LEGISLATORS HINTING AT ‘SENSIBLE SOLUTIONS’ TO DEAL WITH DEFICIT

Still, top legislators voice hope that we can get through this crisis. Said House Speaker Frank Chopp: “We can choose to react to this economic downturn by shrinking our hopes for our state, or we can keep our eyes on the horizon and direct our attention and resources to what is truly important.”

Meanwhile, the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, a respected research center, advocates a four-part strategy: a withdrawal from the state’s Rainy Day Fund; a temporary general sales tax increase (each half-penny increase yields $1.1 billion over two years; it would be the first increase in 26 years); to offset that increase for lower-income working families, full funding of the Working Families Rebate; and careful consideration of budget choices, including tax expenditures.

So more and more people in and out of the Legislature are rejecting the governor’s plan to cut our way out of the deficit by balancing it on the backs of state employees and the quality services you provide.

Submit YOUR Sensible Solutions here.