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When I wrote to you on Monday I promised to write again this week to update you on the status of the budget-once we had time to review it. There is good news and there is bad news.
First the good news: The budget doesn't try to spend more than the state revenue forecast. While there are some of the predicted gimmicks and standard raiding of funds, things could have been much worse. Lawmakers, it seems, got the message from voters last fall that they need to live within their means!
Now for the bad news...and I'm afraid there is more of it than good news.
The budget makes some very presumptuous assumptions about the savings which will result from "cuts" to certain programs. Cutting from one program does not result in savings if it simply pushes costs up in another (and more expensive) program.
Just one example of the nonsensical cuts is the $53 million in "savings" assumed by cutting the state reimbursement rate to school districts by 19.9% for any students enrolled in an Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) program. ALE programs currently serve many of the state's most difficult students-usually at-risk, special needs, medically fragile, etc.
It would be impossible to run these programs with almost 20% less than what they currently have! Cuts like these will likely shut down most ALE programs and throw the most vulnerable students back into the traditional classroom where they will languish or drop out. This will not result in budget savings at all. This is just one of many examples I could point out.
As I mentioned before, the budget was released at 12:15 p.m. on Monday and the public hearing was held at 3:30 p.m. But this, it seems, was just the beginning. On Wednesday the House budget committee voted on the bill, but first passed an unusually large number of lengthy amendments . We are still wading our way through all these amendments to try to figure out what they did to the budget. So much for transparency in the budget process.
In addition, the budget is scheduled for a full vote today (Friday) where it is likely there will be a ton of additional amendments offered. (And if you think I'm exaggerating, just watch TVW and see.) They will do this while surrounded by the rowdiest, noisiest and (to be blunt) rudest group of visitors the state Capitol has seen in my memory-egged on by government union rhetoric.
Yes, the government unions have arrived here in Olympia to protest "the cuts." Their slogan is "Putting people first." This is, of course, a misrepresentation of what they are trying to accomplish. A better slogan for government unions would be "Putting themselves first." Although they are pushing wheelchairs through the halls of the Capitol Building as examples, those pulling the strings are really concerned about are the salaries of bosses at union headquarters. Government unions are showing very little (no) interest in helping to balance the budget in responsible ways.
Our Investigative Reporter is down there getting the real scoop on where all these protestors are coming from and why they are there. We feel it is important for citizens to know the truth behind these government union sponsored rallies.
 And we will not let this go unanswered! Next Friday we are holding a rally for taxpayers. Our Tax Day Rally will be held on April 15 on the Capitol Steps at 2 p.m. Please join us if you can! The government union is claiming they will cover the Capitol with 10,000 government union members tomorrow, and next week we want to respond with 10,000 taxpayers!
We will continue to be your eyes and ears here in Olympia and fighting for you, the taxpayer! I hope to see you in Olympia at our rally next Friday!
Sincerely,
Juliana McMahan
Freedom Foundation (formerly Evergreen Freedom Foundation) | | | | |
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