Published: Sunday, July 25, 2010
IN OUR VIEW / STATE BUDGET
Resetting our expectations
Re-aligning the state budget with the stark fiscal realities we face -- now and in the coming years -- is going to require some entirely new ways of thinking.
Judging from the input the governor, her budget staff and members of her Committee on Transforming Washington's Budget received at a public hearing Wednesday night at Everett Community College, we have a long way to go.
Most of the nearly 50 speakers spent their allotted two minutes expounding on why the program or funding area they care about shouldn't face further cuts.
Their reasoning, by and large, was compelling. Support for family care-givers saves money in the long run. Food-bank and nutritional programs are already some of the state's most efficient. Early education for low-income children pays a lifetime of dividends. College tuition hikes are limiting access. Preventing youth suicide is a core value. So are services for homeless veterans.
Who can argue against any of that? But the notion that state government can absorb responsibility for all of our values has been shot down by billions in recent budget shortfalls, another projected $3 billion deficit for the 2011-13 budget, and even deeper pools of red ink in the following years.
Revenues are down -- way down -- and they're not expected to rebound strongly in the near future. Meanwhile, lots of expenses are up, as cash-strapped families move kids from private to public school, and joblessness increases Medicaid enrollments.
State government must reset itself to these realities. Accordingly, we all must reset our expectations of what it can and should deliver.
Some speakers Wednesday night did focus on the big picture and offer constructive suggestions. Look at privatizing some major government entities -- ports, ferries, liquor sales. Consider creative ways to reduce health insurance costs for state workers. Direct more education dollars away from administration and into classrooms. Let knowledgeable, experienced, energetic people cut through the red tape and get a teaching certificate. Charge day-use fees for parks and other recreational activities.
No idea, by itself, will solve the ongoing budget problem. Many good ideas, taken together, can.
The governor, her budget staff and her budget transformation committee want your input, and they've launched a website to capture it: transformwabudget.ideascale.com. Take a look at the more than 1,500 suggestions already posted (as of Friday) and see if they spark some of your own.
But resist the urge simply to lobby for your own area of interest. If you must, at least also offer a concrete suggestion or two for what the state can do more efficiently, or what it can stop doing. Think about services that a nonprofit or some other private entity could deliver. Or any way the state can save money and still deliver the services that are most essential.
The fiscal crisis we face is real. The solutions must be, too.
Judging from the input the governor, her budget staff and members of her Committee on Transforming Washington's Budget received at a public hearing Wednesday night at Everett Community College, we have a long way to go.
Most of the nearly 50 speakers spent their allotted two minutes expounding on why the program or funding area they care about shouldn't face further cuts.
Their reasoning, by and large, was compelling. Support for family care-givers saves money in the long run. Food-bank and nutritional programs are already some of the state's most efficient. Early education for low-income children pays a lifetime of dividends. College tuition hikes are limiting access. Preventing youth suicide is a core value. So are services for homeless veterans.
Who can argue against any of that? But the notion that state government can absorb responsibility for all of our values has been shot down by billions in recent budget shortfalls, another projected $3 billion deficit for the 2011-13 budget, and even deeper pools of red ink in the following years.
Revenues are down -- way down -- and they're not expected to rebound strongly in the near future. Meanwhile, lots of expenses are up, as cash-strapped families move kids from private to public school, and joblessness increases Medicaid enrollments.
State government must reset itself to these realities. Accordingly, we all must reset our expectations of what it can and should deliver.
Some speakers Wednesday night did focus on the big picture and offer constructive suggestions. Look at privatizing some major government entities -- ports, ferries, liquor sales. Consider creative ways to reduce health insurance costs for state workers. Direct more education dollars away from administration and into classrooms. Let knowledgeable, experienced, energetic people cut through the red tape and get a teaching certificate. Charge day-use fees for parks and other recreational activities.
No idea, by itself, will solve the ongoing budget problem. Many good ideas, taken together, can.
The governor, her budget staff and her budget transformation committee want your input, and they've launched a website to capture it: transformwabudget.ideascale.com. Take a look at the more than 1,500 suggestions already posted (as of Friday) and see if they spark some of your own.
But resist the urge simply to lobby for your own area of interest. If you must, at least also offer a concrete suggestion or two for what the state can do more efficiently, or what it can stop doing. Think about services that a nonprofit or some other private entity could deliver. Or any way the state can save money and still deliver the services that are most essential.
The fiscal crisis we face is real. The solutions must be, too.
Comments
(