Sadly, we’ve now seen just how much damage 90 people can do to our state in 60 days.
The 90 people are Democrats: 59 state representatives, 30 state senators and Gov. Bob Ferguson. The 60 days went from Jan. 12 through March 12 — meaning this year’s legislative session.
While Republicans fought hard and well against the majority’s efforts to push our state farther to the political left, there is no overstating what Democrats just did to our state — especially the passage of their unconstitutional and unnecessary new income tax and another bloated operating budget.
I’ll start with the new budget, which is very likely the worst of the nine budgets adopted by Democrats since they regained political control of Olympia. It is truly, to borrow our Senate Republican budget leader’s description, an $80 billion house of cards on a shaky foundation.
One of the most outrageous gimmicks used to balance the budget is a claim that spending from this two-year cycle to the next won’t grow more than 2.8%. That simply isn’t credible, seeing how the new budget spends 11.4% more than the previous cycle and spending growth between cycles has averaged 15% since one-party rule returned in 2018.
If Democrats remain in full control of the budget and follow their normal spending pattern, we should anticipate yet another budget shortfall of $7 billion to $10 billion in the next cycle — even with all the revenue the current majority expects to rake in from the new income tax.
Who gets stuck with the cost of all this? You, the taxpayer. But I’m not seeing any sign that Democrats care. They claim this budget required “incredibly difficult decisions in a constrained fiscal environment,” as though we are supposed to feel bad that they didn’t have even more tax dollars to spend.
That brings me to the new income tax. By now many Washingtonians are aware that an income tax is unconstitutional in our state if it fails to apply the same rate to everyone, and how every effort to enact an income tax in our state has been rejected either by voters or the high court.
Democrats, who know how deeply unpopular an income tax is, declare in their bill that the tax is “necessary” to support state government even though it wouldn’t be collected until three years from now. In doing so they knowingly blocked the constitutional right of taxpayers to challenge the tax through a referendum. It can still get to the ballot through a voter initiative, but that’s more complicated.
The supporters also hold a different view about who owns your income, even though Article VII, Section 1 of Washington’s constitution clearly indicates you do, and that it’s considered property even when intangible.
Their hope is that when the income tax is challenged and comes before the state Supreme Court yet again, the current group of justices — most of whom were originally installed by Democratic governors — will care more about how other states view income than what Washington’s constitution declares.
There was a moment, with less than 10 days to go in the session, when it seemed Governor Ferguson might stand up to the income tax supporters. But then he flipped to praising the latest version of the tax proposal, after House Democrats made it so people with six-figure incomes would be eligible for a government check through the Working Families Tax Credit program.
In the end, the governor settled for roughly 25% of the income-tax proceeds going to tax relief or tax credits, even though he’d initially insisted on twice that much. It’s notable that every amendment I and other Republican senators proposed to help with affordability was rejected.
This is Ferguson’s second session as governor. It’s the second time he has made demands about affordability, then retreated. Democrat lawmakers have again turned that tendency to their advantage, at the expense of taxpayers, just as they did when getting the governor to sign last year’s $12.3 billion tax package.
I also take issue with the governor’s claim that the income tax will fund free breakfast and lunch at school for all K-12 students, regardless of household income. None of the anticipated revenue is earmarked for education, free meals, or healthcare.
Also, why do the governor and Democrat lawmakers support giving food to students from wealthy families while funding for special education continues to lag?
Washingtonians aren’t fooled by the marketing of the income tax. They know how easily the wording in the policy can be changed to apply to income lower than a million dollars, but do they know about a subtle change the Democrats made before passing the final version?
By slowing how the income deduction moves with inflation, the supporters made it so the tax will pull in even more people than Senate Bill 6346 would have when introduced. It’s insidious.
I’m proud of the fight Senate Republicans waged against the income tax, limited as we are by Senate rules. You can’t help but admire how House Republicans were then able to resist for more than 24 hours using the parliamentary tools available to them.
Our respective battles helped expose the flaws in the tax policy and the agenda behind it. Both will be important should the tax end up on the November ballot.
While the governor has committed to signing the income-tax bill, it would be good for him to know how unpopular it is. More than 100,000 people signed in as “con” against SB 6346 before its two committee hearings; imagine if that many were to now phone the governor’s office and insist that he veto the income tax.
The number is 360-902-4111. I encourage you to call and also insist that he veto the new operating budget. Make it clear you can’t afford to have the majority party take Washington farther in the wrong direction. It’s how our state does better.
Sen. John Braun (R-Centralia)
Senator John Braun was first elected to the Washington State Senate in 2012 to represent Southwest Washington’s 20th Legislative District, which includes most of Cowlitz and Lewis counties along with parts of Clark and Thurston.
John is leader of the Senate Republican Caucus and a member of the Senate Ways & Means Committee, the Labor & Commerce Committee, and the Housing Committee.
Prior to his business career, John served on active duty in the U.S. Navy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington and master’s degrees in business administration and manufacturing engineering from the University of Michigan.
He and his family reside on a small farm in rural Lewis County, outside Centralia.
COMMENTARY DISCLAIMER: The views and comments expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Lynnwood Times nor any of its affiliates.
Author: Lynnwood Times Contributor
