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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

Cola Q&A: The 2010 State Budget. Left Wing Version.

Politics, This Washington   April 15, 2010 at 9:15 am Camden Swita

PubliCola sat down with Remy Trupin, Director of local lefty think tank Washington State Budget and Policy Center, to talk about the state budget—which includes $757 million in taxes and $840 million in cuts to cope with a $2.8 billion shortfall. Video below. (Tomorrow, we’ll post an interview with local  conservative think tank, The Washington Policy Center.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df293fw8520[/youtube]

Trupin stressed the need for greater scrutiny of tax exemptions, especially those for big business, and he expressed disappointment, albeit hedged, in the legislature’s decision not to end an first-time mortgage exemption for banks or raise the hazardous substance tax to pay for water cleanup.

A note: At one point Trupin mentions that the size of our state government as measured by comparison to personal income in Washington has actually shrunk. He’s referring to this report by his organization that puts the histrionic concern that state government spending is growing out of control in context.




  • Srsly

    That personal-income measurement is *not* putting the budget in context, because tax revenue is not derived form personal income growth in this state.
    Chart the budget against its actual revenue source — largely driven by consumer spending.
    Also — the $840M figure is untruthful. It's creative accounting. That counts about $115M in General Fund spending that was shifted into its own separate account as a “cut,” which is stretching it.

  • Keystone

    We need a more just and equitable tax structure in this state.

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