Jay Inslee’s government waste problem

It seems as though wasteful spending is a main characteristic of governments everywhere. Certainly, Washington State is no exception. Unfortunately, after decades of Democrats controlling Olympia, there is no end to the waste in sight.

Contrary to his promises as a gubernatorial candidate in 2012, Jay Inslee has done little-to-nothing to improve on government efficiency during his first term. Candidate Inslee campaigned on a reform agenda that would renew taxpayers’ faith in government by enforcing “lean management” practices—a laughable campaign promise in hindsight of Inslee’s four years at the helm of state.

Far from practicing lean management, Inslee more often than not expresses hostility toward any government reform meant to promote efficiency and save taxpayer dollars. Here are three ways Inslee has, in fact, made government waste worse:

1. Rather than reform an agency that was not doing its job, Inslee decided to create another agency to do that job.

This year, Inslee created an entirely new agency — Blue Ribbon Commission on the Delivery of Services to Children and Families — that he says will “deliver services to vulnerable children and families.” The new agency’s responsibilities used to fall under the responsibilities of the Department of Social & Health Services (DSHS).

DSHS utterly failed to appropriately handle these responsibilities. So, Inslee chose to create a new agency rather than to hold people accountable and make an existing agency more efficient.

2. Jay Inslee’s so-called Clean Energy Fund strategy.

Inslee’s Clean Energy Fund is meant to funnel money “through public and investor-owned utilities to private energy firms for research and development.” In terms of government waste/corruption, the scheme is of particular concern due to the Inslee administration’s partnership with 1Energy Systems, a private company run by former Democrat government officials who now receive millions in taxpayer dollars to help shape Inslee’s extreme “green agenda.”

As Shift reported, the company was investigated by the state Executive Ethics Board for serious conflicts of interest between public and private entities involved in a whistle-blower scandal.

Inslee’s Clean Energy Fund strategy serves as an example of his inefficient, bigger-government agenda.

3. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is perhaps the most inefficient government agency, with too many examples to mention them all – and Inslee’s so-called leadership has only made the situation worse.

The State Auditor’s office recently released a performance audit that detailed quite a few of WSDOT’s incompetent failures. The audit exposed Inslee’s disgraceful lack of leadership.

This year, a lack of effective leadership at WSDOT became a big issue during the 2016 legislative session. Ultimately, all the problems the agency experienced culminated in the State Senate’s firing of Inslee’s hand-selected Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson. Though Inslee claimed the decision was “partisan,” an audit report confirmed the dismal lack of leadership Peterson provided during her tenure as the head of WSDOT.

As Shift reported, Inslee picked Peterson to head WSDOT back in 2013. Prior to taking the position, Peterson was an energetic advocate for bike lanes in Oregon — in other words, she was not at all qualified for the position. But, she fulfilled Inslee’s extreme “green” obsession requirement.

Thus, once again, Inslee proved that — as long as special interests are satisfied — government waste is not a concern.

Inslee’s pledge of lean management is just another example of his bad campaign habit of promising one thing, then breaking that promise later on – like not raising taxes for instance.