In his Sunday “Smart Bombs” column, Spokane Spokesman-Review Associate Editor Gary Crooks takes on some common budget myths, and comes to a conclusion that might surprise a lot of his readers.
The best way to measure a state’s tax burden is to total up personal income and divide it by how much money the state collects. […] The same holds true for spending, which was about 6 percent of total income for a decade, then declined. That’s probably surprising to most people given the Republicans’ drumbeat on “out-of-control” spending. Spending has increased in recent years, but a lot of that was to make up for budgetary hits after the economic swoon of the previous recession and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The state then began making up for lost funding on voter-approved initiatives on teacher pay and class sizes and had to backfill pension payments that were delayed to help balance the previous budget.
To get an idea how much the “spending burden” has declined, it was 5.9 percent of total income for the 2003-’05 budget. This is the much-ballyhooed “tough” budget shepherded through the Legislature by then-Sen. Dino Rossi. Now we’re looking at 5.18 percent. And, yes, even the “Rossi budget” spent more than the state collected.
HA regulars are well familiar with this analysis, but I can’t tell you how heartening it is to read it in the op-ed pages of a major daily, especially considering that the editors at our own Seattle Times have been so aggressive at spreading the myth Crooks so effectively busts. But perhaps the Times refusal to accept this reality has less to do with their inability to do the math, and more to do with their refusal to accept Crooks’ inevitable conclusion.
It’s the tax code, stupid. The problem with measuring the affordability of taxes and spending against total income is that the state doesn’t have an income tax. The above calculations help explain why it should. The state is relatively rich, but it has a tax code that’s unsuited to tapping that wealth. The result is that high-income households send relatively large sums to the feds and relatively paltry amounts to the state. Conversely, the state taxes the poor at the highest levels in the nation because of the heavy reliance on our regressive sales tax.
If the state instituted an income tax and lowered the sales tax, it could begin to address its chronic budget deficits and lower the tax burden for most Washingtonians. It’s the same argument that was laid out by the Gates Commission several years ago, but lawmakers failed to act.
The paper of record for Eastern Washington joining me in advocating for a state income tax? Welcome to the radical fringe.
The biggest legitimate criticism of Democratic politicians is their sheer gutlessness when it comes to taking obvious action on obvious problems. The failure of Gov. Gregoire and the Democratic supermajorities in the legislature is a glaring example of this gut-wrenching weakness of the Democratic Party. Strangely, both the Republican Party and its troll herds have failed to run with this vulnerability. Which suggests they’re even weaker — and more jelly-spined — than the Democratic politicians they love to criticize.
For the present, the governor and legislature are inclined to tinker around the fringes. This is what passes for a political strategy of ignoring an obvious solution to an obvious problem.
Well, if they’re merely going to tinker, they should at least strive to be good at tinkering. One thing they should do is fix the Public Records Act so it stops incentivizing an entire cottage industry of public records enrepreneurs who are hell-bent on turning the PRA into a personal profit center (at taxpayer expense).
This is possible because the PRA monetizes agency incapacities and mistakes. The law’s penalty provisions encourage predatory citizens to harass public agencies with documents requests, in hopes the agencies will stumble and expose their fiscal offices to the naked greed of these vultures and their lawyers.
For example, a partisan blogger with an ideological agenda recently extracted $225,000 of shakedown money from a county government by exploiting the well-intentioned but easily abused PRA penalty provisions.
This is an area where state legislators could painlessly save the taxpayers significant sums, not to mention give public agencies relief from constant sniping attacks by modern-day pirates, by enacting simple and costless reforms.
To accomplish this, it isn’t necessary to give public agencies free license to ignore citizens’ legitimate requests for access to public records. All the legislature has to do is take the personal profit out of it by requiring PRA violators to pay the penalties to the General Fund instead of self-appointed citizen mobs and vigilantes. There would still be a penalty for violations, and a budgetary incentive for compliance with the PRA, but this simple reform would shut down a network of underhanded enterprises that provides the public with no more benefit than Mafia loansharking or Somali privateering operations.
Republicans are big proponents of privatizing government functions. Privatization always costs taxpayers more than letting government workers perform the same functions, and the quality of the service is usually less. For example, under GOP government we taxpayers shelled out $150,000 a year for mercenaries who do essentially the same work as $15,000-a-year Army soldiers, except they’re not as good at it.
