Spokane7
67°
December 23, 2011 in City
State also faces a deficit of understanding the other guy
So Kevin Parker said this great thing the other day about the state budget: “We can’t just cut, cut, cut.”
My thoughts exactly. Which was not what I expected to hear when Parker, the Republican who represents Spokane’s 6th District in the state House, sat down with me for a chat. It was not too many months after I’d taken a big, fat rhetorical swing at something else Parker had said about state government: “We don’t have a revenue problem.”
Which were not my thoughts at all. I think we have a huge problem with revenue – i.e., taxation – and I expressed, in terms approaching hostility, my objection to Parker’s statement then. So I expected him to treat me the same way in return – to debate me or correct me or set me straight.
Instead, he said this thing I completely agree with.
I don’t want to overstate our moment of consensus. Parker and I see things differently. But we spent a good bit of time talking about that – about disagreement and demonization, about bomb-throwing and productive discourse, about the evolution of politics and the difficulties facing our state.
Parker says we can’t simply cut services – but he does not support casting the net for new taxes. He opposes this ideologically, and he notes that Washington voters have made their opposition to new taxes apparent.
“The voters have clearly said they don’t want new taxes right now,” he said.
Parker owns the Dutch Bros. Coffee shops around town. He likens the state budget to his business accounts: Overall revenues are expected to grow by 7 percent in the coming budget, he says, and that should be manageable. He resists the notion that the budget has been cut at all. What’s happened, he says, is that planned spending increases have been canceled.
“Why is it we can’t balance our books?” he asks. “If our coffee shops were up 7 percent and I can’t balance the books, then something is wrong.”
This is somewhat semantic. The state has eliminated billions of dollars in services. There are fewer teachers in classrooms with more students, fewer families receiving health care coverage, and on and on. To note the 7 percent increase all by itself is, I think, to skip important context. The state’s revenues are only “up” if you don’t look at where they were just six years ago. According to a chart on Parker’s own website, the projected revenues for 2013 are, in constant dollars, lower than the revenue for 2007.
Parker said three things are putting the hurt on the state budget: the rising costs associated with current levels of service in programs; the increased demand for those services as the economy stays lousy; and costs associated with pensions.
As an example, he notes that caseloads for state services for the developmentally disabled are staying about the same, but the costs to provide that same level of service are up almost 13 percent.
“When that is happening in about 1,000 programs all across the state, money suddenly becomes tight,” he said.
I’d love to see us correct this partly through methods that seem impossible politically – shifting to a progressive income tax, levying a tax on capital gains, finding ways to support our schools and roads and parks and social services in addition to the cutting that we have done and will do.
Parker won’t support new taxes, though he says he’d like to see tax reform and more pro-business policies. Like a lot of people in his party, he has faith that goosing business with incentives and lightening the regulatory load pays off down the road, in more jobs and more tax revenue. He’d like to see expensive state services contracted to the private sector.
It sounds kind of like an all-cuts approach to me – all cuts for now, and wait for the economic rose to bloom. Don’t these unsustainable budget figures cry out for some form of modest, added taxation?
“We feel like unless there’s reform, it’s a moot point,” he said.
The state budget is bleeding money through fraud and waste, he said. Parker mentioned one of the GOP’s greatest hits: EBT card fraud, a problem the state discovered and went after and which is nevertheless brought up repeatedly as though that alone can fix all our problems.
I am dubious about Parker’s ideas. Honestly, I am beyond dubious. I feel that talking about exposing welfare fraud and privatizing services in hypothetical terms while the only tool on the table is an ax won’t get us where we need to go. It will simply get us to the place Parker insists he doesn’t want to go: cut cut cut.
But it began to strike me, as we talked, that we were engaging in the debate that is enraging a lot of us every single day, without being enraged about it. This is to Parker’s credit, not mine. I am, more and more, angered about our politics. In many ways, I feel precisely like the people on the other side of the argument: Everything is going to hell, due entirely to people who don’t agree with me.
