Opinion
Three Smart Republican Ideas
PubliCola asked state Rep. Glenn Anderson (R-5, Fall City) to put the spotlight on three Republican ideas he felt the Democratic majority was wrong to squash with their higher numbers this session. We have written quite a bit about one of the bills Anderson is hot on, a bill that would let smaller counties opt out of the Growth Management Act. That bill is all but dead. The other two, a bill to consolidate our ports and a push to stave of higher ed tuition hikes as the budget talks begin are languishing.—Eds.
As of today there are 21 days left in this year’s legislative session. You might think that with the seriousness of the state’s flatliner economy and $6 billion budget deficits, Olympia would be humming with urgency, innovative reforms and the willingness to take on political risks to get our state back on a positive track … right? Well, not so much unfortunately.
So what’s the real economic situation in our state? For the last decade net private sector job creation (which generates all the tax dollars Republicans and Democrats fight about for education and health care) has been zero. Underemployment is currently about 17 percent. Over the same time the rate of personal income growth (fatter paychecks) is down about 20 percent. The basic cost of living essentials (i.e. food) has increased about 40 percent. The ugly truth is Washington is getting poorer, faster.
[pullquote]Having environmental regulations impose economic poverty on people isn’t the purpose of GMA, but it can be the outcome.[/pullquote]
Perhaps Olympia should step up to this reality and actually do something about our future prosperity slipping away from us? It would be easy to pick on Democrats since they own Olympia with control of the Governorship, Senate and House that they are “fiddling while Rome burns,” but complaining isn't much of a solution.
Here are a few things Republicans have been offering to get the state jobs machine cranked back up to generate the level of cash Olympia likes to spend, but Democrats generally oppose. First, HB 1430 (sponsored by myself) would require a merger of the Tacoma, Seattle and Everett port districts into a single unified Puget Sound Port District. It’s a global economy whether you like it or not and Shanghai, Amsterdam and our northern cousin Vancouver, British Columbia are kicking our ass. Ports can be huge job creators for our entire state. A unified port district would be dramatically more globally competitive, create a lot of high-wage jobs and reduce the burden on the property taxpayers that currently support them individually.
Second, HB 1094 (sponsored by Rep. Joel Kretz) would allow four of our state’s smallest and poorest counties to opt out of the Growth Management Act. Almost 30 percent of those citizens are on federal/state welfare assistance, 50 percent of school kids are on free or reduced meals at school and they are excessively dependent on state transfers to support other basic government services. Additionally, these counties are depopulating and likely to become even more dependent on the state. While GMA is essential for Puget Sound counties, small poor counties should be exempted from GMA so they can generate jobs to support themselves and therefore they wouldn’t be so dependent on state transfer payments. Those funds could be applied elsewhere or reduced. Having environmental regulations impose economic poverty on people isn’t the purpose of GMA, but it can be the outcome.
Finally, there is the issue of dramatic raises in university tuition rates ($350 million, at least) to balance the state budget deficit which both Democrat and Republican political leadership have bought into at the urging of big business leaders. The current proposal would increase the cost of the average four-year degree by 63 percent and that would be on top of the 30 percent increase the Legislature authorized in its last budget. Washington already has the second highest average university tuition rate in the western U.S. When the necessity of getting the next generation educated, employed and producing tax revenues is so apparent, the idea of throwing this kind punishing financial burden on people trying to better themselves, get a job and make a life, on their own initiative, borders on criminal. Republicans can come up with significantly better higher education reforms, if the best Democrats and big business can do is screw the education consumer.
Times are tough and will get tougher. We need all hands on deck, blue and red, not below deck anguished with fear about what to do and obsessed if the organized interests will punish us because we actually did our job for the people instead of them.
As of today there are 21 days left in this year’s legislative session. You might think that with the seriousness of the state’s flatliner economy and $6 billion budget deficits, Olympia would be humming with urgency, innovative reforms and the willingness to take on political risks to get our state back on a positive track … right? Well, not so much unfortunately.
So what’s the real economic situation in our state? For the last decade net private sector job creation (which generates all the tax dollars Republicans and Democrats fight about for education and health care) has been zero. Underemployment is currently about 17 percent. Over the same time the rate of personal income growth (fatter paychecks) is down about 20 percent. The basic cost of living essentials (i.e. food) has increased about 40 percent. The ugly truth is Washington is getting poorer, faster.
[pullquote]Having environmental regulations impose economic poverty on people isn’t the purpose of GMA, but it can be the outcome.[/pullquote]
Perhaps Olympia should step up to this reality and actually do something about our future prosperity slipping away from us? It would be easy to pick on Democrats since they own Olympia with control of the Governorship, Senate and House that they are “fiddling while Rome burns,” but complaining isn't much of a solution.
Here are a few things Republicans have been offering to get the state jobs machine cranked back up to generate the level of cash Olympia likes to spend, but Democrats generally oppose. First, HB 1430 (sponsored by myself) would require a merger of the Tacoma, Seattle and Everett port districts into a single unified Puget Sound Port District. It’s a global economy whether you like it or not and Shanghai, Amsterdam and our northern cousin Vancouver, British Columbia are kicking our ass. Ports can be huge job creators for our entire state. A unified port district would be dramatically more globally competitive, create a lot of high-wage jobs and reduce the burden on the property taxpayers that currently support them individually.
Second, HB 1094 (sponsored by Rep. Joel Kretz) would allow four of our state’s smallest and poorest counties to opt out of the Growth Management Act. Almost 30 percent of those citizens are on federal/state welfare assistance, 50 percent of school kids are on free or reduced meals at school and they are excessively dependent on state transfers to support other basic government services. Additionally, these counties are depopulating and likely to become even more dependent on the state. While GMA is essential for Puget Sound counties, small poor counties should be exempted from GMA so they can generate jobs to support themselves and therefore they wouldn’t be so dependent on state transfer payments. Those funds could be applied elsewhere or reduced. Having environmental regulations impose economic poverty on people isn’t the purpose of GMA, but it can be the outcome.
Finally, there is the issue of dramatic raises in university tuition rates ($350 million, at least) to balance the state budget deficit which both Democrat and Republican political leadership have bought into at the urging of big business leaders. The current proposal would increase the cost of the average four-year degree by 63 percent and that would be on top of the 30 percent increase the Legislature authorized in its last budget. Washington already has the second highest average university tuition rate in the western U.S. When the necessity of getting the next generation educated, employed and producing tax revenues is so apparent, the idea of throwing this kind punishing financial burden on people trying to better themselves, get a job and make a life, on their own initiative, borders on criminal. Republicans can come up with significantly better higher education reforms, if the best Democrats and big business can do is screw the education consumer.
Times are tough and will get tougher. We need all hands on deck, blue and red, not below deck anguished with fear about what to do and obsessed if the organized interests will punish us because we actually did our job for the people instead of them.
