Democrat State Sen. Christine Rolfes wrote an op-ed piece that appeared in the Seattle Times today that is stunning in its attempt to revise history. In typical liberal fashion, Rolfes ignores the budget mess her party has created for the state, and now calls for “no more excuses” and demands that the state spend “more money on public education.”
She tries to give her ideas credibility by attacking others – writing that “You may have heard slogans like ‘reforms before revenue’ and ‘fund education first.’ They’re catchy, but they aren’t solutions.”
Of course, the “catchy slogans” Rolfes is referring to are those developed by Republicans, to present solutions for meeting the legislature’s constitutional duty to fund public schools – a duty which Democrats have ignored while in control of the state’s budget for the last 30 years.
The truth is that Democrats have been underfunding public education and higher education spending for a generation. They have controlled at least one house of the Legislature in 28 of the last 30 years – and complete control of the Legislature in 14 of those years. A Democrat governor has signed every state budget since 1985. Under the heavily Democrat-controlled budgets, the education over non-education spending ratio was 1:2 (that’s two dollars for bigger government for every new dollar of education funding).
On the other hand, Republicans have already proved that simply funding education first can provide a solution. During the last two legislative sessions, under the Majority Coalition Caucus (MCC) and Republican leadership, the state budget has prioritized education over non-education spending at a 4:1 ratio for the first time in 30 years. That’s all without raising taxes. The State Supreme Court referred to the change as significant progress.
As Shift pointed out, prioritizing education is not just throwing more money at problems or reducing class sizes, it’s about improving quality. That’s why Republicans are pushing for education reforms. Unfortunately, Rolfes indicates in her op-ed that Democrats will continue to fight against this type of progress, probably because that will keep campaign contributions flowing from the special interest group that has benefitted most by the liberal approach to school funding – the state teachers union.
Of course, the “catchy slogans” Rolfes is referring to are those developed by Republicans, to present solutions….
A slogan is not a solution, and the Republicans demonstrated that last time, by refusing to close outmoded tax loopholes. The resultant revenues were supposed to go for educational spending, but keeping preferential tax breaks in place took priority over education for the Republican-led Senate.
But you’re right, they do have some shiny happy slogans.
Revenues for the state {federal also} have been up over projections. So why are you always looking to raise taxes on everybody ?
….for meeting the legislature’s constitutional duty to fund public schools – a duty which Democrats have ignored while in control of the state’s budget for the last 30 years. You conveniently neglected to cut and paste the last half of that sentence. So spending like drunken sailors on big government for 30 years is good but not closing some tax loopholes is bad. Being a communist, that must make sense to you.
… not closing some tax loopholes is bad.
When the revenue so realized would have gone to fund education, the Senate’s refusal to do it demonstrated the complete emptiness of their “Fund Education First” slogan. Now that their own behavior has shown their shiny happy slogan to be nothing more than empty, meaningless words, what’s their actual plan for educational funding? All we see in this post is their usual whining about Democrats.
Nyet Comrade, It’s a Democrat doing the whining. One of the Democrats who have had a stranglehold on Wa. fiscal policy for 30 years. If at any time during the 30 year Democratic big government spendfest, they would have done their job, followed the state constitution and funded education, there would be no McCleary decision. It’s the liberal way, blame someone else for your failures and hope nobody notices the hypocrisy.
I’ve had to correct you on this once already, Biff, so please do pay proper attention this time: the Republicans have, from time to time over the past thirty years, held majorities in one or both houses of our state legislature. I don’t recall them doing anything to improve education on the occasions when they held those majorities.
Speaking of “big government spendfest,” in 1995, during the first-ever run for the pennant by the Seattle Mariners, King County’s voters were asked if we wanted to buy a new stadium for the baseball team. We voted no, because we voters in Seattle rejected the measure. Mike Lowry, the Democratic Governor, and Clyde Ballard, the Republican Speaker of our State House, combined to rush the legislature into special session, buying the Mariners a new stadium, and sticking us King County taxpayers with the bill. The Washington Education Association was furious, rightly pointing out that we voters had rejected buying a stadium, and that the money would have been better spent upon education.
As far as this voter is concerned, when it comes to Washington state’s education policy, the Democrats are bad and the Republicans are worse, and I’m not voting to go from bad to worse.
Democrat Governors have signed every budget for the past 30 years. Democrats have controlled at least one chamber of the state legislature for 28 of those years including 14 years controlling both chambers. That is called dominating. I remember you whining about the “Rodney Tom Occupation” that broke 8 straight years of the trifecta of Democratic stranglehold on Washington fiscal policy. To now claim Republicans have been any more than bit players in the mess that is Washington State finances is desperately trying to revise history, hoping nobody will notice what a colossal failure Democrats have been in running our state.
I agree no taxpayer money should have been spent on the billion dollars worth of sports palaces. I was a Seattle resident at the time and I remember voting no on more than one Mariner’s stadium vote. Yet, per your habit, you conveniently neglected to mention that it also passed the Democrat controlled Senate and was signed by the Democrat Governor. Trying to lay this on the Speaker of the House because he’s a Republican is a pathetic attempt to deflect responsibility. You go, Comrade
Trying to lay this on the Speaker of the House because he’s a Republican is a pathetic attempt to deflect responsibility.
The stadium could not have been built without his assent. Instead of congratulating Seattle voters on our fiscal responsibility, he conspired to raise our taxes when we’d just explicitly voted against so doing. The one and only time the Republicans could have lived up to their “smaller government, no new taxes” rhetoric, simply by doing nothing, they jumped at the chance to screw Seattle’s taxpayers. Yet time after time after time after time, they lecture us that spending more money on education is “wasteful,” or “a giveaway to the WEA,” or some such nonsense. The refusal of the Senate Republicans to close out-dated tax loopholes to fund education, at the very moment their gums were a-flapping with their empty, meaningless slogan of “Fund Education First,” was merely their latest and most obvious hypocrisy on the issue.
I’ll say it again: when it comes to education policy in this state, the Democrats are bad and the Republicans are worse. I’m not voting to go from bad to worse. Let’s see the Republican budget proposal; I sincerely hope it will prove me wrong.
…conveniently neglected to mention that it also passed the Democrat controlled Senate and was signed by the Democrat Governor.
I stated explicitly how Mike Lowry, the Democratic Governor, called the special session, without which there would have been no bill to sign. Please learn to read.
What they really need is catchy slogans like “carbon pollution” or “it’s merely about background checks” or “If you like your health plan, you can keep it, period”. Too bad those whoppers are already taken.
Another example of leftwing liberal tax & spend doctrine from the democratic party who have caused all the problems in this state for half a century. Move aside Christine, it’s time for you to find a job in the food service industry.