Taxpayers shouldn’t suffer for mistakes made in Olympia

Government cannot give to anybody anything that the government has not already taken from someone else. We feel that taxpayers in Washington are already stretched to the limit given the economic conditions we are all facing.

This is why we believe it is irresponsible to even consider asking our citizens, who have already given of themselves so much, to reach deeper into their pockets to find more.

Washington is facing what some would wish you to believe is an $8.3 billion deficit. A large portion of that debt was caused because Olympia’s spending growth increased 21/2 times more than revenue growth over the past several years. Some of the same people who got the state into this mess now want you taxpayers to bail the state out.

Republicans believe there is a way to do this that isn’t as difficult as some might have you believe.

For example, the state will bring in 2.5 percent more revenue in 2009-11 than it did in 2007-09, which means that revenue is actually increasing.

Our plan is to first balance the current biennial budget that ends this June, which we’ve been calling for since last year. The current budget deficit is a billion dollars, so the sooner we act, the more money we can save down the road.

Once we’ve balanced the current budget shortfall, the $3 billion in federal stimulus money and $700 million from the rainy day fund could be used to bring down the new two-year budget deficit to a manageable level somewhere between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.

It’s time for the state to start making sustainable choices by looking at our priorities and reconsidering the optional budget items that we can’t afford right now. For example, we don’t believe that elected officials or others in government should be getting pay increases at a time when thousands of people are losing their homes and their jobs.

Since November, there has been a dramatic shift in the way the majority party has portrayed the budget problem. In recent weeks, the rhetoric has really shifted into high gear. You may have heard that it is “impossible” to balance the budget without raising taxes or slashing $8 billion from our state’s $33 billion budget. Some are wringing their hands and shouting that the sky is falling, but all of this is part of a strategic plan to prepare you for major tax increases so that they can continue business as usual.

Last year we were told there was no deficit, and now the same people want you to believe that not only is there a deficit, but it is insurmountable. In our view, this is a concerted effort to groom the public to accept the imposition of more taxes in the form of a referendum to voters later this year.

When the next budget is finally proposed, it will likely cut programs like 4-H, parks, health care for low income, and other critical programs and services as well. Then, when the public outcry is at its greatest, the tax referendum will ask citizens to “buy back” the services and programs they want by paying for them with extra taxes.

All session long, we’ve listened to many groups and organizations who are concerned about massive cuts, and they have told us they would prefer to receive the same level of funding in the coming budget that they had in the current one rather than face the large cuts that continuing current practices would require.

The Legislature is capable of balancing the budget without massive tax hikes, without decimating taxpayer-funded services for the most vulnerable, without huge layoffs of public employees, and without undermining public education. It would simply be irresponsible to try and frighten people into raising taxes.

State Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, represents the 28th Legislative District. State Sen. Randi Becker, R-Eatonville, represents the 2nd Legislative District.