Business Week, a conservative business magazine, provides another example of where privatization has proved to be a sheer waste of taxpayer money.
In an article about the Obama administration’s plans to eliminate private lenders from federal student loan programs, BW writes,
“Financial companies have been big beneficiaries of the system, collecting huge fees from the government; in the last school year private student lenders handed out nearly 80% of the $65 billion in federal funds.
“By lending directly to … students, the U.S. figures it can save $94 billion over the next decade.”
Keep in mind that what we’re talking about here is not private lenders lending private funds; every cent of that $65 billion is taxpayer money and the private lenders are being paid merely to disburse it.
The Obama proposal to re-federalize these lending activities, BW says, “threatens the core of lenders’ profits.” For example, according to BW, 70% of the giant private lender Sallie Mae’s business consisted of disbursing federal loans in 2008.
Business Week, being a business-friendly publication with a conservative editorial slant, naturally tried to find some value-added justification for the private lenders’ fees and profits — but couldn’t.
The magazine says, “Lenders insist that they provide valuable services, including running financial-literacy programs [for] students …. But the default rate for federal student loans made by private lenders is 7.3%, compared with 5.3% for direct federal loans.” [Emphasis added.]
BW sums up the worthlessness of Bush-era privatization of federal student loan administration by quoting the director of an education nonprofit: “This is the last vestige of Soviet-style capitalism.”
Getting something for doing nothing — that’s what the private student loan industry does. And it’s time that it, like contracting out the fighting of our wars to costly private mercenaries, came to an end.
Hey RR – why don’t your Democrats just go for the jugular? What’s holdin’ ya back silly wabbit?
Decades ago, the Spokesman-Review was considered by some as the most conservative newspaper in the country. While it has moved a bit toward the light since then, it is still a conservative paper. We see how fringy our trolls here are when we compare their positions concerning a state income tax with those of a conservative newspaper.
Republican Business Credo:
“Government funds = the free market.”
The disbursers of Federal money are the much ballyhooed ‘PRODUCERS’ of Randinian fame. It seems the ‘PRODUCERS’ can only turn a profit when they are feeding at the public trough.
And you can add Halliburton and Dick Cheney to the worthless lot of grafters and traitors.
That being said, Democratic politicians are by and large either spineless, liars, or both.
We are in the same position as the Religious right in that we have a party that continuously fails to deliver on its promises — and so do they.
I’m surprised that Mr. Klynical hasn’t pointed out that, per his favorite measure of all things Obama, the Rasmussen Polls Presidential Approval Index, President Obama’s approval rating is soaring. Last week it was at +2, it’s now at +5!
-heh
This state doesn’t have an income tax, and I’m all for keeping it that way!
NO INCOME TAX FOR WASHINGTON – NEVER, NEVER, EVER!!
Politically Incorrect @9,
Advocating against a state income tax, you should really drop the “In” from your moniker.
Taxes, ever larger and more of them, are politically correct ideas, Goldy, not politically incorrect ideas.
Steve, you sure have a way with numbers. Obama was at 32 then dropped to 2…and is now (according to you) at 5. Wow…that’s soaring.
In the stock market you would call this a dead cat bounce. But soaring it ain’t.
Goldy, Goldy, Goldy–
Once again, the argument EVENTUALLY will role around to whether or not the Income Tax being proposed is Tax Revenue NEUTRAL compared to current revenue.
You have clearly stated NO, it’s a major tax increase. You are more prone to tie the tax revenue to when our economy was booming in generating sales tax revenue.
That is where the REAAAAAAAAAAL RUB is Goldy.
Let’s assume we go to an income tax…what is the tax level set at in terms of revenue generation.
Tax Neutral or major tax increase.
No one is going to vote YES on this without a clear understand of the Tax Revenue implication.
Get it out on the table Goldy and continue to empasize it is a TAX REVENUE INCREASE>
Oh, that’s right, Goldy likes to worm around the fringes of the truth rather than clearly delineating the implication.
@12 A way with numbers? Hey, it’s more than doubled in the last week. Why on earth do you think Mr. Klynical hasn’t been posting the results?
