Recent Press- ACLU Criticizes Proposed Gang-Free Zones, And Why Does Washington Have A B&O; Tax? May 10, 2012
- State's expensive love affair with 4-wheel drive hybrid SUVs | Local News | The Seattle Times April 30, 2012
- Can more rigorous academics help Rainier Beach? | Local News | The Seattle Times April 30, 2012
- State coffers won’t require new revenue, Inslee says | The Olympian - The News Tribune April 22, 2012
- Inslee: No new taxes needed to fund education - seattlepi.com April 21, 2012
Category Archives: Budget
Internet Sales Growth Explosive, Compared to In-Store Sales
The following article was sent to me by the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Governing Board, an organization representing more than half the states that charge sales tax. In it you see the shift to Internet retailing and the consequent … Continue reading
Posted in Budget, Tax Policy
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Budget “down-payment” will be heard today
OLYMPIA – A bipartisan plan to take a big bite out of the projected $2 billion state budget shortfall will be heard Monday by the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill, sponsored by Chair Ross Hunter, D-Medina, makes $479.7 … Continue reading
Posted in Budget
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Slow-Motion Default in Wenatchee
I’m disappointed that the Legislature failed to address the slow-motion financial default in progress in Wenatchee. 7 cities and 2 counties got together and agreed to build an arena in Wenatchee. They used a stream of money from the state … Continue reading
K-12 Funding Proposal – Additional Data
I am posting CSV versions of the two data tables as several people have requested the data in searchable formats. We are typically careful about doing this as people can manipulate the data in ways that say different things than … Continue reading
K-12 Funding Proposal – Local Levy Swap
I’m stepping outside my role as Ways and Means chairman to put out a personal proposal for comment. The idea described below is a big one, moving around about a billion dollars in property taxes that are used for the … Continue reading
WA Budget – Proposed Agency Cuts Explanations
I used this document in a caucus discussion of the proposed agency cuts and thought it might be interesting to people. It’s a long PDF with a duplicate copy of the spreadsheet referenced in my last budget post. To understand … Continue reading
Good Washington Post Op-Ed on Federal Budget
Rep. Alan Simpson (former GOP senator from Wyoming) and Erskine Bowles (former Clinton budget director) produced a difficult but rational plan for dealing with the pernicious federal budget/debt/economy problem. It’s difficult because it asks people to leave their sacred cows … Continue reading
Posted in Budget, Tax Policy
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WA State Budget Update – Special Session
The papers today are reporting that Governor Gregoire is calling us (the legislature) into a special session, most likely in late November after the next revenue forecast. This is a good idea, as doing so will give us about 3 … Continue reading
Washington State Revenue Forecast
I don’t comment much on the “other Washington” but I have to say that I’m a little frustrated at the game of “chicken” we’re seeing played, and the impact we expect it to have here in “our Washington.” The foodfight … Continue reading
Posted in Budget
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Continuing Economic Distress
This is a fascinating chart that shows the difference between the current recession and everything after the Great Depression. As you go further back in time the data become less and less comparable to today’s situation, so we can’t really … Continue reading
Posted in Budget, Education, Social Justice
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