No New Taxes!

I have commented before on government overreach in my home state of Washington and it's effect on our economy. Similar to the national government and most state governments, Washington State's legislature is currently haggling out a budget for fiscal year '06. Now unfortunately we in Washington haven't joined the Republican wave that has touched most of the rest of the country, and Democrats hold both houses of the legislature and the govnernor's mansion. It has been this way for a long time now, and as I am sure you all can assume our state has one of the highest tax burdens in America. Yet, just when you think you can't be taxed anymore, you read that legislators have proposed $1.2 billion in new net tax increases. Only adding fuel to the fire is a study released by the Department of Revenue which neatly outlines all the different ways our representatives can raise taxes on us even more.

When will it stop?

When given the chance, Democrats will usually show that they are incapable of running government effectively. As the budgeting process works in Washington, the governor proposes her budget than the House and Senate offer their proposals, and the haggling and negotiating than follows which ultimately leads to a budget. Yet we're a little behind this year, with our new governor failing to provide her budget plan which was promised last week. What she seems to be waiting for now is a better revenue forecast so she and the Democratic legislature can justify further spending. Not only that, the State Senate passed a bill last week that would repeal Initiative 601, which enacted tight spending limits on the state government. I-601 also requires a two-thirds vote within both houses to raise taxes.

This is a terrible move and the average Washingtonian will feel the hurt brought about by the state legislature's fiscal recklessness the most. High taxes have already hurt the economy here, raising them further will only hurt us more. Instead of continually raising taxes to raise more revenue for further spending, we should prioritize needs according to our existing revenues. The state government should spend no more than it takes in, and if we can't afford some new program than tough. It's time that the legislature and governor get their act together, so we can pass a budget that represents limited government and fiscal discipline.