TOP HEADLINES

2010 I-960 Tax and Fee Increase Bills
May 21, 2010
The Freedom Foundation, using cost projections determined by the Office of Financial Management, has completed its list of tax and fee increases as defined by Initiative 960. Taxes and fees will increase nearly $1.1 billion during the current 2009-11 biennium. In total, 29 bills that raised taxes or fees received final legislative approval in 2010.

2010 Washington State Budget Wrap-Up
April 28, 2010
I’ve taken to labeling the 2010 legislative session as the “Year of Kamikaze.” The name describes not only the Democratic majority’s actions, but also the financial course they have set for our state, and hopefully, their political careers.

Financial State of the State: It’s the Day of Reckoning
March 11, 2010
Gov. Gregoire and Democrat leaders have crafted a financially irresponsible budget. They are postponing necessary spending reductions, perhaps hoping for a miracle of sorts. But in political eschatology, it’s the day of reckoning.

State Employee Contracts, Unfunded Liabilities Unsustainable
March 11, 2010
Policy Highlighter
Already put-upon taxpayers face a future fiscal tidal wave thanks to generous state employee contracts and unfunded healthcare and pension liabilities. Even as Gov. Gregoire repeatedly talks about the dire condition of the state’s economy—“the worst recession since the Great Depression”—she refuses to declare a fiscal emergency and require union contracts to be renegotiated. Meanwhile, majority party lawmakers, rather than getting spending under control, are busy considering a myriad of tax increases.

Growth of Washington State Spending 1997-99 through 2009-11
March 2010
Over the last decade or so, total state spending has rapidly outpaced inflation and population growth.

Up Front: Have there been enough cuts in the state budget?
March 1, 2010
Bob Williams, founder and Senior Fellow of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, and Amber Gunn, director of Economic Policy at the Freedom Foundation, discuss the state budget on King 5’s Sunday morning news talk show.

The Economic Impact of a 1% Increase in the Washington State Sales Tax
February 12, 2010
Policy Highlighter
The Washington State Legislature is considering House Bill 3183, which would “temporarily” increase the state sales tax by 1 percent. The bill includes a sunset clause that would reduce the tax increase by 0.5 percent if the state unemployment rate falls to 6.5 percent for four consecutive months, and would eliminate the tax increase if the unemployment rate falls to 5 percent for four consecutive months.

20,000 Washingtonians Tell Lawmakers “Hands Off Our Wallets” Unlike petition for tax hikes, legislative leadership nowhere to be found
January 28, 2010
More than 20,000 signatures from citizens across Washington state were submitted to legislative leaders today, asking them to balance the budget within existing revenues. Among those present were Lynn Harsh and Amber Gunn of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, along with 20 concerned citizens.

Despite Claims to the Contrary, State Employee Contracts can be Changed
January 7, 2010
To close the state’s $2.6 billion budget deficit, Governor Gregoire would rather propose tax increases than modify one of the state’s largest expenses—state worker salaries and benefits. In a December press conference, the governor said unions will sue if she tinkers with contract recommendations, but our state’s collective bargaining laws allow labor agreements to be modified in the event of a significant revenue shortfall.

The States and the Stimulus
January 2, 2010
The Wall Street Journal
A study by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation…found that “because Washington state lawmakers accepted $820 million in education stimulus dollars, only 9 percent of the state's $6.8 billion K-12 budget is eligible for reductions in fiscal year 2010 or 2011.”

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