SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

The state budget – it’s all a game to raise taxes

Jun 22, 2017, 3:14 PM | Updated: 3:29 pm

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Washington state capitol in Olympia. (AP file photo)

(AP file photo)

Senior citizens are going to starve, criminals will be roaming the streets, and baby salmon will die!

That’s what Gov. Jay Inslee told us will happen if the Legislature cannot agree to a new state budget.

“Under the law, if that occurs, our state prisons will no longer be able to accept new inmates, Fish and Wildlife may have to shut down critical hatcheries where millions of baby salmon are listed as endangered species and they will perish. Fifty thousand seniors will not receive meal services that they depend upon.”

Of course, that is his message because he knows the voters wouldn’t respond like sheep if he threatened some of the other things that they could cut.

If the governor said, “without tax hikes, we’ll have to stop giving millions of dollars to convicted child molesters. And we’ll have to stop giving welfare to illegals.”

Those are just a couple examples of what the state could cut before they starve our seniors and kill our baby salmon.

I am so tired of how our state refuses to properly prioritize when making a budget. They keep the nonsense because the citizens wouldn’t approve a tax hike to benefit child molesters and illegals. So instead, Inslee threatens the things that he thinks will pull on already-overtaxed citizens’ heartstrings.

A couple years ago, KING-5 had the story about how the state pays millions of dollars of pension funds — over-and-above-what the workers contributed — to former teachers who are convicted child molesters.

“22 teachers, most who had been convicted of crimes against children, who together have received about $5.1 million above their own retirement contributions.”

Nothing has changed despite attempts to reform that atrocity, but the Democrats refuse to take on the teachers’ union.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates that illegals cost taxpayers in our state more than $2.5 billion a year – and that was in 2012. That cost has exploded upward since then.

Health care and social assistance programs add additional costs of $652 million.

Why doesn’t the governor threaten welfare to illegals before he threatens to cut off food for needy-citizen-seniors?

The answer: because that isn’t as politically effective. It’s all a big game to raise taxes.

Governor Inslee: I say it’s time to better prioritize.

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The state budget – it’s all a game to raise taxes