News
Local Economists Call on State Leaders to Consider Tax Increases
In anticipation of today's new state revenue forecast, which is expected to be bleak (can you say $8 billion deficit?), a group of more than 20 prominent economists and public policy experts in Washington State have issued an open letter to the governor and legislative leaders calling on them to consider tax increases to address at least part of the looming shortfall.
Signers include some well-known and respected names in civic affairs, such as Brewster Denny and Hubert Locke, both of whom are former deans of the Evans School of Public Polcy at the UW.
"Implementing deep cuts in government spending and declining to raise revenue through tax increases is not an effective strategy to guide Washington State out of this recession," they write. Instead, they call on Oly electeds to "consider the full range of options, including revenue increases, when deciding how to close the state budget gap."
The letter was co-ordinated by the Washington State Budget & Policy Center. Budget & Policy is a liberal-leaning economic think tank affiliated with the influential Center for Budget and Policy Priorities in the other Washington.
I'm told some of signers are going to press the case for revenue increases in a conference call with Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown this afternoon, and she is said to be very interested in what they have to say (Brown is herself an economist by training).
The $64 question: How will the governor react to the new forecast?
UPDATE: As leaders in Olympia had expected, the budget shortfall projection for the next biennium has jumped. Originally projected between $5 and $6 billion, the 2009-2011 shortfall now stands at $8 billion.
Signers include some well-known and respected names in civic affairs, such as Brewster Denny and Hubert Locke, both of whom are former deans of the Evans School of Public Polcy at the UW.
"Implementing deep cuts in government spending and declining to raise revenue through tax increases is not an effective strategy to guide Washington State out of this recession," they write. Instead, they call on Oly electeds to "consider the full range of options, including revenue increases, when deciding how to close the state budget gap."
The letter was co-ordinated by the Washington State Budget & Policy Center. Budget & Policy is a liberal-leaning economic think tank affiliated with the influential Center for Budget and Policy Priorities in the other Washington.
I'm told some of signers are going to press the case for revenue increases in a conference call with Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown this afternoon, and she is said to be very interested in what they have to say (Brown is herself an economist by training).
The $64 question: How will the governor react to the new forecast?
UPDATE: As leaders in Olympia had expected, the budget shortfall projection for the next biennium has jumped. Originally projected between $5 and $6 billion, the 2009-2011 shortfall now stands at $8 billion.
