Posted by unregistered user at 11/24/08 12:43 p.m.

Did she get any good ideas about how to fix it yet? Maybe she should ask for a "bailout" like everyone else.

Posted by 51052 at 11/24/08 1:42 p.m.

Good job Gregoire and democrats. You've been running and ruining this state with one party rule for over 20 years. Who are you going to blame this on besides yourselves?

Posted by confidential fool at 11/24/08 1:58 p.m.

She ran up the fixed spending costs and while she said she had a "rainy day fund," clearly she didn't have even a HINT of how her overspending could come back to bite her.

Democrats of Washington who voted for her... this is all your fault.

Posted by unregistered user at 11/24/08 2:03 p.m.

Being uninhibited by knowledge doesn't prevent the previous writers from typing away. The state budget shortfall has virtually nothing to do with state government spending, and everything to do with state government revenues. When 70% of your revenues depends on sales tax, you're in trouble when people don't spend. There is a rainy day fund; the last budget was reasonable; no one, and I mean no one, could see what was coming our way. Least of all the Bush administration and the republicans who've spent the last 30 years de-regulating the banks and corporations. Thanks a lot.

Posted by Ethical Govertment at 11/24/08 2:25 p.m.

The state budget shortfall has EVERYTHING with state government spending! Even the state's chief economist said that it is necessary to bring the spending curve in line with the revenue curve. That hasn't happened and it is the only way you can save for a rainy day. Gregoire didn't and now it's raining. This isn't an issue with George Bush and the Republicans either (I'm no fan of this administration). The Democrats have controlled this state for many many years and they have lived through several downturns in the economy. It's embarassing that Gregoire now says "nobody could have seen this coming".
This falls squarely in the Democrats lap and remember, ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL.

Posted by unregistered user at 11/24/08 2:27 p.m.

Well Put Ethical.
Gregoire should have seen this train coming a mile down the tracks.

Posted by unregistered user at 11/24/08 2:29 p.m.

Ok, this is for the MORON defending Gregoire and Democrats. Seattle Times ran an opinion article about Gregoire's proposed 07 budget. You didn't hear that from the Seattle PI, because they were too busy goose stepping for any and all Democrats and Obama.

Seattle Times November 16, 2006
Big State budget: Betting on the economy
The two-year state budget proposed by Gov. Christine Gregoire is too high. It would leave the state with deficits increasing each year into the future. The Legislature needs to scale back her requests at least enough so that the deficits now projected by the Office of Financial Management go away.

Her operating budget, including the separate accounts, is a little more than $33 billion, or $5,240 for every man, woman and child in the state. It is almost entirely an add-on budget: There is only one cut in it — pension "gainsharing" for state employees — and it is a good one. Some of its big increases in spending include pay raises for teachers, home-care workers, day-care workers and state employees; health insurance for 34,000 more low-income (but non-poor) children; hiring 750 more math and science teachers and creating 8,300 new seats in college classrooms.

Much of this has our support. But a 12.2-percent increase in spending compared with a 7.7 percent expected growth in revenues is too much. It is unsustainable on its face.

Gregoire's first budget was also like that, and the state got lucky. Every 10 years or so, our economy enters a period of wonder in which all surprises are good. The economy bailed her out. But on Nov. 16, the state's revenue forecaster, Chang Mook Sohn, said tax collections are returning to normal. The governor is pressing her luck to bet against her forecaster two budgets in a row.

The Legislature needs to deny some of these requests.
Where to start? It could pay less than 88 percent of public-employee medical premiums — a benefit level far above the average in the private sector. It could reduce the 10-percent raise to child-care workers — a deal cut with a union. It could slow down the expansion of medical coverage to children whose parents are above the poverty line. It could slow down the reductions in school class size.

All these are big items.
There are many smaller ones that look less-than-urgent: $1.5 million to expand the reduced-price school-breakfast program; $5 million to subsidize health insurance at small, private employers; $5 million for rural Internet access; $200,000 to link entrepreneurs with wealthy investors; $9.8 million to promote tourism; $6 million to pay for retirees' drug co-pays under Medicare Part D; $5.8 million for community environmental organizations to do outreach; $4 million to help farmers turn crop waste into energy.

In good economic times, it remains doubly important to look to the future. This budget pushes endless deficits toward tomorrow. By 2013, the deficit could be $2.8 billion unless the state's budgeting system changes from spending to providing services within our means.

Posted by BenSchiendelman at 11/24/08 2:30 p.m.

unregistered user...

I don't blame Gregoire at all, but saying that no one could see this coming? Lots of people saw this coming. Home prices could only run up while the interest rates were lowest, of course they had to come back down after this construction boom ran out of buyers.

It's not that hard. Many of us saw it coming and are not suffering from it. Many didn't and bought homes in a bubble, and I don't blame them either. This was systemic, it came from bad choices made by the Fed and in federal law.

Posted by Glubber at 11/24/08 2:36 p.m.

