Re: “Expected budget shortfall grows” (TNT, 11-20).
I am a CPA. In the last year, my clients have seen their revenues drop up to 50 percent and profits basically go away. They have cut costs, have laid off employees, reduced wages to themselves and remaining employees, cut or reduced benefits, etc. This is what they have to do to survive in the real world.
In October, the state lost 5,100 jobs in the private sector, yet the government sector gained 900 jobs. The state employees’ biggest complaint we hear about is not getting their cost-of-living raise.
Now our state government is facing another large deficit, and Gov. Chris Gregoire thinks it is time to raise taxes. I say no. Why does the private sector, which has taken large reductions in income, have to pay more taxes so state employees can maintain their income level? We have no more to give.
If we are all in this together, why does Gregoire think only the private sector has to make sacrifices? To all of the state employees, in the private sector we would love to have the worst thing just be not getting a cost-of-living raise.
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