Washington Legislature must look beyond this years hurdle

Once again our famous 60 day legislative session begins and, those who consider elected office their calling will hymn and haw, duck and weave and make any other cheeky offering to appear they're representing the public good while ensuring their return to the payroll and power of office. It's an election year folks so watch for the signs. Like, I won't offer a solution (that would mean I'd have to take the criticism for trying) instead, I'm going to redefine the problem and caucus the solution in private.

Thank you Executive Editor Karen Peterson for outlinning the Trib's commitment to add competent staff to monitor the process!!! And, good luck to us the TAXPAYERS.

In response to:
The biggest danger of this year’s legislative session isn’t what lawmakers will consider necessary to close the $2.6 billion budget hole. It’s what they will consider unnecessary.
Tunnel vision is the sure-fire way to get in, get out and get on with campaigning for re-election. But if lawmakers don’t look beyond the current budget crisis, they will have invited future ones.
As it stands now, the state can expect a $7 billion deficit in 2011-2013. If legislators were to adopt Gov. Chris Gregoire’s devastating spending plan – and no one is thinking they will – that deficit would shrink by only about half.
The Legislature cannot simply cut-and-tax itself out of this problem. It must reform its way out.