Spokane7
68°Quick links: 2012 graduating seniors • Summer camp guide • Jobs: The Road Ahead • Prep sports • News quiz
Gov. Chris Gregoire talks to reporters in Olympia, Wash., earlier today about her plan for balancing the state’s $2.6 billion budget deficit using only the state’s existing tax streams. The budget included proposed cuts in spending for health care, welfare, and education programs across the state of Washington. Seattle Times story here. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Question: Is this the time for any governor to be talking about raising taxes?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
999 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201
P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210
Main switchboard: (509) 459-5000 • (800) 338-8801
Newsroom: (509) 459-5400 • (800) 789-0029
Customer service: (800) 338-8801
© Copyright 2012, The Spokesman-Review
Terms of use • Privacy policy • Copyright policy
Find DFO on Facebook
DFO on Twitter
Sisyphus on December 09 at 2:12 p.m.
Not if she wants to keep her job.
idawa on December 09 at 2:30 p.m.
I heard an interesting discussion about this from an editor at the Tacoma paper about how far “right” even WA has gone. In the budget crisis in the ‘80s recession, the discussion in the state legislature was between cuts and raising tax (as always). The R’s wanted to handle is with 2/3 cuts, 1/3 tax increases. The D’s wanted 2/3 tax increases, 1/3 cuts. Now, the D’s will only raise taxes as a last resort and cut anything they can and the R’s will never raise taxes and would close down everything. Personally, I’m against the tax increase too as it would probably be in the form of a tax for professional services … but it is interesting to see that how far we’ve moved politically as nation on taxes.
hmoffsuite on December 09 at 3:46 p.m.
Bad time to have to raise taxes, and she has few other options, by law. Washington is using California as its role model and has been for several years. Any wild guesses why Boeing moved operations out of the State? I sold a house in Spokane in August and that was my last tie to Washington. Thank God.
Stickman on December 09 at 4:15 p.m.
Yes, I think it’s a great time, who else is going to pay for all these deficits?
Cindy_H on December 09 at 7:28 p.m.
I sure hope Gregoire runs for governor again.
Of Idaho that is.
bbvotava on April 27 at 4:36 p.m.
When are Washingtonians going to figure out that we are already among the very highest in taxation of all the States. This governor keeps spending and then has to look for revenue for all her pet social programs. We will never have the business-friendly environment we need at this rate. Pity the poor working guy trying to make a decent living just to have a governor looking for ways to take it away from him.