Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This week started with all eyes focused on the state budget. On Monday Senate and House Democrat budget writers released their proposed 2020 supplemental budgets. They were rushed into committee hearings hours later, and the Senate budget could come before the full chamber for a vote at any time.
Two things stand out. First of all, the sheer size of the Senate budget proposal is mind-boggling. Government continues to grow dramatically, with the rate of state spending up more than 80% since 2013, when Governor Inslee took office. That is more than twice the average wage growth in the state over the same period.
In other words, government is taking and spending your money quicker than you can make it.
Secondly, there is absolutely zero major tax relief in the Senate Democrats’ budget proposal.
Talk about government greed! The majority budget writers have $1.5 billion more in expected revenue than was predicted at the end of the 2019 session. With that much money coming into the state treasury, the Democrat majority could have given you the $30 car tabs the people voted for last year with I-976. Or maybe they could have given you some property-tax relief.
Instead, they simply increased spending across the board, further growing the size of government. The Democrat slogan may be “Putting People First,” but clearly their policies and spending priorities “Put Government First.”