $15.65 billion on 1.038 million PK-12th grade, or $7,500 per student per year from the state. But in my local school district, state funds account for about 70% of funding, meaning average funding per student should be well over $10k per student, but in my local district it is roughly $8,300. So were is the rest of the money going?

In the 2009-2011 biennial budget of $58,726,000,000, all Education funding, the most important and critical expenditure for any state government, accounts for just 43% of the total budget. You want to know where to start cutting? DSHS and other Human Services amount now, in the age of the progressive welfare state, to a whopping $25 billion, with another $4 billion on government operations. These two pieces of the budget account for over half the state budget annually now.

For comparison, in the 91-93 biennium, DSHS and Human Services made up $9.1 billion of a $25 billion budget, or 36% of the total budget. Education was $11.5 billion, or 46% of the total.

So my answer is simple. We're spending a smaller percentage on Education now than 20 years ago, down 3% of the total budget. Welfare spending is up over 6.2% of the total budget. Cutting social spending 6% would save $1.5 billion. Then go after Government Operations that has grown by 137% in 20 years and we'll have money left over to boost Education back to where it was.

And not one thin dime more needs to be taken from the taxpayers.

[vms]

I am against tax increases in general but do believe we can increase revenue thru sin taxes AND legalizing marijuana.
And educational spending here is a joke!

 PUBLIC SCHOOL SPENDING
The District of Columbia spent more money per student ($13,187) than any state in the country in 2001-2002, according to a June 2004 report by the U.S. Census Bureau. Near the top of the list were New York ($11,546), New Jersey ($11,436), Connecticut ($10,001) and Massachusetts ($9,856).

The following list shows spending by state, and the nationwide ranking among states:

State Per-pupil spending ($) Rank
Alabama 6,115 44
Alaska 9,586 7
Arizona 5,524 49
Arkansas 6,119 43
California 7,511 23
Colorado 6,884 34
Connecticut 10,001 4
Delaware 9,271 8
District of Columbia 13,187 1
Florida 6,056 45
Georgia 7,340 26
Hawaii 7,253 28
Idaho 5,923 48
Illinois 8,022 17
Indiana 7,580 22
Iowa 7,305 27
Kansas 7,052 29
Kentucky 6,493 40
Louisiana 6,519 38
Maine 8,351 15
Maryland 8,507 13
Massachusetts 9,856 5
Michigan 8,489 14
Minnesota 7,691 20
Mississippi 5,382 50
Missouri 7,018 31
Montana 7,027 30
Nebraska 7,418 25
Nevada 6,034 46
New Hampshire 7,750 18
New Jersey 11,436 3
New Mexico 6,606 37
New York 11,546 2
North Carolina 6,511 39
North Dakota 6,728 36
Ohio 8,100 16
Oklahoma 6,256 42
Oregon 7,621 21
Pennsylvania 8,841 10
Rhode Island 9,178 9
South Carolina 6,984 32
South Dakota 6,319 41
Tennessee 5,984 47
Texas 6,746 35
Utah 4,890 51
Vermont 9,678 6
Virginia 7,501 24
Washington 6,894 33 ---------------almost half of DC!
West Virginia 7,748 19
Wisconsin 8,574 12
Wyoming 8,667 11

[EWSoccer64]

Funny how the three "states" that spend the most money per pupil have some of the worst public schools in the nation.   Hell, I would not wish the DC school system (most expensive in the nation, apparently) upon the kids of my worst enemies.  I'd let my own kids play for ECFC before I would let them go to school in a public school in DC.

Money is obvlisously not the answer, at least not all of it.
Reduce ESL classes to a maximum of one year and then put the kids into the regular classes.  Cut the administrators that are not in the school buildings in half.  Those two things will save Washington Schools probably 10% of their budget. 

