Inslee’s budget a good start
Published 6:18 pm Friday, March 29, 2013
The tempest over Gov. Jay Inslee’s budget centers on semantics. Does un-looping a handful of tax breaks to bolster K-12 education meet the definition of a tax increase? Yes, indeed (insert partisan vitriol about broken promises here). It’s also the right thing to do.
Eliminating some giveaways is an overdue corrective to a catawampus revenue system that rewards the well heeled and sidelines the state’s paramount duty, education.
Inslee’s budget represents a solid vision for Washington.
Since the 1920s, lobbyists have finagled tax giveaways that should have sunsetted years ago. According to the Washington Department of Revenue, 575 state tax breaks have no expiration date. Over the past 25 years, these loopholes have mushroomed from 333 to 640 in all. Many have merit. And many are a horrendous drain on state coffers.
“Today, I choose education over tax breaks. I choose fulfilling our constitutional and moral duty to ensure quality schools for our children,” Inslee said. The governor is prudent to budget for early learning as well as full-day kindergarten expansion, dropout prevention and class-size reductions. As The Herald’s Jerry Cornfield writes, Inslee is proposing to save $321 million by suspending cost-of-living raises for teachers required under Initiative 732 (not a popular thing to do). He also aims to cut $29.8 million from alternative-learning programs which cover costs of online and home-school programs.
One quibble is higher ed. Inslee’s call for a 5 percent tuition hike may be necessary to backfill earlier draconian cuts and ensure the status quo, but the status quo isn’t adequate. We hope that Inslee revisits the Council of Presidents’ proposal to freeze tuition for two years — preserving access and higher ed’s overarching mission — while injecting $225 million into the state’s four-year universities. (Inslee’s proposal still out-shoulders the Senate’s Majority Caucus Coalition’s recommendation that would translate into a net loss for the UW).
Inslee focuses on the state’s safety net, including support for seniors, the disabled, vulnerable adults and children. Regarding health care, the governor embraces both Medicaid expansion and extending coverage to include oral health. Not surprisingly for a conservation-minded governor, Inslee aims to funnel $23.7 million to state parks.
Revenues remain the X factor. Minus a progressive system, Washington will continue to rely on gimmicks as well as extending taxes on items (think beer) that don’t exactly resonate with Joe Public. Nevertheless, Washington has weathered $10.6 billion in state cuts since 2009. At some point, lawmakers will need to do more than tinker with a regressive tax structure that demands a full overhaul.
