‘How much is enough?’: KIRO hosts question WA’s spending as Ferguson celebrates voters keeping millionaires’ tax

Washington voters rejected Initiative 645, keeping the state’s millionaires tax in place. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said the tax would help bring fiscal stability beginning in 2029, while warning that Washington still faces a short-term budget challenge.

Filling in on “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio, Tim Gaydos and Greg Tomlin questioned Ferguson’s outlook, with Greg blaming state spending and Tim raising concerns about what the governor’s promised budget decisions would involve.

“I’ll be curious to see what those hard choices are,” Tim said.

“I have a follow-up question for Governor Ferguson, and we’ll stick with his tunnel analogy: Who built the tunnel and why is it so dark?” Greg said.

Greg challenges Ferguson’s budget outlook

The hosts played a clip of Ferguson discussing the budget he plans to propose in December.

“We still very much have a very real short-term, think two-year budget challenge,” Ferguson said. “The revenue from the millionaires’ tax isn’t in to help us navigate a budget next year, for example.”

Looking toward 2029, Ferguson described “a true light at the end of the tunnel” after difficult decisions in the upcoming legislative session.

Greg challenged that explanation.

“Democrats built the tunnel with their bare hands,” Greg said. “It’s their overspending which has brought about the darkness that is our fiscal crisis here in this state.”

“The light for them always seems to be more of other people’s money, not curbing spending and not implementing performance-based budgeting,” he added.

Greg also questioned whether additional spending produces better results.

“Higher expenditures don’t always translate to better outcomes, and we see that time and again,” he said.

Tim described his conversations with elected officials about government revenue.

“Government revenue is their north star,” he said. “That is what they’re hoping for, aiming for.”

“How much is enough? More. How much do you need? More,” Greg said. “Constantly, over and over again.”

Tim and Greg question how courts will address the tax

The discussion turned to the tax’s constitutionality and whether the state Supreme Court would revisit earlier rulings.

“There’s no question in my mind, looking at the history of Washington state court rulings and the voters weighing in on this topic, that it would be unconstitutional to implement this millionaires’ tax,” Greg said.

Greg argued that changing the state constitution, rather than seeking a different interpretation from the court, would be the appropriate route.

“You need to go through the constitutional process, which is a lot more of an uphill battle to change the Constitution,” Greg said.

Tim described two possible outcomes: a court maintaining the earlier interpretation or issuing a ruling that allows the tax.

“They need the state Supreme Court to reinterpret the Constitution,” Tim said.

Tim pushes back on Ferguson’s Microsoft criticism

The hosts also discussed recorded comments in which Ferguson criticized Microsoft over its support for advertising about Washington’s business climate.

Tim questioned whether business partnerships should limit a company’s ability to criticize state policy.

“He’s treating Microsoft’s criticism as a violation of, like, personal or institutional relationship,” Tim said. “Microsoft is not a political organization; they’re a business, and he’s treating them as if this is some sort of political alliance.”

Greg questioned whether advising Ferguson and supporting critical advertising were incompatible.

“I don’t really see the inherent problem there,” Greg said.

“A governor can reasonably ask a company to collaborate on economic development,” Tim responded. “But to command them to refrain from advocacy is way out of bounds, in my opinion.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to The John Curley Show weekday afternoons from 3 – 7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.