Tax and Mend

Ed Murray, who represents central Seattle in the state senate, says that the governor’s plan for 5 to 10 percent cuts from state departments isn’t a realistic way to balance the $1.4 billion revenue shortfall announced last week.

“Five or 10 percent would mean closing down prisons at this point,” Murray said on September 16 after a phone call with Governor Chris Gregoire. “There isn’t 5 to 10 percent in cuts without stopping major functions of government.”

More likely: a special session of the legislature sometime in the next two months that cuts spending, Murray says. And then, the Senate Ways and Means Committee chair speculates, a ballot measure next spring that raises revenue “in the hopes that voters will not want to gut higher education, K–12 education, and other things.”

Realistic about voter moods in the bleak economy, Murray concedes that passing a measure to raise revenue—he would not speculate on its particulars, but closing corporate tax loopholes and levying excise taxes on vices like tobacco, alcohol, or soda are perennial considerations—would be difficult.

And what about the Roadkill Caucus, a body of moderate Democrats who have the votes to push toward a more conservative budget? “I think they are more marginal players,” says Murray, who believes some are already supportive. “They don’t have the influence and control that some people think they do.”

Here’s hoping that Murray has some leverage to raise new money. Over the past few years, Gregoire has been a veritable wingman for the Eyman/GOP agenda of passing all-cuts budget after all-cuts budget. Spending for education has plummeted, health care availability has sunk, and what do we have to show for it?