Where’s the posts of yours taking issue with Mr. Klynical when he repeatedly declares that the President is “plummeting”, “tanking” and “sinking” when there hasn’t been any appreciable movement in the Rasmussen Poll results over the last couple of months.
The poll will shift back to +2, Mr. Klynical will be back crowing about Obama tanking, and you’ll be silent. Fuck off.
32 to 5? The poll internals reveal that these defections are only Republicans mindlessly following the Bloated Bloviator over the cliff.
The workers won’t like a new sales tax and they’ll all leave the state.
Where exactly is Godly “worming around” the issue.
We have less spending per captia. We have a bigger budget partly because we have a bigger population.
What’s wrong with the Bill Gates’ and Paul Allen’s of this world paying a little more?
Don’t drop the Chicken Little arguement of the slippery slope and we’ll all be paying an income tax.
So, what the fuck are you trying to say? That evry voting citizen is going to say to him/her self: “I wonder if this is tax neutral or a tax revenue increase?”
Who cares? Raising the sales tax in a time when people are buying less is What? a tax neutral OR a tax revenue increase.
The only reason why the republicons want smaller government is so they can buy it for less.
So what is your point steve: you have 1000 Dollar, gov takes 990 Dollar from you to pay someone else. You complain about the 10 left.
So gov gives you 10 back. Wow…Steve is happy cause he just got a 100% increase…yep, isn’t it wonderful. It’s right in line with 95% will receive a tax cut…
Cynical
Why haven’t you responded to Steve above regarding the Rasmussen tracking poll? Could it be–please, I hope it isn’t true, I have so few illusions left–that you have no integrity and are a mere partisan shill?
@19 Point? My point is that Mr. Klynical is a piece of shit. So are you.
Pew: 73% favorable for President Obama.
http://people-press.org/
Suck on that, Dutch.
22
Yeah, but the 27% who do not give Obama favorable ratings are the producers, you understand, those who pay the taxes on which the rest of us depend. Please don’t forget to include this qualifier in future such posts.
@23 “producers”
-heh
@4 I can’t reach your jugular because I’m only 30″ tall, so I go for your fucking shin instead.
@9 Who gives a fuck what you want?!! You’re part of our state’s Permanent Minority. You’re out of touch, out of power, and we don’t have to listen to you.
@11 “Taxes, ever larger and more of them, are politically correct ideas, Goldy, not politically incorrect ideas.”
The fact of the matter is that Washingtonians are taxed less today than at any time in living memory.
@12 The latest polls I’ve seen put Obama’s approval ratings at roughly two-thirds of the American people, which is approximately 2 1/2 times Bush’s ratings.
@13 Leaving the sales tax in place is a tax increase, too, Cynical. And the governor and legislature don’t even have to do anything to make it go up. Sales tax collections will automatically increase as soon as consumers start buying again.
@14 “Mr. Klynical when he repeatedly declares that the President is ‘plummeting’, ‘tanking’ and ‘sinking’ when there hasn’t been any appreciable movement in the Rasmussen Poll results over the last couple of months.”
Makes you wonder if Mr. Klynical is Baghdad Bob’s twin, doesn’t it?
Here are a few choice quotes for you nostalgia buffs:
“There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!”
“I can say, and I am responsible for what I am saying, that they have started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad.”
“I triple guarantee you, there are no American soldiers in Baghdad.”
“We are in control. They are in a state of hysteria.”
“They’re not even [within] 100 miles [of Baghdad].”
“They are trapped in Umm Qasr. They are trapped near Basra. They are trapped near Nasiriyah. They are trapped near Najaf. They are trapped everywhere.”
“You can go and visit those places. Nothing there, nothing at all. There are Iraqi checkpoints. Everything is okay.”
“There are only two American tanks in the city.”
“We are winning!”
And last, but not least,
“There is no Arnold! This is a lie of the olooj editors of this infidel site. I am not afraid and neither should you be. I repeat, there are no Arnolds in Sacramento. Never!”
But despite his penchant for melodramatic exaggeration and prevarication, Baghdad Bob was telling the truth when he said:
“I speak better English than this villain Bush.”
Cynical,
Wherefore art thou? Are you yet again dodging an argument in which any honest person would engage?
Hell Goldy, Screw the Income tax, just ask Obama for a trillion and he’d be glad to print it for you.
