Editorial: Shrinking government is the only fix this time

Time to face facts. Washington state government is going to shrink. Actually, it’s past time the state’s political leadership accepted this reality. The governor and Legislature are facing their third consecutive budget hole. This one is $3 billion at present. After two years of difficult budget cutting, finding that amount would be next to impossible without a dramatic restructuring of government.

What prevented previous overhauls was the hope of a quick economic recovery and continued aid from the federal government. But hope isn’t a plan. Congress is becoming increasingly fixated on the federal deficit. For example, it was unable to pass another extension of unemployment benefits. And the economy is stumbling along, unable to put sufficient numbers of people to work to fuel a recovery. Gov. Chris Gregoire has warned that if Congress doesn’t approve state aid by August, she will have to implement across- the-board cuts and possibly call a special session of the Legislature.

This week, the governor announced a strategy for dramatically streamlining government. She’s touting zero-based budgeting based on the Priorities of Government model to determine which services are essential.

We’ve heard those budgetary buzzwords before, so what’s different this time? Well, as state Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told the Seattle Times: “What’s different is it’s not getting any better.”

So despite federal aid and tax increases, the state still finds itself with a structural budget deficit. Quite simply, revenues are not sufficient to carry out all of the services the state provides.

The governor is assembling a 30-person panel to study government restructuring. Participants are from business, labor and politics and represent a broad political spectrum. This group will hold public hearings across the state to solicit ideas for rethinking government. It will pose such questions as: “Is this activity an essential public service?” “Can the activity be eliminated or delayed in recessionary times?” “Should users pay a portion of the costs?”

Another question that needs asking is whether taxpayers can sustain the current salaries and benefit packages of state workers.

The state’s leaders cannot be blamed for the economic implosion and the subsequent malaise, but they have no choice when it comes to balancing the budget. The feds cannot be relied upon. There is little appetite for a second round of tax increases. We need a tough, thoughtful, long-term plan to shrink state government.