‘More of it has been wasteful’: Spike criticizes WA’s spending as budget doubles with few results

In a recent article published on MyNorthwest, KIRO host Charlie Harger revealed that although Washington’s budget has doubled over the last 10 years, virtually no results have been seen from the money that was spent.

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, highlighted a few metrics from the article, primarily how the state has handled educational and homelessness funding.

As spending has gone from $81.8 billion to $173.5 billion, spending on education has also nearly doubled. But the results have been lackluster, with eighth-graders’ math and reading proficiency worsening.

“Those are tough arguments to argue against if you’re trying to say that more money is going to fix the problem, and that’s the justification for taking more of your money,” Jake said. “I really do feel like they’re using it as something to hide behind because everybody loves kids, and everybody wants the best for the next generation. Every single time you hear anybody talking about a new tax, the first thing they want to talk about are those kids.”

WA’s homelessness spending has been in the billions, but thousands more are on the streets

Spike weighed out the pros and cons of the funds that have been directed toward homelessness, noting that although spending is in the billions, and thousands more homeless individuals are on the streets, the crisis would be much worse had there not been an emphasis put on the situation.

“I honestly believe that the money could be spent more wisely, not on other things, but on this problem in particular,” Spike said. “If there weren’t the investment we’ve made in fighting the epidemic of those experiencing homelessness, the numbers would be so far worse than they are right now.

“While we’ve had an uptick in the total number of those living on the streets or living unhoused, without the investments that they’ve made, which could be again, spent more wisely, the numbers would be overwhelming,” Spike continued. “Despite the billions they’ve spent, and more than some of it has been wasteful spending, misspending. But even with that investment, we’ve still got people everywhere.”

Jake argued against the current priorities of many lawmakers who have put forward a housing-first approach, rather than addressing the homeless population, even though many homeless people in a mental health crisis lack the ability to make that decision.

“It seems like if somebody has a mental health crisis, they’re not able to make decisions in that capacity, and so just letting those people continue living their life in a negative way that’s leading to horrible things isn’t going to fix the problem,” Jake said. “If it is a mental health crisis, you can’t let those people stay on the streets. That seems cruel and unusual punishment.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.