Focus on the possible, and act
Published 3:21 pm Monday, November 28, 2011
Politics being the art of the possible, political solutions most often sprout from the middle ground.
In the current state budget debate, the outlines of a fertile middle ground appear to be forming rather quickly. It includes asking voters to approve a temporary half-cent increase in the state sales tax to keep from cutting deeper into our education system’s roots.
If such a question is to be put before voters, it should be done no later than April to allow public schools, colleges and universities the ability to plan for the 2012-13 school year. Lawmakers should work toward taking action on that proposal, and the $2 billion in cuts required to rebalance the current budget and leave a responsible reserve, before the special session that began Monday ends in late December.
That doesn’t mean other ideas shouldn’t be debated. Just that they mustn’t grind progress to a virtual halt. The cost of dragging things out is too high.
On the left, a proposal to issue perhaps $1 billion in bonds to spark the construction industry will be brought up. It would create jobs, but also increase the state’s debt and future payments out of the general fund.
On the right, one idea is allowing the use of tribal-type slot machines in nontribal businesses. That would raise revenue, but at the cost of expanded gambling and the social ills that go with it.
Both ideas will have a tough time mustering majorities in both the House and Senate. If/when it becomes clear they can’t, it will be time to pivot back toward the middle ground, where compromise and actual lawmaking take place.
According to a new statewide Elway poll, a combination of cuts and taxes, much like the ones proposed last week by Gov. Chris Gregoire, is acceptable to most voters. Such sentiment can shift as specific proposals take shape and pro and con ads begin airing, but the poll results indicate the public thinks an all-cuts approach will do too much damage.
We agree. Voters should be given the option of raising the sales tax by a nickel on a $10 purchase for three years in order to prevent around $400 million in annual cuts to education. Under the governor’s proposal, the tax hike would also keep felons under community supervision longer, and keep some social services available to the state’s most needy.
The Legislature mustn’t follow the lead of our gridlocked Congress. The situation is too dire. Failure to take swift, effective action puts our children’s future at too grave a risk. The politics of the possible is the only kind left for responsible lawmakers to practice.
