Do Washington’s Budget Woes Warrant Government Reform?
Updated 1o:oo a.m. Tuesday December 15, 2009 “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein In applying the logic of the famed Nobel Prize winner to Washington state’s multi-billion dollar budget woes, it would appear government reform is needed for good government. Washington is mirroring California and its budget anguish. However, Gov. Chris Gregoire and state lawmakers say tax increases are necessary to deal with the red ink. Not so fast say authoritative observers outside state government. Productive steps are necessary to solve the ever-deepening budget hole, which was $2.6 billion in the last forecast despite the massive temporary infusion of federal stimulus dollars. “At this point, this is a whole new ballgame,” says Jason Mercier, who is the director of the Center for Government Reform at Washington Policy Center (WPC) in Olympia, WA. “Even before the recession, which followed a bubble and fake consumer spending, th
