The constant tug-of-war between raising taxes and cutting spending is maddening.
The state’s tax code is pretty much upside-down. Higher income earners should pay a higher tax rate, also known as a progressive income tax. Why? Because they’re the ones who can afford it.
Solving big problems takes big money. Government at every level (including school districts) are severely in debt. Cutting budgets and services can only go so far.
More population and information require more funds to operate without drowning in debt.
User taxes are the biggest problem for blue-collar households. Sales and gas tax, for example, are a much higher percentage of a paycheck for them than for those with higher incomes.
A progressive tax code seems like the logical solution; the higher your income, the higher your tax rate. With a progressive income tax, think of all the issues we could solve, or at least make progress on: homelessness, higher wages for law enforcement to attract better candidates, better schools, programs for drug abuse, mental health and more.
Continually cutting spending won’t pay for things we desperately need. Is any of this even possible without a state income tax?
The solution is not hard to comprehend. Getting it done seems nearly impossible. Perhaps we should take note of other countries that don’t have these problems.
Robin Olson
Everett
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