Yes I remember. I also remember Sims and Gregiore coming out both barrels blazing against this, then getting repaid with huge campaign contributions.

They'll fix it---buy hiring more state employees. BTW, in todays world--whats another 5-6 billion

Quit your whining. Washington would have better off fixing the roads a long time ago when Locke was in office. But everybody cried about an extra 5 cent gas tax increase. Now the cost has gone up substantially. Boeing got mad and moved jobs out of state. People cried about ferry fares. Now they are looking at replacing the boats because of corrosion.

Bush II got into office and screwed up the economy as soon as Clinton got out of office. Clinton's last year saw a 80 Million dollar deficit. Bush waged war on Iraq over a false report of WMD. The cost of Iraq is estimated to be 2 Trillion dollars. Bush left oil unregulated and the prices went out of control. Inflation is hitting us hard. We had to bail out the Savings and Loans to a tune of 200 Billion. Then we had to bail out the banks for 700 Billion.

Washington is paying out more in unemployment and taking in less revenue. The building industry is taking a nose dive after rolling in the dough. Energy costs have gone up for state agencies. The cost of asphalt has gone up. The state built a new bridge over the Narrows. The UW wants the state to pay for stadium upgrades.

What happens when budgets get tight? They don't fund projects now and they cost more in the future.

My 2

The solution to deficit is simple. Don't spend until you have the money.

The second and third responsible things to do is to cut, cut, cut gov't from all levels and say, "NO!" to every special interest group(s) who demand financial support, at least until the people vote to support it/them and then only as long as absolutely necessary and not until money is set aside (as in saved) for that specific purpose.

I know it is a new concept, but "doing without" is a responsibility. NOT "doing without" is the reason we are in this mess in the first place.

"Just because it's a great price, doesn't mean you can afford to buy it."

Our gas tax has been amongst the highest in the nation for a long time. Where has that money been going? Not into road improvement which is what is was supposed to be for.

I hate to tell you, but Boeing left because of the B&O tax and all the other BS taxes they were asked to pay. Not to mention all the capital improvements (overpass on Being Everett freeway) they were asked to pay for.

So the housing act of 1998 didn't have anything to do with the hole we are in. That is the bill that urged companies like Fanny May and Freddy Mac to give out those ridiculous loans. Certainly Bush didn't do anything to change it, but Clinton opened Pandora's box. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to pin it all on Bush. But that is what I expect from the left. Only look at the part of the picture that makes your case and leave out the other facts.

False reports of WMDS huh? Well I am pretty sure that the UN resolution that gave the United States the authority to use force in Iraq said the the burden of proof was on Iraq and its leaders to prove that the weapons had been disposed of. They were supposed to allow weapons inspectors unrestricted access to any facility the wanted to see. Iraq wouldn't allow this type of access even though these were terms of the original cease fire signed back in 1991. Iraq made its own bed, and the world is a safer place without Saddam.

Don't get me wrong Bush definitely spent too much money, you will have a difficult time finding any good conservative that doesn't agree on that.

What happens when budgets get tight? The government cuts the programs that people want until they start to whine, and then they use those cuts to justify tax hikes.

I for one think that as Washington tax payers we are getting screwed. We pay one of the highest gas taxes in the country, yet we have one of the worst transportation systems. We are in the top ten in terms of funding for schools, yet we are in the bottom ten in terms of effective education. Why shouldn't we whine about what the leaders in this state are providing us? Why should we accept this?

Perhaps a public caning of the top spender is in order? You know, lil' Miss "If it saves one life...."

I'd rather pay an extra few cents for better roads than pay it to big oil and oil speculators. Locke gas tax proposal

Boeing got huge tax breaks to entice them to stay. A 40% B&O tax cut.
The Big Boeing Ripoff

Who caused the economic crises?
Factcheck economic crisis


Did Sadam terrorize us? Iraq 1 was justified and was financed by several foreign countries. Who is footing the bill?
The real cost of Iraq

Vic, I don't believe anyone could be as wrong as you unless they were really trying. You win the award for the post with the most errors for 2009!

Sure am. I am not a democrat but I absolutely detest the Republican party, it's hypocrisy, and it's anti-freedom stances. Seems I'm in the majority.

"Economics are cyclical" you mean so far.

Clinton is long gone and integerity was NOT restored in the White House.

"btw he didn't follow any Republican principlies with regards to spending, alienating many is republicans)"

That party hasn't practiced what it's preached in many decades. Don't tax and spend. Nice fiscal policy.

"I hate to tell you, but Boeing left because of the B&O tax and all the other BS taxes they were asked to pay. Not to mention all the capital improvements (overpass on Being Everett freeway) they were asked to pay for. "

Boeing is all about blackmail and should be ashamed of itself. Did you think "we" should have built that overpass for them? Of course you do you hypocrite.

So far as in the last 150 years, its called history and basic economic theory you should look into it.

