Ferguson and legislature failing to protect Washington residents
Washington state is a crossroads. And governor Bob Ferguson and the legislature have chosen to take the path that dead ends in noxious weeds.
Ever since the second Trump administration took power in January, they've engaged in a merciless onslaught of illegal cuts to federal programs, ignored court rulings, and made threats trying to bully states into falling in line with the administration's anti-immigrant, anti-trans, anti-diversity agenda. Washington – and all of Cascadia – are going to be hit hard very soon by billions of dollars in potential cuts to Medicaid and Obamacare subsidies, the EPA, FEMA, Department of Health grants, National Institutes of Health, and Head Start.
And what, in this moment of crisis, have the legislature and Ferguson – Democrats all – done to protect Washington residents from these cuts and make the state more resilient?
Not much.
Last week, Ferguson testily warned that a relatively modest plan proposed by House and Senate Democrats to raise $12 billion in taxes to deal with a looming $13 billion deficit was too "risky." And yesterday, a modest step to raise revenue – lifting the 1 percent limit on local property tax increases – was killed by the legislature.
The state's leaders don't seem to understand the scale of the crisis. Take child care, for example. Trump has proposed completely eliminating the Head Start program, which provide affordable child care to thousands of families in the Northwest.
The legislature's response?
Slashing $4 million in funds and effectively ending Early ECEAP, a state child care program for low-income families.
With Democrats like this, who needs Republicans?
In addition to failing to protect Washington from crushing federal cuts, the legislature again punted on reforming one of the most regressive tax systems in the United States (only Florida is worse). The Institute on Tax and Economic Policy estimates that in Washington, those who earn less than $33,500 pay 13.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes while the richest 1 percent (those who earn more than $878,000) pay just 4.1 percent.
To their credit, a handful of legislators have seen the crisis for what it is and acted accordingly. Sen. Rebecca Saldaña introduced a bill that would have created a high-earning employer tax at the state level similar to Seattle's Jump Start tax. Democrats killed that bill in committee. "Without action, budget cuts will hurt those who can least afford it — our kids, elders, and working families who already struggle to make ends meet," Saldaña said. "This bill ensures that large corporations pay their fair share, so we can invest in strong schools, accessible health care, and safe, thriving communities."
Meanwhile, it seems Ferguson and most of the Democrats were listening to the beg buttons at Seattle crosswalks reprogrammed with the voice of Amazon head honcho Jeff Bezos imploring them not to raise taxes on the wealthy.
It's a disappointing and timid approach that will likely leave Cascadia poorly prepared for what the Trump administration throws at us next.
--Andrew Engelson
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