[HandBall]

I'm weird in that I like to know what the numbers say, and tend to ignore what the papers tell me since I don't trust them to represent anything truthful related to politics. So I went to Fiscal.wa.gov today and did some research on budgets. And as is the case when one relies on the numbers and not the rhetoric and what passes for news these days, the truth is the truth.

We have to face reality. Numbers don't lie. After adjusting for inflation from 1981 to present, which means basically that it takes $2.33 to buy what $1 did in 1981, the social welfare state in Washington has more than tripled in spending in less than three decades. In comparison, while the total state budget has slightly more than doubled, so has Education, including K-12, Higher Education and additional Education spending. Reasonable or not, that doubling of the budget over the 28 years amounts to a 2.5% annual growth rate. That is about double the population growth, so on its face the state budget has ballooned well beyond the effects of population and inflation. That said,  so where is the unsustainable growth that has gotten us into this mess? Yes, it's the Social Spending, DSHS and other Human Services.

At about $25 billion this biennium, this Social Spending has grown to three times was it was in 1981, or about 4% a year, or roughly 4 times the population growth of the state and again, AFTER adjusting for inflation. If this Social Spending had grown at the same pace as the rest of state spending or Education funding, it would be costing $9 billion less today than it's whopping $25 billion biennial price-tag, or about $16 billion; double it's inflation adjusted $8 billion 1981 price-tag.

So how did we get here? The reality is that Democrats win elections by giving away other people's money. They raise taxes to allow themselves to give away other people's money. People who pay the ever-increasing tax burden are sick and tired of it, and sick and tired of people on the receiving end attacking our charity, our Americanism, and our right to keep a simple majority of what we work for and earn. The left has so warped the dependency class, that they now feel they have a right to what others earn, and any embarrassment or shame in being a burden on others has all but disappeared in our welfare state thinking.

The harsh reality, though, is that the Welfare State cannot survive by growing and taking more of what the earners work for. States and even our federal welfare state are bankrupt today with promises they can't keep, and a burgeoning dependency class that expects even more from their elected poverty pimps in government at both state and federal levels.

We've reached that point where the line has to be drawn. (We're actually way beyond it, but must make a last stand.) Any budget deficits must not force further sacrifice in Education or other government responsibilities that citizens traditionally pay taxes to fund. Deficits cannot be allowed to further extort revenue from the working class, which is the road to economic ruin and ultimately, to economic collapse for the entire American society. What will follow will be tyranny that Americans don't even understand, let alone are prepared to live under.

It is the Welfare state that has grown to unmanageable levels and that is where the cuts must come. Leave it to communities to pick up the slack and demand that your political leaders stop spending our money to buy votes. Will it be easy to adjust to a reduction in the government-provided welfare state? No. But the alternative is collapse and ruin. No one will even be around to help if that happens.

Cut DSHS. Cut Social Services. That is where the big savings can come, and that is where a safety net once existed and can exist again if government gets out of the dependency game.

[HuskyDawg]

BBD--you are the rah rah guy for our great state liberal govt.  What do you think Christine should do?  I know one good fix---resign.

What she is GOING to do is RAISE TAXES......Limit Spending?  Reduce Govt work force?  Act like a REAL business?  No F-ing way.....And to think she has the balls to blame the Federal Govt for our problems.  Who the hell was running the State during the last administration?  Look in the flipping mirror Christine!

[Squash]

BBD--you are the rah rah guy for our great state liberal govt.  What do you think Christine should do?  I know one good fix---resign.

What she is GOING to do is RAISE TAXES......Limit Spending?  Reduce Govt work force?  Act like a REAL business?  No F-ing way.....And to think she has the balls to blame the Federal Govt for our problems.  Who the hell was running the State during the last administration?  Look in the flipping mirror Christine!

If any form of government cannot seem to follow budgets and run things like a real business then how do they ever expect people to follow rules and do things right? I'm 100% in agreement with you on this......lead by example Bish!!!

I'm personally tired of being taxed and getting basically nothing in return. Enough fat fat fat for the government.