There Will be A Tax Package on the Ballot ... Or Maybe Not
Lots of stories over the weekend on the prospects of lawmakers sending a tax package to the voters. This close to the scheduled April 26 adjournment, tax and spending issues dominate. And there's a great deal of uncertainty.
A series of reports from Austin Jenkins on Crosscut captures the mood. On the 18th: "Poll results apparently nix a sales tax proposal." Then, "No sales tax boost? Not so fast." Then again, "Latest polling doesn't bode well for a tax vote."
Brad Shannon also had the break-up of the tax-backing coalition at the end of the week. And Joe Turner provides additional detail.
I'm told the reason the tax referendum was revived from near-certain death over the weekend was that House Speaker Frank Chopp has some members of his Democratic caucus who absolutely refuse to vote for a budget with $4 billion in spending cuts -- unless there is a tax proposition on the ballot, too.
We'll find out more tomorrow. That when the tax vote coalition members say whether they are in or out. The campaign really needs two components: It's gotta have the Service Employees International Union which represents homecare workers and nurses, to provide the foot soldiers for doorbelling. And it needs the hospitals and nursing homes to pony up the money.
The Everett Herald takes an unusually sharp tone in its Sunday editorial warning lawmakers: "Don't blackmail the voters." They take Rep. Eric Pettigrew to task for saying "people will die" if voters don't approve new taxes.
Yes, the recession has hit the state budget hard. But before asking taxpayers for more, lawmakers need to do a better job prioritizing existing dollars. Why not, for example, ask state employees to share a greater portion of their health-benefit costs? They're getting a significantly better deal than most private-sector workers -- the very people who would be asked to pay more in sales taxes.
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