Amelia Cook runs an innovative high-tech manufacturing company in Mount Vernon along with her brother. The products they make at Goodwinds Composites are literally out-of-this-world: They made the carbon fiber legs for the NASA helicopter that flew on Mars.
As a successful entrepreneur, Cook knows that when money is tight, you start by looking hard at spending.
“I think about where every dollar is going,” Cook said. “All the time.”
Lawmakers in Olympia would do well to follow suit.
The biggest task remaining before the legislative session is scheduled to adjourn April 27 is to finalize a two-year state budget. So far, the Democratic majority has been leaning heavily on new and increased taxes, in the range of $17 billion. They don’t have to.
While there have been lots of numbers thrown around about the size of the state’s budget shortfall, the reality is that the state has a spending problem, not a revenue program. State government is taking in more tax revenue each year, with revenues on track to grow another $10 billion over the next four years. That’s a lot of new money from taxes from employers, who pay approximately 50% of state and local taxes.
Lawmakers could continue to fund critical services and programs without new or increased taxes. Yet lawmakers in the House and Senate are proposing what would amount to the largest tax increase in state history.
How much would taxes increase? About $14.8 billion under the House plan and $16 billion under the Senate plan. That means higher taxes on employers, which will result in higher prices and an even higher cost of living.
