Seattle Press on Line - Legislature gets an "F"

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Legislature gets an "F"

By Curt Firestone

Apr 11, 2002 -- The members of the Washington State Legislature have filed out of Olympia with the ultimate spin on the dismal annual meeting. They will try to fool the people by stating that they have succeeded in balancing the budget without raising taxes. What they will not say is that they did it by cutting critical programs, under-funding education, robbing the tobacco settlement funds designated for health care prevention, forcing public employees to work without cost of living increases and the list goes on.

We might have been able to live with this solution but there is one critical thing missing.

The legislature failed once again to plan for the future. Nothing will happen over the balance of the year. When the legislature holds their 2003 annual meeting, they will go through the same budget cutting, revenue robbing process because they have failed to do their job. And they will have that painful look asking for our sympathy.

Tax Reform. Revenue overhaul. Long, long over due. And no leadership.
Who is looking at closing the tax loopholes that are so big that corporations fall into them with glee?

Who is going to revise the sales tax and property tax laws so that they stop punishing those of us with the least amount of money? Tim Eyman?

Who is going to look at the revenue base in other states and say a graduated income tax instead of a regressive sales tax makes good horse sense?

Who is going to examine the Business and Operations tax and figure out that very small businesses are paying tax on their gross income and not on their net? Tax on income that is not even profit.

And when are we going to tax all businesses with equality? Why should one business not be subject to the same taxes as another? Should attorney and accounting services continue to be tax-free while you pay sales tax for the house painter and the plumber?

The Legislature's failure to lay out a process ensuring a solid revenue base must be addressed. We elect state officials to do a job and to make hard (and informed) decisions.

Since the Legislature opted to ask the voters if they wanted a gas tax increase to pay for highways, perhaps they will ask voters if they want a sales tax or a property tax or an income tax. And maybe--just maybe--we the voters will be bold enough to reform the tax codes and create a healthy revenue flow to protect our future.

The Legislature certainly has failed to measure up to the task, apparently the voters are the only ones to provide leadership.

Curt Firestone is a Seattle community activist. He ran for City Council in 1999 and 2001, and is also a former officer of the Washington State Rainbow Coalition, the Green Party, the Democratic Party and the national Independent Progressive Politics Network.

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