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Rep. Alexander: Taxpayers
should ‘believe it when they see it’ about governor’s approach to
supplemental budget
Rep. Gary
Alexander,
R-Olympia, ranking Republican member on the House Appropriations
Committee, made this statement in advance of Gov. Christine Gregoire’s
press event Thursday in Seattle:
“It’s always nice to hear public officials talk about accountability,
frugality and responsibility, as the governor says she will do Thursday.
But I have to admit to being more than a little skeptical. Just a year
ago Governor Gregoire said she was opposed to tax increases. She then
proposed hundreds of millions in new spending and agreed to a budget
that raised non-transportation taxes by more than $400 million,
including a new ‘death tax.’
“The governor who approved the biggest jump in state government spending
since Governor Lowry was in office now wants taxpayers to believe she
and the Democrat majority are going to be models of frugality. The
state’s treasury is expected to be much fatter this session, thanks in
part to the revenues from the tax increases the governor and her party
forced through. She couldn’t say ‘no’ in 2005 and approved a budget that
increased spending by 12 percent. That was well beyond what the state
could afford and led to tax increases. Are taxpayers supposed to believe
she will now say ‘no’ when there is so much more in the bank? That
money's tempting when the IOUs have been piling up.
“The taxpayers will know if the governor is serious about being frugal,
accountable and responsible with their money if she:
-
lays out a plan that
restores the voter-approved spending limit which she agreed to toss
out earlier this year;
-
proposes repealing the
estate tax she and Democrat legislators forced upon the people of
Washington this year;
-
follows the example
set by Governor Locke and former Senator Rossi in 2003 and proposes
a budget that reflects the real “Priorities of Government”;
-
fights to maintain a
credible and meaningful emergency reserve fund; and
-
tells the legislators
from her party to quit slapping emergency clauses on legislation
that isn’t necessary for the immediate well-being of our state.
“If she can do those
things, it’ll be a stark contrast from what we saw in the 2005 session.
The taxpayers should believe it when they see it. If our recent
experience is any guide, what they hear in December may be far from what
they get in March when the 2006 session ends."
# # #
For more information, contact:
Brendon Wold, Public
Information Officer: (360) 786-7698
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