But we are more than the sum of our political opinions. It is a very obvious lesson, and it’s one that some of us have to learn a lot. So, in the spirit of Christmas, a Grinch sat down with a Who. I’m pretty sure I was the green one.
Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@spokesman.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vestal13.
The draw of the unknowable 
WillyPeter on December 23 at 5:25 a.m.
Kevin Parker, a pretty smart, ethical, and fair Republican state representative, is……dumb to sit down with Shawn Vestal, a liberal, Democrat propagandist working for the Review, and expect to get a “fair deal.”
Don’t waste your time, Kevin. It doesn’t matter whether or not you smile and agree with him, you’re a Republican, so he’s gonna do whatever he can to get you unelected; you’ll see,
JBlim on December 23 at 7:00 a.m.
Parker suffers from the burden of blind servitude to the failed economic theories of the Republican party. He’s just another “me too” Republican.
Rand on December 23 at 8:31 a.m.
Funny we have one person who employs people, one who has not. One who has paid much more into the system than the other. One who wants to spend the others money and the other who doesn’t. Which one do you think has a better case to be snarkey to the other? Which one is?
Pigrobin on December 23 at 8:35 a.m.
Rand, I’m sure you didn’t just figure this out today. That’s the way it’s been for a long, long time.
MrBloggy on December 23 at 8:35 a.m.
Reality is the ‘pubs in Oly know they’ve cut the state budget to the bone and additional cuts = babies and old people dying.
He knows the political survival of his minority party is at stake … even Zarelli gets this.
Flail away, teabaggers. You don’t understand the political realities on the table now. The cuts to state govt have exceeded the wildest dreams of most of the GOP. They know the safety net is about to shred.
PassinThru on December 23 at 8:36 a.m.
@ JBlim: Our governors Lowery, Locke and Gregoire, all from the same political party as the majority of both houses of our legislature. Them Republicans sure must have a lot of clout!
During the Rossi/Gregoire debate in Spokane four years ago, the governor smiled and declared, “Our state’s economy is strong!” at least four times. I didn’t believe her. Did you?
We currently have a Democrat president, and in his first two years in office, the majority of both houses of Congress were Democrat.
Funny how it’s the Republicans’ fault none of our problems got better, in either Washington.
CougarGold on December 23 at 8:46 a.m.
Whether you agree with Vestal or Parker, are D or R, believe we don’t have a revenue problem but can’t rely on cut, cut, cut, there is a good message in this article. As a society, we need to put away the rhetoric and have civil debate if we want to get anywhere. Make the effort to see things from each other’s perspective and have the discussion. Realize that even if we don’t agree, we each have strong compassion for our argument and recognize that maybe we’re not always on the right side of the argument.
With the polarized views and accompanying rancor, positions have become so solidified that it’s difficult to believe we’ll ever find common ground. The first step to finding common ground, however is in the step that Vestal states above: “…we are more than the sum of our political opinions.”. What’s missing in our political debate is statesmanship. As a public, we don’t see statesmanship in our elected leaders and thereby think it’s okay to fight bloody battles.
I would call on our leaders to set the political tone by carrying on with thoughtful, respectful discussions. Recognize that somewhere between the polar arguments is probably where the right answer is and work to reach that consensus point. Spend your effort to find common ground, work toward a common solution, quit the bomb throwing, and celebrate the victories together.
To Vestal’s credit, although I largely disagree with him politically, he seems to have gotten it. Kevin Parker, I know, does get it. As noted in the article, he and Vestal will likely never agree on the issues at the poles but, I would bet, they can find common ground on certain opinions once the rhetorical flame-throwing is out of the way. Kudos to Vestal for the basis of the article and to Parker for having the integrity and guts to sit down with a writer who has been a highly outspoken critic. This is a good example of beginning the process toward resolving our problems. Can other political leaders take a similar step? I certainly hope so.
liberal_in_right_wing_land on December 23 at 9:39 a.m.