How to Spend $6.5 Trillion in the first 100 Days, just ask Obama. Now one an match this spending spree in 100 days, no one in History!
re 19: “So what is your point steve: you have 1000 Dollar, gov takes 990 Dollar from you to pay someone else.”
Whwere? Give me a specific instance — not a talking point.
@33 Is there some reason why you omitted to mention the $750 billion Bush threw at the banks, whose collapse his policies enabled and facilitated, as his parting gift to taxpayers?
Wingnut liar at 19: The United States has never had a 99% tax rate. There has never been anyone in the history of this country who was required to pay, or did pay, 99% of his income to the government.
It should be pointed out, however, that Republicans are in favor of keeping the state B&O tax, which requires small businesses to pay what functionally amounts to an income tax on their gross revenues regardless of whether they’re making a profit, instead of replacing it with a state individual income tax on net income.
Again with this non-starter Goldy? You really are incapable of learning anything aren’t you? Castro and Chavez loving leftist lunatics (like you and most of your yes men here) aside most Americans, and even a few people from this fringe side of the state get it. A ‘fair’ progressive rate tax on income is simple theft from competent hard working thrifty people to give to..well the kind of people you folks are.
See, governments aren’t about what feels good. They are about getting a job done in accordance with the constitution, state or federal. They are not about some utopian dream. Our founding fathers (yes they were all male, deal with it) saw government as a necessary evil, not a cure all for any societal ill.
Right to health care? Absolutely. Go out, get a good job with benefits and you have a right to the health care for which you paid. Fair taxes? Absolutely. We all pay the exact same amount for the benefits of citizenship regardless of income and that is eminently fair. You might have known this, if you read anything but Das Kapital, but ‘that government governs best which governs least.’
You lack the capacity to do well for yourselves, or in the case of the demented bunny, you goldbrick your way through a sinecure government job. Then you take a better retirement than 90% of the taxpayers, who are in fact paying for that retirement, and have the sheer gall to bitch about it.
The rest of you are probably failures through laziness or stupidity and can’t figure out why your more successful neighbor is doing so well. It makes you jealous and vengeful so you want to steal his money.
Why don’t you palid politically correct fools get it? It isn’t yours. Someone else earned it. Oh yeah, this is a concept lefties don’t understand. How do I explain the concept of earning…? Earning something means that you actually do the job you were hired to do. You don’t file endless union grievances if you’re one of the union thugs. You don’t moan about your pay scale or how your feet hurt if you actually work for a living. You go to work and do your best for the pay and conditions you agreed to when you were hired. If promotion and preferment don’t happen one of 2 things is true. You aren’t suited for that line of work, or you need a new employer who recognizes your worth. Suck it up, either way, and quit your whining. Earning means you sacrifice something, time or present enjoyment or whatever, and you delay your enjoyment until you can afford it. Earning means you find what you have or can invent to make the most of, and you go out and do it. You don’t whimper about how government policies keep you down. You don’t ask for Gregoire or the Obamination to fix your problems. You find a fix yourselves, like men for Gods sake.
Never mind. Lefties will never understand any of this. It’s so much easier to steal.
How’s this for simplicity. Keep your filthy hands off of my money you goddamn thieves!!!
lostinaseaofblue says it all, good rant and right on.
Goldy, a while back you were supporting the Sims plan which included eliminating (not lowering) the sales tax and eliminating the B&O tax. This was designed to fit under the “revenue neutral” heading. Naturally it never grew legs. Now you support some blowhard talking about “lowering” the sales tax after we get an income tax? How bout dropping the B&O? Give me a break. All you want is more money to the gov.;
If you’re so concerned about equity, how come you never gripe about the state lottery? Look it up. Know any rich people buying scratch tickets? It is the biggest rip off of the poor that this state runs. You lefties don’t really give a rip about the poor, all you care about is increasing tax revenue; the “rich” are an easy target with the current crowd in control.
zip–
The Gregoire-lead Democrats avoid talking about the change in tax structure in terms of tax revenue increase or tax revenue neutral…for obvious reasons.
They will obviously be trying to set this at “peak bubble levels” or even MORE!!
How intellectually dishonest is that?
An income tax design to generate revenue at levels experienced at the peak of a massive, unsustainable bubble.
If there is any organized fight against this massive and deceitful tax revenue increase, it will fail.