Balancing the 2025 state budget primarily with cuts would neither be responsible nor popular with Washington voters

Yesterday, The Seattle Times editorial board published the latest in a series of badly reasoned editorials demanding that Democratic legislators write a budget for the 2025–2027 biennium that mainly relies on devastating cuts to achieve the balance that state law requires. The editorial repeats several myths about the state’s finances that I have recently debunked here on The Cascadia Advocate and then goes on to argue that a cuts-driven budget would be “sustainable” and represent “pragmatism.”

To borrow a retort from the middle of that editorial: Nonsense.

Here’s the real “harsh truth” that ownership and editorial board of The Seattle Times doesn’t want to acknowledge: There is no way to responsibly balance the budget without raising substantial revenue. Closing a shortfall primarily with cuts would be harmful and unpopular. A fresh round of devastating austerity would harm not only Washington’s public services, but its economy and business climate as well.

Our polling is clear. Voters in Washington do not agree with business lobbyists and executives that our state’s fiscal problems are primarily due to “overspending” or that we should rely on cuts to balance the budget. They want to see the wealthy and large corporations step up to invest in our future at a critical moment.

https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2025/04/balancing-the-2025-state-budget-primarily-with-cuts-would-neither-be-responsible-nor-popular-with-washington-voters.html