Gov. Inslee’s budget essentially follows priorities my House Democratic colleagues and I have advanced the past several months. Specifically, his proposal reflects my commitment to our major obligations in:
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Meeting our constitutional duty to adequately fund basic education, including closing inappropriate tax breaks as a way to establish stronger, more reliable education-funding.
- Protecting our state’s safety net.
- Making targeted investments in state government.
- Embracing Medicaid expansion.
For sure, Gov. Inslee’s budget makes a strong commitment to public education. His plan starts down the path to fully fund our K-12 schools — without sacrificing other vital state services for children, senior citizens, and disabled folks.
In the weeks ahead, you better believe we’ll take a close look at the governor’s revenue recommendations. One thing is certain: It’s high time to reform our current revenue system, a system rigged against middle-class families and their schoolkids.
More than ever in recent years, we’ve scrubbed the budget in search of cuts and efficiencies. We’ve searched high and low to eliminate any public services that simply aren’t doing the job legislators before us set them up to do. During this Great Recession that’s just now releasing its death grip, we’ve cut into services middle-class families have counted on for decades — basic-education funding, for example — in order to balance the budget.
Are there tax loopholes that don’t provide a measurable benefit to our society? If so, it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s only fair that such loopholes are re-evaluated. We must make sure our tax policies deliver the benefits they were intended to deliver. The education of our children is far too important to continue the enabling of chronic tax injustice.