It’s getting harder and harder to differentiate between the Somalia pirates and the actions of this latest crop of Democratic Washington State legislators, because they both try to hold hostages or citizens for ransom.
Our legislators are really getting just as violent as the pirates when some of these Democrat wizards in Olympia offer us a solution to their created spending problem to simply “Tax the Rich or Kill the Poor!”
We have a or will have a $10 BILLION deficit, which on a per capita basis is much higher than that of California, yet another western state out of control due to excessive spending.
They are absolutely stymied when it comes to identifying non-essential programs or functions within government that could and should be performed by the private sector.
Couple of suggested function changes to be sent to the private sector are the wholesale and retail sales of liquor, the Washington Department of Transportation is just a jobs program, so stop the pretense of increasing road capacity and subcontract maintenance, and you may want to stop your losses on light rail, as it offers zero congestion relief.
They also use the line that we have “cut to the bone” yet we have as many Washington State Patrol officers and employees on staff as do seven bordering states of Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Nevada and North and South Dakota, and 150 state employees to run the Lottery and all those expensive Lottery ads, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of wasted or under-utilized resources.
Maybe the best way to start to control wasteful spending would be to convene the Washington state Legislature once every two years and make the appropriate 50 percent cuts in their staff, salaries, benefits and per diem. After all, if the best they can do in developing a balanced budget is fund non-essential programs with existing taxes, then hold essential programs hostage, demanding a voter-approved ransom to get them back.
Why do we need to employ them every year, just to hear their inadequate solutions to their created problems: “approve this tax increase or everyone dies”; or their past favorite: “It’s for the Children.”
Where are the Navy Seals when we need them to save our ship of state?
Gary Kennedy
Des Moines
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