Really, what about the dems with taking away personal freedoms. In cali you cant modify your car legally with aftermarket parts, own many types of firearms, talk on your cell phone while you drive, everything causes cancer, and no childrens ATV's or dirtbikes (due to lead laws).. Those are all freedoms that I use on a regular basis. Hmmm interesting. But if i ever wanted to ride my bike naked down main street in san francisco with dildo shoved up my ass that freedom would be protected i guess.

I think you can take that same bike ride in Freemont once a year.

"So far as in the last 150 years, its called history and basic economic theory you should look into it."

First rule of finance...the past is no indication of the future.

Like I said I'm no Dem but only one party I see that uses anti-freedom as a platform.

OKC officer pulls man over for anti-Obama sign on vehicle
By McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
Published: February 19, 2009
Buzz up!

An Oklahoma City police officer wrongly pulled over a man last week and confiscated an anti-President Barack Obama sign the man had on his vehicle.

The officer misinterpreted the sign as threatening, said Capt. Steve McCool, of the Oklahoma City Police Department, and took the sign, which read "Abort Obama, not the unborn."

Chip Harrison said he was driving to work when a police car followed him for several miles and then signaled for him to pull over.

''I pulled over, knowing I hadn't done anything wrong," Harrison said in a recent phone interview.

When the officer asked Harrison if he knew why he had been pulled over, Harrison said he did not.

''They said, 'It's because of the sign in your window,'" Harrison said.

''It's not meant to be a threat, it's a statement about abortion," Harrison said.

He said he disagrees with the president's position on abortion.

''I asked the officer, 'Do you know what abort means?'" Harrison said. "He said, 'Yeah, it means to kill.' I said, 'No, it means to remove or terminate.'"

Harrison said his sign was to be interpreted as saying something like: Remove Obama from office, not unborn babies from the womb.

The officers confiscated Harrison's sign and gave him a slip of paper that stated he was part of an investigation.

Harrison said he later received a call from a person who said he was a lieutenant supervisor for the Internal Investigations Department and wanted to know his location and return his sign to him.

According to Harrison, the supervisor said the Secret Service had been contacted on the matter and had told them the sign was not a threat to the president.

Harrison was asked if he would like to file a complaint. He said he was not sure but would take the paperwork, just in case.

But his run-in with the law wasn't over yet.

''The Secret Service called and said they were at my house," Harrison said.

After talking to his attorney, Harrison went home where he met the Secret Service.

''When I was on my way there, the Secret Service called me and said they weren't going to ransack my house or anything ... they just wanted to (walk through the house) and make sure I wasn't a part of any hate groups."

Harrison said he invited the Secret Service agents into the house and they were "very cordial."

''We walked through the house and my wife and 2-year-old were in the house," Harrison said.

He said they interviewed him for about 30 minutes and then left, not finding any evidence Harrison was a threat to the president.

''I'm still in contact with a lawyer right now," Harrison said. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

Harrison said he feels his First Amendment rights were violated.

McCool said the officer who pulled over Harrison misinterpreted the sign.

''We had an officer that his interpretation of the sign was different than what was meant," McCool said. "You've got an officer who had a different thought on what the word 'abort' meant."

McCool said the sign basically meant Obama should be impeached and it was not a threat.

''(The officer) shouldn't have taken the sign," McCool said. "That was (Harrison's) First Amendment right to voice his concern."

McCool said although the sign should not have been confiscated, the situation was made right in the end.

''We always try to do the right thing and in the end we believe we did the right thing by returning the sign," McCool said.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

So Stlhead,

What freedoms have the republicans taken away from you lately?

With your vast knowloedge of finance, I would have thought your would have know that most things, including economics are cyclical with ups and downs. It is basic economic theory because the market always overcompensates when it is looking for balance. This is a large correction that could have been avoided. Down turns and depressions are nearly always market corrections.

I wonder if stlhd gets tired of always being wrong...


$8 billion shortfall forecast for Washington state budget
A preliminary state revenue forecast on Thursday pushed Washington's state budget shortfall to $8 billion. As a proportion of the state's general fund, that's about as bad as the mess in California.

By Andrew Garber

Seattle Times Olympia bureau

Related

Arun Raha's speech notes
OLYMPIA — It used to be lawmakers could reassure themselves a little about the state's budget woes by noting California was in much worse shape.

No longer. A preliminary state revenue forecast Thursday pushed Washington's state budget shortfall to $8 billion. As a proportion of the state's general fund, that's nearly as bad as the mess in California.

"What has happened in the Pacific Northwest is the economy just fell off a cliff in literally the last few months," said Donald Boyd, with the Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York.

Washington ranks among the top 10 states in the country in terms of the size of its budget shortfall, said Boyd, a senior fellow at the institute who closely monitors state budgets.

Washington state forecasters had previously projected a nearly $6 billion shortfall. Thursday's preliminary forecast shows an additional $721 million gap in the current two-year budget and $1.6 billion more in the next biennium that starts in July. That pushed the overall shortfall to $8 billion.

"Everything we feared could go wrong, did," Arun Raha, the state's chief revenue forecaster, said Thursday. "We are witnessing an unprecedented economic crisis, the likes of which arguably we have not seen since the Great Depression."

