RESOLUTION ON RAISING STATE REVENUES TO AVOID DEVASTATING CUTS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICES

WHEREAS a no-new-revenue state budget would gut core services to the poor and suspend programs such as all-day kindergarten as a way to close a projected $2.6 billion budget shortfall, and;

WHEREAS major cuts include a sharp reduction in financial aid for college students and eliminating state-subsidized Basic Health insurance for thousands of low-income workers, as well as $339 a month and Medicaid eligibility to people who can't work because of disabilities (GA-U), and;

WHEREAS many transitional housing programs depend on GA-U for a significant part of their budgets, and eliminating GA-U would threaten their continuing existence, and;

WHEREAS half of the GA-U recipients have a diagnosis of mental illness and removing them from Medicaid would cause thousands to become homeless, without medication, and;

WHEREAS Gov. Gregoire stated, “This document is not true to the values I believe in and which have guided me through a 30-year career in public service," and;

WHEREAS Democratic leaders in the House and Senate joined the Governor recently in calling for new taxes to help close the budget gap, and;

WHEREAS as our platform states Democrats value: health care for all, high-quality public education and fighting poverty and ending homelessness, and;

WHEREAS non-performing tax exemptions cost the state billions in lost revenue, and;

WHEREAS the State has the most regressive tax system in the country, where the lowest income people pay 17% of their income in federal, state and local taxes, while the highest income people pay only 2.9% of their income in federal, state and local taxes and this violates the principle of economic justice;

Therefore be it Resolved that Democrats urge the Legislature to repeal non-performing tax exemptions, beginning with the largest, and sunset all tax exemptions every 10 years, and;

Therefore be it Resolved that Democrats urge the Legislature to implement a state income tax on high-income earners, and

Therefore be it Resolved that Democrats urge the Legislature to raise at least two-thirds of the budget gap in revenues, balanced by one-third or less in cuts to services.

Passed by the 46th District Democrats on January 21, 2010