Published: Friday, December 19, 2008
IN OUR VIEW
Gregoire's budget plan: Painful but responsible
Gov. Chris Gregoire nailed one prediction: No one likes her proposed budget.
That was an easy call, of course. Closing a deficit of nearly $6 billion -- a figure that could still grow -- can't be done without huge cuts in education and social services.
But we applaud the governor for sticking to her oft-repeated campaign pledge to oppose higher taxes. A recession isn't the time to demand more from citizens or employers, a principle she reiterated as she unveiled her 2009-11 budget Thursday.
State government, like families, businesses, cities and counties throughout the state, must live within its means. Gregoire's budget almost does that -- she's counting on almost $1 billion from a federal economic stimulus package to help pay for Medicaid and other social needs, an assumption she thinks is safe after meeting with President-elect Obama earlier this month. If that money doesn't come through, deeper cuts will be necessary. The same applies if the March revenue forecast is down again, a possibility that borders on probability.
Howls of protest rose quickly Thursday. State employees, including teachers, aren't happy about having pay increases suspended for two years. They'll get little sympathy from private sector workers who aren't seeing raises -- if they're keeping their jobs at all -- or from Snohomish County employees who may be taking unpaid leaves of absence next year to prevent more of their colleagues from being laid off.
Social service advocates argue that the ax is falling disproportionately on the least vulnerable, as it always does in hard times. Minimizing that is one of the most important challenges facing legislative budget writers.
Gregoire seems committed to leading the state through this difficult period without mortgaging its future. Her proposed cuts to higher education fall less harshly on community and technical colleges, for example, which are at the forefront of retraining workers who have lost their jobs. And by refusing to put a bigger tax burden on the business sector, which fuels economic growth that leads to stronger state revenues, the governor is sending an important message to potential employers: Washington will continue to be a good place to do business.
In such hard times, it's not possible to produce a budget that anyone likes. But by funding the state's most important functions without increasing the tax burden, the governor's proposal sets a responsible course for lawmakers to follow.
That was an easy call, of course. Closing a deficit of nearly $6 billion -- a figure that could still grow -- can't be done without huge cuts in education and social services.
But we applaud the governor for sticking to her oft-repeated campaign pledge to oppose higher taxes. A recession isn't the time to demand more from citizens or employers, a principle she reiterated as she unveiled her 2009-11 budget Thursday.
State government, like families, businesses, cities and counties throughout the state, must live within its means. Gregoire's budget almost does that -- she's counting on almost $1 billion from a federal economic stimulus package to help pay for Medicaid and other social needs, an assumption she thinks is safe after meeting with President-elect Obama earlier this month. If that money doesn't come through, deeper cuts will be necessary. The same applies if the March revenue forecast is down again, a possibility that borders on probability.
Howls of protest rose quickly Thursday. State employees, including teachers, aren't happy about having pay increases suspended for two years. They'll get little sympathy from private sector workers who aren't seeing raises -- if they're keeping their jobs at all -- or from Snohomish County employees who may be taking unpaid leaves of absence next year to prevent more of their colleagues from being laid off.
Social service advocates argue that the ax is falling disproportionately on the least vulnerable, as it always does in hard times. Minimizing that is one of the most important challenges facing legislative budget writers.
Gregoire seems committed to leading the state through this difficult period without mortgaging its future. Her proposed cuts to higher education fall less harshly on community and technical colleges, for example, which are at the forefront of retraining workers who have lost their jobs. And by refusing to put a bigger tax burden on the business sector, which fuels economic growth that leads to stronger state revenues, the governor is sending an important message to potential employers: Washington will continue to be a good place to do business.
In such hard times, it's not possible to produce a budget that anyone likes. But by funding the state's most important functions without increasing the tax burden, the governor's proposal sets a responsible course for lawmakers to follow.
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