Not surprisingly, the topic of taxes came up last Thursday during the weekly Public Affairs Forum in Gig Harbor (see story on page 6A), which featured guest speaker State Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor.

The subject was raised as a possible way to offset the $160 million in proposed higher education cuts in the next biennium offered up by Gov. Chris Gregoire last month. Seaquist floated the notion that state government should actually realign to current economic reality — bleak as it may be — before lawmakers ask citizens to pay more money in higher taxes.

In other words, state government, like households and businesses statewide, needs to downsize and prioritize spending at a time when the economy is weak and the chances of a quick recovery are slim. That’s the message Seaquist said he’s been getting from the business community — there will be no support for new revenue without true government reform.

Unfortunately, it seems state leaders aren’t listening.

“The Legislature is not serious about that,” Seaquist said of such government reform, adding he’s one of only a handful of legislators who are determined to actually streamline government.

His skepticism is well-founded. Consider the following:

* Despite talk in the media and from politicians about all the cuts that have been made, total state spending — operating budget, capital budget and transportation budget — has increased in the past several biennia, far outpacing inflation and population growth.

* It seems there’s never enough revenue for state government. Just last month, Gregoire proposed that lawmakers put a referendum before voters in March to ask for a temporary three-year half-penny boost in the state sales tax. It would cost taxpayers nearly $500 million a year.

The past several years have seen a plethora of tax-and-fee hikes, including the business and occupation tax, cigarette tax, real estate excise tax and the carbonated beverage tax, that last of which voters repealed.

* And speaking of voters, they have been loud and clear in their opposition to new and increased taxes. Last year, voters decisively defeated Initiative 1098, the high-earner income tax. That same year, voters also approved Initiative 1053, which requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature or a vote of the people to raise taxes.

The Legislature can suspend any initiative two years after it passes, which is what they did to a voter-approved two-thirds rule in 2010, leading to the passage of I-1053. Next year is the first opportunity for the Legislature to overturn I-1053, and some lawmakers already have indicated they might be open to suspending the initiative.

Actually cutting the state budget down to size won’t be easy for a couple of reasons. First, about 60 percent of state spending — mostly K-12 education and Medicaid — is essentially off-limits to cuts because of federal restrictions and other legal barriers.

Second, the built-in constituencies created by state spending, whether or not it’s a core government function, or whether or not it produces results, means no one wants to surrender a special privilege or entitlement. Every attempt to shrink the size of state government or repeal a burdensome regulation brings about a loud cry, like a bottle being pulled out of a baby’s mouth.

It is indeed a rare event when government can be pressured into yielding even an ounce of power. For example, it took a vote of the people this year via I-1183 to finally end the state’s Prohibition-era monopoly on distributing and selling liquor, hardly a necessary function of government.

Like we said, producing a sustainable budget that’s in line with the weak economy won’t be easy. But it’s a vital task that needs to be completed in an intelligent and timely manner.

The state needs to show it can really get its financial house in order before lawmakers ask Washingtonians to fork over even more of their hard-earned money.