The state budget has a shortfall – again.
Rush-hour traffic overwhelms our outdated roads, and the backups only get worse.
The Snohomish County PUD battles on multiple fronts to keep power rates down, but who knows where our electricity will come from 20 years from now?
We’re so busy treading water, we’ve forgotten how to swim. We’re drowning in our own short-term thinking.
Long-term planning has taken a back seat for too long when it comes to issues like the state budget, transportation and regional power. Being stuck in perpetual crisis mode is part of the reason, but it’s also true that in each of these cases, our deep divisions work against significant progress.
The quality of our region’s future, if we can’t get past these barriers, is threatened. Today’s leaders – in government, private industry, labor and other special interests – must look farther out if this is to be the same special place for future generations that it has been.
Gov. Christine Gregoire says that after the current budget crisis is dealt with, she’ll convene high-level talks on how to build a state revenue and spending plan that’s sustainable. The current revenue growth rate of 4-5 percent, she notes, is eaten up by 10-15 percent hikes in health-care costs, threatening education and social service funding. Health-care cost containment will require sacrifice and compromise, and may hit some groups harder than others. Gregoire says she’s willing to take the political risks necessary to bring costs under control, and we hope others will follow her lead.
Transportation plans are being discussed in Olympia, with little hope that long-term solutions will emerge. Still, a start must be made on rebuilding crumbling highways and expanding those that are over capacity. Paying for mega-projects a portion at a time rather than all at once is one good idea on the table, as are tolls. Population centers like Puget Sound should be allowed to levy local taxes for their own projects, as long as the needs of each county are addressed equitably. Transit solutions are moving ahead; it’s time to make substantial progress on roads.
The era of cheap hydro-power is at or near an end. Public and private power suppliers, who often are at odds, must join in planning the future of our region’s power supply. Conservation is part of the answer, but can only go so far. New options for generating electricity, which could take a decade or more to develop once they’re identified, must be explored now, and doing so as a united region could lead to big cost advantages.
Today’s problems sometimes seem insurmountable. If we don’t start looking honestly and courageously beyond them, they may soon be.
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