Legislature caught up in high stakes arrogance

The Daily Olympian's June 18 editorial headline read, "State caught in test of political power."

It has almost been six months since the beginning of the session, and legislators have been unable to compromise on a budget that should take effect next Monday.

One might blame the situation on party politics. The Democratic party controls the House of Representatives and did have a majority in the Senate until two Democrats aligned themselves with the Republicans to create a split legislature.

This Republican controlled Senate has shown itself to be a high-minded animal bent on upholding conservative principles. The trouble is that instead of working for resolution of the legislature's budgetary demands, they're holding the budget hostage to press ideological or even "personal" issues. Quoting from The Daily Olympian, "It’s gratuitous leverage, for example, when Republican Sen. Don Benton continues to block budget progress over his bill to benefit the payday lending industry, which significantly contributed to his re-election campaign."

The legislature has huge problems to overcome. The state Supreme Court, in the McCleary decision, ruled that the state isn't living up to its obligation to fund basic education fully. The state Quality Education Council has calculated full funding would require $3.4-$4.6 billion; Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn has commented that anything less would just be a down payment.

Of course, the legislature and Governor Jay Inslee have given themselves quite a handicap, stating there would be no new taxes to raise funds. That meant they would rely on spending cuts and new revenue coming out of the economy. The new revenue just showed up, and cuts are coming; they'll be felt by those those with privilege as well as those without.

I guess that all this is nothing new. Since the 1960's, people have talked about revising Washington's system of taxes, but ideological differences have scuttled realistic efforts. Ideology has gotten in the way of serving the people of the state of Washington.

So, thanks to commitment to ideology, state and local agencies, their employees, and their clients are preparing for a budget impasse and stoppage of services. Legislative leaders promise they'll have a budget by July 1, but in the meantime, people have to prepare for what might be.

What a waste of time and resources. So much for performing your duties in a timely and responsible manner.