Last I checked Republican states are doing just as bad, and in many cases worse, than states with Democratic governors and legislatures. Funny how the tea baggers think the economy only seems to be bad in states like Washington and California. You idiots really think nothing is wrong in Idaho, Florida or Mississippi?
HEY TEA BAGGERS, WAKE UP, ITS BOTH PARTIES THAT RUINED THIS COUNTRY, NOT JUST THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS.
Really sick and tired of the dumb idiot tea baggers on here who love to say the liberals and democrats are destroying this country, but will never, ever lay the blame at the feet the the republican party for their hand in this economic depression we are in. You idiots can yell at me all you want for saying this, whatever, but at least we liberals and democrats aren’t drinking the Kool-Aid being given to us by our party and we actually call out are own party for their hand in destroying the economy……and yes, we do, as I have many times, MisJ has, John Clark does, the Seer does, and many others on here have all have placed blame on the democrats for their hand in this. Yet you dumb, idiot tea baggers NEVER think your party does ANY wrong ever. Instead you all fight tooth and nail that Bush was the greatest man ever to sit in the White House and never did anything wrong in his 8 years in office. You never blame the tea party members in congress for refusing to work and compromise and now you are seeing the Republican Party eating their own in Washington DC (does any tea bagger honestly think John Boehner is a good Speaker after this last week?)
Please, just stop it, you all are just proving how stupid and ignorant you idiots are.
CougarGold on December 23 at 9:56 a.m.
Obviously my commentary fell on deaf ears with liberal_in_right_wing_land. Or are you simply trolling for a response?
liberal_in_right_wing_land on December 23 at 10:00 a.m.
CougarGold, are you the only poster on here that I am speaking to? No.
So, can someone not post something similar to yours to show more than one person on here thinks the same way? Come on man, settle down, sorry if you think I am trying to steal your thunder.
CougarGold on December 23 at 10:08 a.m.
If there’s one thing; I am settled down. I would encourage all to do the same, including you relative to your rant above. Then there can be the potential for constructive discourse but the tone of your post and those you are directing it toward will not likely allow any progress. Just more yelling and name-calling that’s clearly not helping the current state of affairs. As a city/state/country, we can and must do better if we’re ever to resolve our current problems and move forward.
D Statler on December 23 at 10:13 a.m.
You don’t really believe that there isn’t tons more fat to cut out of the state government before really hurtful cuts hit. Our state government is full of departments,commissions and agencies that could easily be eliminated,privatized or combined for efficiency. It appears that our elected officials don’t want to do the research. Much easier to cut social services and teachers. Time for some innovative leadership and a stern book keeper willing to lead Washington into the future.
This is not an R or D issue. It is an R and D issue !
8john on December 23 at 4:14 p.m.
I believe the Governor’s proposals to be tantamount to extortion!
There is simply no need to drastically cut services to those most in need.
There are many, many, many places the state could cut that would not impact those in greatest need.
Cuts could start by a reduction in salary and benefits across the board for all state employees making over 50K a year! Our state employees are the envy of many.
Our education system is awash with waste and regulations that have nothing to do with improving education.
Has anyone wondered why the state feels compelled to compete with private colleges? Why are we building a medical facility in Spokane with taxpayer money when we can not afford to provide medical services to the most needy?
Has anyone asked why we do not have, as one state has, a state bank to “compete” with bankers that make money off of the state?
There is only one purpose it seems legislators of both parties have - convince citizens to give them more of our money!
Have you heard even one proposal from Republicans as to how to cut 1.4 Billion, given the number of state agencies it should not be a problem.
Republicans could start by cutting the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction by 50%, it would have a positive impact on education.
D Statler on December 23 at 10:55 p.m.
