Budget crisis shows need to press toward an income tax

By Annie Cubberly | For The Olympian • Published February 04, 2009

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Legislators have tough budget decisions ahead but if they shortchange young children now we will all pay more later.

The state's budget deficit is getting deeper every day. Up against a financial wall, legislators are looking at cutting basic services that will put our children at risk. At a time when families are struggling, publicly supported services that stabilize families and prepare children for success in school, ensuring a better economic future, are on the chopping block.

Once those services are gone the infrastructure crumbles and future problems begin to surface in our school and our communities. I attended a meeting last Thursday sponsored by United Way of Thurston County where community leaders discussed how we can work together to preserve the community safety net. Even with the best of intentions it is clear that nonprofit and philanthropy communities will not be able to pick up the tab in order to sustain basic services.

Parents need to speak up immediately to help our lawmakers understand the long-term consequences of the proposed budget cuts to programs for children and families. For instance, cutting funding to child care and early learning will only cost us more in the future.

Steve Aos with the Washington State Institute for Public Policy reports an 8 percent to 10 percent return on investment from quality early learning programs. In other words, for every $1 spent on quality early learning there is a $2.53 return.

Now would be a good time to take a page out of President Obama's playbook: When the economy flatlines, pump targeted funding into the veins that feed the nation. The dilemma is that while the federal government actually can print new money, Washington state is required to pass a balanced budget and the state's funding well has dried up.

There is another possibility that our representatives are loathe to embrace but I think they know that our current budget deficit cannot be solved by cuts alone. The answer lies in generating new revenue for the empty state coffers. One method would be to raise existing state taxes.

However, given Washington state's regressive tax structure, which relies primarily on sales and business taxes which are already comparatively high, it is time to seriously consider bravely stepping up to establish a state income tax.

The budget woes we currently face require bold intervention with an eye toward the next generation. The answers that legislators choose over the next three months will define our state's vitality and viability well into the future.

Let's make sure that our legislators choose hope over panic and invest our precious financial resources where they promise to have the greatest return in human capital — our children.

If I have to choose between preventing child abuse and denying a child the early education opportunities that will increase his or her chances of becoming a productive citizen able to contribute to the economic and social stability of our community and paying a state income tax, I know where my vote would fall and I know I am not alone.

Our legislators need to know we still will vote in the next election if they propose a state tax increase.

Annie Cubberly, executive director of the Child Care Action Council, is a member of The Olympian's Board of Contributors. She can be reached at annie@ccacwa.org.