Living on Borrowed Time

Washington Budget Woes

          While the attention is focused on our nation’s capital where our President is creating chaos with his on again off again tariffs and DOGE shenanigans, we are missing state budget deliberations that will have significant ramifications on our wallets. Our legislature and ex-governor have left us with a sixteen-billion-dollar budget shortfall. Our state constitution requires a balanced budget, so the difference must be reconciled.

          The house and senate have each prepared proposals, but Governor Ferguson announced he would not sign either one. Our lawmakers recommend we increase taxes without reducing any of our current state expenditures. The Governor demands we evaluate existing programs for cuts before we raise taxes. He did not specify, however, which programs would be viable candidates.

          A very wise man once told me that government programs are easy to establish but impossible to eliminate. They tend to grow and fiercely resist reduction. Until recently, families were responsible to provide meals for their children. The school lunch program now makes that a state responsibility. Humanitarian aid for the poor, once a function of the church, now belongs to the state. As the state assumes more and more responsibilities, program recipients become dependent on government. Free lunches become a birth right as does a state supported standard of living.

          Our founding fathers never considered a threat to democracy from within. It has come to pass, however, that the greatest danger to our system of government is politicians who discover they can buy votes with public money.  Recent history shows that our representatives have been buying favors at an ever-increasing rate.  When Governor Inslee was elected, our state had a budget surplus; but as he added environmental and social programs, the surplus soon turned into a deficit. A shortfall that grew at an exponential rate to its current level of sixteen billion dollars.

          We cannot continue overspending at the rate we are. Income and expenditures must balance Our legislature, however, is only considering one side of the equation - tax increases. One published suggestion is an additional $.50 tax on gasoline. Less than a mile from the Newport Miner’s office, across the state line in Idaho, signs advertise regular gas for $3.25, while in Washington it is $3.85. “Tax the Rich” advocates call for a tax on unrealized capital gains, a wealth tax, and increased taxes on property – to include your homes. I’m not sure how a payroll tax is different from an income tax, but it’s on the list, as is an increased fee for my fishing license. Still there are no proposals to reduce state government spending. The system is broken.

Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and long-time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free-lance columnist for over 20 years.