Do we have a financial crisis?
Our legislators overturned Initiative 960 because their need for more taxpayer money had reached a crisis. It is impossible to balance the state budget without tax increases, or so we are told.
But at the same time, while state employees receive average salaries that are more than $19,000 higher than private sector employees in Washington state, our governor says she cannot deny pay increases to state workers because the union contracts demand the increases. In fact, if we have a fiscal crisis the governor can declare it and all union contracts can be renegotiated.
To me this says that the wishes of the voters are not important but the wishes of the state unions are.
Tom Balt
Snohomish
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