By Elizabeth Beck
In the Nov. 24 Enterprise, Evan Smith called our attention to the regressive nature of Washington’s tax system (“Time to look at our tax structure”).
In fact, not only is Washington’s the number one most regressive tax structure in the nation, but our taxes are not keeping pace with our economy.
Because Washington relies so heavily on sales tax, we tax the lowest earners most heavily, and their incomes are not growing as rapidly as the highest earners. As a result, overall tax revenue doesn’t rise proportionally when the economy is doing well, and drops more quickly when the economy struggles. Many budget areas receive less funding while demand goes up with social services such as education always seeming to be the hardest hit.
Many Shoreline residents are aware of the funding difficulties faced by the Shoreline School District. However, this is not just a Shoreline problem. Washington is failing miserably when it comes to living up to its constitutional mandate of “ample” provision for public education. Our state spends $548 less per student now than we did in 1992. We rank 42nd in education spending per student, after adjusting for regional cost differences, and we are 46th in the nation in class size.
More facts and figures like these can be found at the Washington Education Association’s “Take the Lead” Web site, www.taketheleadwashington.org/. WEA started the Take the Lead campaign to increase public awareness of the inadequacy of education funding in Washington, and to help people understand that we will not be able to fulfill that constitutional mandate until we have a stable funding source – which means a more progressive tax structure. While it will take careful deliberation on the part of many business and community leaders to decide exactly what that structure will look like, the impetus for change must come from us – the public.
Our elected officials will not push for change unless we demand it of them, because the words “tax reform” tend to make people automatically think that their taxes will increase, which would certainly not be the case for everyone. The idea is to distribute the tax burden more evenly. Is it fair for the lowest 20 percent of income earners to pay 17 percent of their income in state taxes, while the highest 1 percent of earners contribute only 4 percent of their earnings? Moreover, can we afford for this to continue?
Our public schools certainly cannot. The WASL is one of the most rigorous tests in the nation, and we must provide the means to allow our students to be successful. Please visit the Take the lead Web site to learn more, or even better, talk with a teacher about education funding. You will surely hear stories to make those statistics come alive. Then, let your elected officials know that it is time for a change, that our public schools need help to solve what is rapidly becoming not just a funding problem, but a funding crisis.
Elizabeth Beck is co-President of the Shoreline Education Association.
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