Federal revenue sharing might be on the way here
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Posted by Joe Turner at 12:06 p.m. Tuesday
The more I listen to Barack Obama and Congress talk about what they’re going to do to lessen the impact of our recession, the more I’m reminded of revenue sharing from the early 1980s.
When I started covering Pierce County government in 1981, cities and counties were still getting no-strings-attached money from Uncle Sam.
But it appears to be making a comeback, and Washington state workers no doubt will rejoice if it does. Basically, the federal government gives cities, counties and states money to pretty much do what they please. That means Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Legislature could head off some of those layoffs that probably are in their future.
If it’s based on population, Washington would get about $2 billion. That would come in pretty handy for a state that’s facing a $5.1 billion deficit.
