Published: Sunday, January 11, 2009
Olympia may raise taxes, but carefully
Here are four words you won't hear uttered by any responsible lawmaker this session: sales tax on food.
This state's been there and done that and Republicans haven't been quite the same since.
Voters threw away the tax in 1977. Five years later, with the state facing a budget deficit of a magnitude similar to today's pool of red ink, the Republican-run Legislature voted to re-impose it and Republican Gov. John Spellman signed it into law.
He needed Democratic votes to pass it because so many in his party dissented. Voters didn't care. That fall, Republicans lost a numbers of seats and majority control.
The lesson learned entering the 2009 session is don't mess with food.
That's not to say the ruling Democrats and those who are the heart, soul and force behind the party -- teachers, health care workers, state employees, civil rights activists, environmentalists -- don't plan to pursue raising money from residents in other ways.
They do.
The budget deficit is growing, not shrinking. Barring an economic miracle (the federal bailout won't cover everything), many Democrats view a "revenue package" -- code phrase for taxes -- as necessary to keep programs for the poor and vulnerable from extinction.
It's not clear if they will try to tax the rich, the smokers, the drinkers, the biggest businesses or all of us. Something will get hammered out. Should 50 members of the House of Representatives and 25 in the Senate agree, then Bingo! It will be on the ballot.
Today, the votes aren't all there. Nor is the public anywhere near willing to hike taxes.
For those involved in this pursuit, these next 105 days are critically important for educating their colleagues and the public.
"There's a lot that would be accepted. The ideas need to cook for a long time. Boil would be more like it," said Denny Heck, who served as floor leader for the Democratic minority in 1982.
Voters will want to see a "sense of balance and fairness" in lawmakers' budget-cutting decisions before getting asked the money question.
Richard Davis of the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy warned that raising taxes and eliminating tax breaks may help solve an immediate problem.
But it also would leave the state less able to compete for job-creating businesses when the recession is over, he said.
"There are opportunities to make things better. The likelihood is it is very easy to make things worse," he said.
Spellman broke his 1980 campaign pledge to not raise taxes rather than cut too deeply into education and social service programs.
"I don't know if they can get by without raising taxes. Certainly taxes were the last thing I wanted to do," he said.
"In those dire days, I used to say I wasn't elected to balance the budget. I was elected to do what is necessary."
Political reporter Jerry Cornfield's blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com.
He can be heard at 8:15 a.m. Mondays on KSER (90.7 FM). Contact him at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
This state's been there and done that and Republicans haven't been quite the same since.
Voters threw away the tax in 1977. Five years later, with the state facing a budget deficit of a magnitude similar to today's pool of red ink, the Republican-run Legislature voted to re-impose it and Republican Gov. John Spellman signed it into law.
He needed Democratic votes to pass it because so many in his party dissented. Voters didn't care. That fall, Republicans lost a numbers of seats and majority control.
The lesson learned entering the 2009 session is don't mess with food.
That's not to say the ruling Democrats and those who are the heart, soul and force behind the party -- teachers, health care workers, state employees, civil rights activists, environmentalists -- don't plan to pursue raising money from residents in other ways.
They do.
The budget deficit is growing, not shrinking. Barring an economic miracle (the federal bailout won't cover everything), many Democrats view a "revenue package" -- code phrase for taxes -- as necessary to keep programs for the poor and vulnerable from extinction.
It's not clear if they will try to tax the rich, the smokers, the drinkers, the biggest businesses or all of us. Something will get hammered out. Should 50 members of the House of Representatives and 25 in the Senate agree, then Bingo! It will be on the ballot.
Today, the votes aren't all there. Nor is the public anywhere near willing to hike taxes.
For those involved in this pursuit, these next 105 days are critically important for educating their colleagues and the public.
"There's a lot that would be accepted. The ideas need to cook for a long time. Boil would be more like it," said Denny Heck, who served as floor leader for the Democratic minority in 1982.
Voters will want to see a "sense of balance and fairness" in lawmakers' budget-cutting decisions before getting asked the money question.
Richard Davis of the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy warned that raising taxes and eliminating tax breaks may help solve an immediate problem.
But it also would leave the state less able to compete for job-creating businesses when the recession is over, he said.
"There are opportunities to make things better. The likelihood is it is very easy to make things worse," he said.
Spellman broke his 1980 campaign pledge to not raise taxes rather than cut too deeply into education and social service programs.
"I don't know if they can get by without raising taxes. Certainly taxes were the last thing I wanted to do," he said.
"In those dire days, I used to say I wasn't elected to balance the budget. I was elected to do what is necessary."
Political reporter Jerry Cornfield's blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com.
He can be heard at 8:15 a.m. Mondays on KSER (90.7 FM). Contact him at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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