— from Senator Kevin Ranker’s Office —
Ranker: State budget reflects Democratic values supported by an unfair Republican property tax increase
Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, released the following statement following passage of the 2017-19 state operating budget by the Washington state Senate:
“The final budget and education plan passed today reflects our core Democratic values but unfortunately is funded with a Republican property tax plan. This budget makes a historic $7.3 billion investment in our children’s future. It spends tens of millions more on mental health and homelessness, fully supports family planning and Planned Parenthood, fully funds our state employees, increases funds for higher education, implements the Clean Air Rule, closes tax loopholes on bottled water and big oil, and avoids a government shutdown.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”#810912″ class=”” size=””]“In the end, we’re doing the right thing but raising money in the wrong way.”[/perfectpullquote]
“It is primarily funded however, by a $4.1 billion property tax increase that disproportionately impacts many communities across the state. I believe a more progressive plan including other options, such as a carbon tax on polluters, would have provided a better path forward. Unfortunately, the Senate Republicans have insisted on the biggest state property tax increase in our history.
“It is also unacceptable that Senate Republicans delayed negotiations bringing us to the brink of a government shutdown. But while we have passed a budget that reflects our core values, we must commit to developing a new, more progressive funding plan when we have the votes.
“In the end, we’re doing the right thing but raising money in the wrong way.”
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Great Kevin, a compromise….
By the way, if a carbon tax is ever passed, who would pay for it? Seems to me it would be reflected in the price of products from those companies paying the tax. Everyone would be paying more for things like gasoline and heating oil. So there may be no free lunch.
Our government needs to be inclusive of all points of view, not just one party’s core values.
Well, the Republicans DID pass a fully funded education and state budget with fewer taxes in March in the Senate. I guess you must have missed that….but no, you knew that since you voted for it. https://app.leg.wa.gov/dlr/rollcall/rollcall.aspx?bienid=24&legnum=5086 Democrats in the House passed their budget, but it was not fully funded, and when a vote came up to pass the taxes to pay for the Democrats budget, the vote failed…in fact none of even the Democrats voted for the tax increases necessary for their budget. But it was a holdup in the Democrat majority House that was the holdup on getting a state budget. A property tax is the most progressive tax out there, other than the corrupt “pay me and I will give you a loophole” income tax. A property tax taxes most heavily the people who have the expensive places, relying on their valuable property assets to cover the bill. If there has to be a tax to support education, that is the progressive tax for it. But wasn’t the lottery supposed to fund education? Where is that money going?
Agree with what Tom Owens says. These corporations are going to make us pay and pay – which always falls on the poorest people, not the wealthiest. Bring back graduated license plate tabs and let the people whose cars cost the most pay more taxes again – Tim Eyman and his so called ‘citizen initiatives’ bankrupted this state. We should be doing all we can to get a statewide initiative on the ballot to reinstate graduated tabs fees; education, transportation, and infrastructure repair suffered at the hands of Eyman’s initiatives. (I now pay $68 for tabs for an old toyota wagon. How much does the person with the lamborghini pay now? – Another case of the poor paying for the rich now.)