Inslee claims $12 billion in spending cuts, numbers show otherwise

Trying to justify his desire to grow the state budget by over 15% in the next two years, Jay Inslee says that state spending has been cut by $12 billion over the past six years. It’s a claim he has made on various talk shows and it’s a claim he made during his State of the State speech on January 13^th.

But, as often seems the case with our green governor, his claim is not based in fact. In fact, over the last six years, the state budget has grown from $30.4 billion to $33.8 billion. But that’s not fast enough for Inslee.

Washington State Office of Fiscal Management (OFM) figures prove “state spending has increased by more than inflation in nearly every budget since anyone can remember.” A look at the current and expected budget growth tells you everything you need to know about Inslee’s claim. The Washington Policy Center provided these budget numbers from the Near General Fund State (plus opportunity pathways):

2009-11 – $30.4 billion

2011-13 – $31.2 billion

2013-15 – $33.8 billion

2015-17 – $39 billion (Proposed by Governor)

Taking a more in-depth look, the Washington Policy Center points out that per capita state spending, even adjusting for inflation, has increased by 24% since 1990.

But for liberals like Inslee, more taxpayer money is never enough.