“Since the recession slammed into us three years ago, we’ve slashed more than $10 billion in basic social services and essential public programs. Thousands of state employees have been riffed. Still, a few folks chant that old, worn-out ‘Cut the fat, find the waste, end the inefficiency’ mantra. Sorry. That threadbare bromide is way past its pull date.
“The governor has put everything on the chopping table, proposing a mostly all-cuts budget. Hardest hit, as always, is our investment in education, K-12 as well as colleges and universities, and our duty to provide a social safety net, such as the Washington Basic Health program. To me, the lion’s share of budget-cutting has been foisted on these programs long enough. Special interests, that comparatively comfortable segment of the economy with plenty of people carrying their water, have fared plenty well.
“Our regressive, consumer-dependent tax system staggers on, however, underperforming as always. And as always, an avid, invariably cohesive throng has clamored effectively against effective, meaningful reform.
“How about a new approach? How about instead of telling thousands of elderly and disabled people to be still and tighten their belts, instead of telling thousands of poor people to be calm and keep clam, instead of telling thousands of schoolchildren to behave and endure larger classes — how about we look at repealing outrageous tax breaks that have sailed under the radar of any kind of rational reform for far too long?
“True, the governor floats the notion of raising the sales tax, the very tax that slams hardest at the people who are facing the worst of these bad times. Maybe I could fathom supporting such a maneuver if it’s part of a much larger drive to close substantial tax loopholes currently favoring out-of-state shoppers, for instance, and out-of-touch Wall Street banks.
“Although we didn’t create this economic mess, we’ll step up to the job of fixing it. We are one Washington, and we don’t turn our backs on neighbors in need. We must re-establish our momentum on a strong foundation of safe, healthy, educated, and hard-working citizens. And we must advocate opportunities for every one of our workers, our small businesses, and our cutting-edge industries.”