The top three corrupt positions at the Utilities and Transportation Commission alone would save over half a million dollars. There are 154 positions in that commission alone that could be eliminated or combined.
Eliminate the sentencing guideline commission and reverse every decision ever made by them. Removing the auto declination laws would also save millions and stop the unjust prosecution of reformable youth. These small steps would save millions and unclogg our prison system.
Send twenty professional book keepers to Olympia for a month to clean and balance the house would more than cover the rest of the deficit.
So simple a janitor can figure it out :^)
arroyoribera on December 24 at 12:03 a.m.
Political persuasions aside, it is difficult to deny that the budget is being balanced on the backs of the poor - an ever growing class of people which now includes more & more members of the middle class who in the last few years have slipped into the class of the unemployed, the homeless, the medically uninsured, & those in deep despair. As any review of the numbers shows, the economy recently has failed to get anywhere close to staunching the blood being drained from US communities, including Spokane.
In a memo to all its staff today, Washington State’s Community Service Division (CSD) of the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) announced that, “Effective January 1, 2012, the Department will suspend the Consolidated Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP) through June 30, 2012 due to exhaustion of state program funds. We must suspend the CEAP program to prevent program overspending & to achieve a balanced budget for the current fiscal year. We will continue to inform you of any changes as they occur.” The DSHS EAZ manual defines CEAP as: a cash program available to families or pregnant women who face an emergency & do not have the money to meet their basic needs”. CEAP is available for only ! month in a 12 month period. Program rules allow the state to end the program when funds are exhausted.
So that is what will happen on 01/01/12 in the dead of harsh winter cold.
On 12/01/11, a few days after Thanksgiving, welfare offices (Community Service Offices or CSOs) in Spokane stopped same day issuance of replacement EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer or food/cash benefit cards) as part of a statewide plan to save something less than a million dollars by having JP Morgan Chase mail the cards to those who have lost them, had them stolen, had one break, had one eaten by an ATM machine, become de-magnetized, or otherwise no longer in their possession (including the relatively few cases of EBT card fraud). Problems with the plan - such as JP Morgan Chase’s phone system continuing to tell clients that they can pick up a replacement card in Spokane welfare offices - continue to cause confusion & hardship for people with limited resources & transportation to make fruitless trips under winter conditions to pick up cards that can no longer be issued to them locally.
And on 12/09/11, Spokane’s North Community Services Office (CSO or welfare office) of DSHS (at Crestline & Francis) was permanently closed, leaving only the Maple CSO (near Boone) and Trent CSO (near Argonne) open for business.
Ten months ago on February 1, 2011, at the beginning of the coldest February in nearly three decades, DSHS cut off TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, until 1997 known as AFDC or Aid to Families with Dependent Children) cash assistance to some 5000 familiies with some 10,000 children on short notice.
All these changes have happened with very bad timing for individuals & families in need and with little notice to those affected.
We are supposed to simply rock our troubled consciences to sleep - presumably to the sound of “O Holy Night” and “Little Drummer Boy” - while repeating to ourselves the oft told lie: “There is no money, there is no money”. When in fact we all know there is money.
There is just no money for Mary, Joseph, & baby Jesus, neither to house them, to feed them or to cure their winter illness.
Neither political party - being both bought & paid for institutions of the country’s economic & political elites - is willing, with very, very few exceptions, to address the hard cold truths of US militarism, corporate domination of the rules of our economy and political decision making, and the lies we tell ourselves about what can & can’t be done.
When push comes to shove, baby Jesus and his parents will be shoved out into the cold to fend for themselves. Don’t believe it? Just go out and speak to people on the streets of Spokane or any town in this nation.
It is shameful…
Rand on December 24 at 8:46 a.m.
You forgot one more arroyoribera WIC needing to advertise their services to people as “not enough” eligible people were taking this handout. And you tell me we have a revenue problem, you libs are funny. Also where are the people dying in the streets you guys claim will happen with every cut?