The Legislature recently took the first step at filling the crater by approving a series of early cuts expected to save about $580 million in the current two-year budget.

The state expects to get billions of dollars in aid from the federal stimulus package passed by Congress, but the governor's budget office said the additional money will at best offset the latest round of bad news in the revenue forecast. Additional cuts may be needed beyond what's already been proposed by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

California lawmakers approved a large package of tax increases, budget cuts and borrowing Thursday to close a $42 billion gap in their budget. As a proportion of that state's overall budget, California's shortfall is not much larger than Washington's.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008765126_revenue20m.html

Eddie I know you are a smart guy, so I went back and checked on a few things and am ready to defend my position on all points I made except 1.

Washington doesn't rank 42nd in terms of education. We are 42nd in terms of dollars spent per student. We are 40th in terms of test scores.

If I am missing something then by all means enlighten me.

I don't know, but doesn't it just piss you off that our local economic situation can't be pinned on anything else other than mass self stupidity? Now expand that concept to a nationwide picture. There's only one signature that bears the responsibility on each deed.
And if a further explanation is needed, it only ratifies my first statement.

California deficit of 42 billion divided by the population equals 1,240.

Washington state deficit of 8 billion divided by the population equals 1250.

Here are a couple of links from 2005 predicting this deficit was inevitable.I will admitt nobody expected it to be this bad but she did spend us into a deficit even without the economy tanking.
2005 report

2005 link

Here is another interesting link that helps show the distribution of the wealth here in our once wonderful state.I do not pay as much attention to the salaries as I do the size of govornment. Do please notice where the pork is.

state govornment

Dogfish I am on your side.Have been since people here were telling all of us to vote on fishing issues alone.Now the fishing issues are not even on the table.All we can hope for is that the fired WDFW employ's can find jobs over at DSHS.

Let's take them one by one. My responses in red .

Our gas tax has been amongst the highest in the nation for a long time. Where has that money been going? Not into road improvement which is what is was supposed to be for. Our gas tax is among the highest in the nation. If you have not been seeing road construction, you have not been looking. Over the last year, due to construction projects, my commute time has decreased by about 15%. Check out wsdot.wa.gov to find out where the money is being spent.
I hate to tell you, but Boeing left because of the B&O tax and all the other BS taxes they were asked to pay. Not to mention all the capital improvements (overpass on Being Everett freeway) they were asked to pay for. Boeing has received multiple tax breaks from a reduction in the B&O to elimination of the sales tax on their airplane sales, and lower fees and regulations on their construction projects. Boeing (and other large businesses) commonly get huge breaks and some would feel that they get them as a result of extortion - using the threat of moving as the hammer.
So the housing act of 1998 didn't have anything to do with the hole we are in. That is the bill that urged companies like Fanny May and Freddy Mac to give out those ridiculous loans. Certainly Bush didn't do anything to change it, but Clinton opened Pandora's box. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to pin it all on Bush. But that is what I expect from the left. Only look at the part of the picture that makes your case and leave out the other facts. Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac did not give out loans, they underwrote loans that were originated by others. An attempt to get more homeowners did not force any real estate agent, loan originator, or loan aggregator to falsify information from borrowers or to not undertake due diligence. Greed, on all parties in the transaction, led to the housing crisis.
False reports of WMDS huh? Well I am pretty sure that the UN resolution that gave the United States the authority to use force in Iraq said the the burden of proof was on Iraq and its leaders to prove that the weapons had been disposed of. They were supposed to allow weapons inspectors unrestricted access to any facility the wanted to see. Iraq wouldn't allow this type of access even though these were terms of the original cease fire signed back in 1991. Iraq made its own bed, and the world is a safer place without Saddam. This is one of your best - the UN NEVER gave the United States the authority to use force in Iraq. The resolution that is cited said there would be "serious consequences" if Iraq did not allow the inspectors back in with unfettered access and they needed to produce a report that detailed what happened with the WMD's. Iraq did allow the inspectors in, the inspectors found nothing; the report was produced by Iraq. Again, it detailed what had been done with the WMD's but Bush decided that he didn't believe the report and the Bush administration went in anyway. The world is a safer place without Sadaam, it is also a safer place without Bush IMHO.

Don't get me wrong Bush definitely spent too much money, you will have a difficult time finding any good conservative that doesn't agree on that. Yeah, we moan about the various stimulus packages for reasonable reasons, but never seem to talk about the $1 Trillion that we have spent in Iraq and Afghanistan - all off budget by the way.
What happens when budgets get tight? The government cuts the programs that people want until they start to whine, and then they use those cuts to justify tax hikes. No arguement on this one.

I for one think that as Washington tax payers we are getting screwed. We pay one of the highest gas taxes in the country, yet we have one of the worst transportation systems. We are in the top ten in terms of funding for schools, yet we are in the bottom ten in terms of effective education. Why shouldn't we whine about what the leaders in this state are providing us? Why should we accept this? Welcome to the world of democracy. When the sheep of this country elected GW Bush twice, I wondered how we could be so stupid. I'm certain that those on the other side would feel the same way when elections go the opposite direction.