Typical knee jerk reaction by Rs.....
State faces nothing but bad choices
Last year was bad. This year is worse. The future won't be much better. That, in a nutshell, describes the state budget mess lawmakers face when the Legislature convenes its 60-day session Monday.
By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times Olympia bureau
OLYMPIA — Last year was bad. This year is worse. The future won't be much better.
That, in a nutshell, describes the state budget mess lawmakers face when the Legislature convenes its 60-day session Monday.
Revenue collections have dropped so fast — by $1.5 billion in the past year, with more declines forecast — that state Treasurer Jim McIntire warned that the government literally could run out of money in a few months.
The state's chief revenue forecaster, Arun Raha, predicts tax collections won't return to their pre-recession peak until fiscal 2012. And Seattle economist Dick Conway, gloomier still, says it might take 10 years for taxable retail sales in the Puget Sound region to recover, adjusted for inflation and population growth.
"This is not a lull," Conway said. "This is really extraordinary."
In other words, unlike past recessions, after which state tax collections bounced back quickly, no one expects that to happen this time.
The question now is, can the state afford to pay for everything it's doing?
That issue underlies an old debate: whether lawmakers should cut their way to a balanced budget or increase taxes to help maintain core services to the poor.
Programs at stake with the state's $2.6 billion shortfall include state-subsidized health insurance for thousands of low-income workers, aid to people who can't work because of disabilities, and financial aid for lower-income college students.
Both Democratic and Republican leaders say cuts are needed, but Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, argues the state can go too far.
"Are we content to lose ground in these areas? Lose health-care coverage? Increase class sizes and see the quality of life decline? Or are we going to take a stand and say we are committed to making improvements in these things even despite the tough economy?" Brown said last week. "We are committed despite the tough economy to not losing ground and to moving forward."
Republicans argue for cuts and for restructuring the way the state does business, not higher taxes.
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