Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director
(360) 956-3482

Chicken Littles in our midst

By Marsha Richards, Evergreen Freedom Foundation
The din from state officials started with Tuesday's revenue forecast: "The revenue is falling! The revenue is falling!"

Only the revenue isn't falling.

In fact, state revenues are increasing next biennium by $1.6 billion, or 7.6 percent, or 60 percent faster than inflation. The $300 million "drop" we keep hearing about is a drop in the total expected increase, which was forecasted to be $1.9 billion before Tuesday's update.

What this means is that our state does not have a revenue problem and taxpayers can breathe out any misplaced guilt in one slow, circular breath.

No, our state has a spending problem. Namely, spending is out-of-control. The bureaucrats in charge right now seem to have trouble with the concept of "spending within your means." It's a concept many private citizens around the state are becoming intimately acquainted with as they tighten their belts and send out resumes in hopes of replacing their lost jobs.

Irresponsible spending is the reason we're facing a $2 billion deficit next biennium in spite of a $1.6 billion increase in collections. It's the reason the governor and state lawmakers had to scramble to patch a $1.5 billion hole in the budget this biennium.

Unfortunately, while they patched the hole, they didn't stop the leak. They used one-time revenue gimmicks to pay for new, ongoing state programs. Even worse, they borrowed money on the tobacco securitization settlement to collect a one-time windfall that will cost taxpayers $150 million every biennium from now to infinity. The programs will still be here next biennium; the money won't.

As spending continues at its current unsustainable rate the problem gets bigger every single day.

Meanwhile, Washington has moved into first place for the highest unemployment in the nation. We're second only to Georgia in number of jobs lost during the recession. Dubious distinctions indeed.

Governor Locke and state legislators need to take serious action—today—to address this crisis (the way other states have taken serious action and addressed their own budget woes). This means calling a special session to make some tough and mature decisions. The sky isn't falling and neither is the revenue, but the spending needs to.

Marsha Richards is the Communications Director for the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, an Olympia-based policy research organization.

Evergreen Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 552, Olympia, WA 98507 Phone: (360) 956-3482, Fax: (360) 352-1874 Email: effwa@effwa.org