A painful but realistic start
Published 4:52 pm Friday, December 17, 2010
Now that the governor has taken the first run at creating a leaner — and, many will argue, meaner — state budget for 2011-13, debates over details can begin.
Arguments over whether Gov. Chris Gregoire’s choices are the right ones will dominate the 105-day legislative session that begins Jan. 10. Her proposal, offered under the mildly exaggerated title “Transforming Washington’s Budget,” may have room for improvement here and there, but overall it appears to be a realistic, thoroughly considered plan for working through a true fiscal crisis.
As the details are scrutinized by lawmakers, citizens and countless interest groups, the limited options Gregoire faced will become clearer. Protests over particular cuts won’t carry much weight if they’re not accompanied by workable alternatives that deliver similar savings. “Don’t touch my program; it’s vital and here’s why” won’t be enough.
Among the cold realities:
•Some 60 percent of the $32 billion budget can’t be cut, either because of constitutional protections (basic education) or contractual obligations. That means the projected $4.6 billion shortfall must come out of the remaining $14 billion piece of the budget pie.
•You can’t cut that much and not have the consequences felt by virtually everyone.
•Tax increases truly are off the table. Voters last month overwhelmingly approved Initiative 1053, requiring a two-thirds legislative majority to raise taxes — which includes ending existing tax incentives or “loopholes.” Minority Republicans can and will make such a majority impossible to muster. Democrats dreaming that voters might “buy back” some social services with a tax increase in November should look over the November 2010 results again.
Proposals in Gregoire’s budget that will be unpopular but make sense include:
•Phasing out state funding for parks, leaving it to the Parks and Recreation Commission to come up with new funding sources (a return to day-use fees and advertising come quickly to mind).
•Raising fares on state ferries while eliminating some sailings that don’t come close to covering costs.
•Eliminating automatic benefit increases, which aren’t even linked to inflation, in the state’s two underfunded pension plans.
•Consolidating some agencies and services to save money and improve efficiency.
Gregoire’s proposed cuts to higher education, offset in part by another round of double-digit tuition hikes, will be a drag on future economic growth. But she predicts lawmakers will seek to cut even more. Such is the depth of the challenge. That could prove to be one of the session’s most important struggles — a true test of the state’s commitment to a future fueled by knowledge and innovation, one that prevents more budgets like this one.
