Dave
discussing issues at a technology forum.
We
Live in a Changing World
Our world is rapidly changing. From
international issues to the local cul-de-sac, the coming years will be different for ourselves and our children.
While we are facing the worst economy since the Great
Depression, we continue to face unrest in the Middle East and
competition for our current jobs from a growing economy in
China and India. These issues impact our everyday lives at home, work
and school, Yet the current legislature continues to
develop fiscal polices as we were in the past decade.
The State budget decisions in the next few years will set a
tone for the decade to come.
The
Need for a Sound Economic Policy
in WA
State
While there are over 100 issues before the
legislature each year, nothing impacts our everyday lives more
than the WA State's economic policy. This year the
Democrats with a super majority on the both the House and
Senate are debating over how to raise $800 million in
taxes.
But here's the
real story being ignored. Because of their
spending policies, WA State will face an $8 billion deficit
when session starts next year. Bow wave spending
programs created in the last few years will need to be funded
next year and beyond. If the Democrats with a super
majority can not make appropriate cuts for this budget, what
are they going to do next year. This
is an issue that cannot be ignored and it is simply not going
away. For an outline of the programs and
costs that add up to $8 billion, click
here.
This year is only the
tip of the iceberg. To be very frank, the next 4
years are going to be very ugly. In my 20 years of being
around the state legislature, next year's budget will be the
worse I've ever seen. There are no more one time federal
government or rainy day funds to patch the holes in the dike
as they did this year. If the Democrats cannot agree on
major policy changes this year needing $800 million, what will
they do next year when they need $8 billion? The title
to an article in Everett Herald during the special session
sums it up best....."Legislators
just can’t make tough budget decisions, lobbyist says."
This is why I'm
running again. We must
change our economic policies, not just provide temporary plugs
for the current leaks. We
are in the worst economy since the Great Depression eighty
years ago and the Democrats are running fiscal policies like
they did 5 years ago. It will get better next year and
we'll be fine they keep saying.....all the while the deficit
keeps piling up. They refuse to make the hard choices
and are sending us to an economic disaster for the coming
decade. Remembering our history, the economic market
crash came in 1929, but the worst unemployment and economic
situation developed 3 years later between 1932 to 1935.
If we do not make major policy changes.....we are headed for
the same results. This is a future budget deficit that
we cannot cut or tax ourselves out of. Major changes
must be made.
Dave at
and Education Committee hearing in Olympia
Education,
the State's Paramount Duty
As stated in our WA State Constitution,
education is our paramount duty. For the last 1 1/2 years I have been serving
with the Governor Gregoire on the WA Learns Steering Committee. We
have made a bold commitment to change the face of education in
WA State. Keeping the same course is not acceptable, we
must make dramatic changes to our education system.
The jobs of the future will require a highly trained and
educated work force. China and India are producing 8-10
times the number of college graduates in the technology and
engineering fields. We must provide a reliable path of a
quality education for their future.
It is time to trade our textbooks for
laptops in our classrooms. It is time to provide
access for a quality higher education so our children can
compete in a global marketplace for tomorrows jobs.
Dave with
Governor Gregoire at a bill signing in Olympia
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