This state is a PRIME example of one party rule! I really like all the Gregoire defenders blaming Bush for this mess!

Bet you guys blamed the invisible blue monster for spilling your milk when you were a kid?

Nope, you guys are probably the morons that Zogby polled, the Obama supporters, where 57% still thought the republicans were in charge of congress.

This budget mess falls SQUARELY on Gregoire's lap. This state has so much going for it. I've lived through five Democrat Governors blowing the budget but bailed out by the this state's robust economy, from Boeing to Microsoft.

And now, there is no bail-out...

Posted by unregistered user at 11/24/08 2:50 p.m.

unregistered#220920

Move to N Korea, China,Iran or even Cuba if you want goverment involved in your every day life.

They would love to have ya.

Posted by unregistered user at 11/24/08 2:50 p.m.

Lots of us saw this coming and we saved our money and cut back. We will weather these tough times because we saved in good times. Guess Gregoire's parents didn't teach her that. A shame that Gregoire and the states Democrats never heard that when something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Posted by confidential fool at 11/24/08 3:02 p.m.

The quote of the week by the unregistered user..."Being uninhibited by knowledge doesn't prevent the previous writers from typing away. The state budget shortfall has virtually nothing to do with state government spending, and everything to do with state government revenues."

You DO understand that if we hired more (insert whatever you hired more of here) and the next year, there is less money coming in, then you have a deficit because you have their payroll on your balance sheet to start the year.

For you to post and suggest we don't know what we are talking about when you so sadly displayed a basic ignorance of econ 101, was nothing short of laughable.

Posted by unregistered user at 11/24/08 3:55 p.m.

What a Gregoire 3-act, farcical mini-drama....
"The Case of the Skyrocketing Deficit".

First of all, it isn't really a Deficit cuz we have this shell-gamed Rainy Day Fund.

Then the Election is over, and voila, the Rainy Day Fund evaporates and it is a Deficit and BTW, the next Biennium DEFICIT is $6 BILLION.

Only in Washington State would they reward such fiscal mismanagement and lack of leadership.

The FINAL ACT will be the revelation that the State Retirement Fund is $7 BILLION Underfunded!

But wait....what about Gregoire's Encore???
I guarantee you the encore will be this:
A Budget that cuts things citizens value the most....and culminates with an Extortion-style Massive Tax Increase that says PAY UP or suffer the consequences.

The ONLY WAY to reform out-of-control Government Spending and Regulations is to take the money away.
Vote NO on any EXTORTION Tax Increase!!

PS--
Remember the 9-1/2 cent/gallon Gas Tax EXTORTION citizens foolishly voted for?? How are those commutes folks! Is Gregoire building everything she promised?? Hell NO!~

Posted by Apostle at 11/24/08 6:56 p.m.

Yeah, right. The WA state budget deficit is all Gregoire's fault. Don't you right-wing losers ever read the news?

Here's a list of the top ten states in budget deficits for fiscal 2009. Note: that is a ONE-YEAR deficit. The WA state deficit of about $4.5 billion is predicted for the next TWO-YEAR budget ($0.5 billion deficit is forecast for the rest of this year).

finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/105909/S
tates-That-Can't-Pay-for-Themselves

ONE-YEAR 2009 BUDGET DEFICITS:

California: $22.2 Billion
Arizona: $2 billion
Florida: $5.1 billion
Nevada: $1.2 billion
Rhode island: $430 million (tiny state)
New York: $5.5 billion
Alabama: $784 million
Georgia: $1.8 billion
New Jersey: $2.5 billion
Maryland: $1.1 billion

Remember, these are the projected budget deficits for the CURRENT 2009 fiscal year -- only ONE YEAR.

For the current fiscal year in WA the deficit is projected to be about $500 million.

All of these states, just like WA, will likely have MUCH LARGER DEFICITS in the years after fiscal 2009.

So, all you Republican morons: if the WA state budget deficit is Gregoire's fault, why do 31 total states in the U.S. also face budget deficits? It could not be because of George Bush's recession, which is going to be the worst recession since the Great Depression, could it, you bleeping right-wing idiots?

Posted by captainavenger at 11/24/08 7:35 p.m.

Check out the state of Utah. Their Republican Governor and Legislature saw the train wreck coming. They balanced their budget, made the cuts. Viola, no deficit. They are in the positive and staying that way. The state of Utah has the lowest unemployment in the country. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Why is it Utah saw the train wreck and Washington state put their foot on the gas racing towards the railroad tracks? Hmmmmmm?

Posted by Apostle at 11/24/08 8:05 p.m.

Why didn't the U.S. government "see the train wreck coming"? The U.S. budget deficit for this year alone, will likely be close to ONE TRILLION DOLLARS!

Blame that on Gregoire, you ignorant Republican fools.

The deficits are the result of the worst president in the history of the U.S., and his disastrous recession we are just beginning. And, oh yeah, George W. Bush is a conservative Republican moron.

Posted by new direction at 11/24/08 8:42 p.m.

The only truly ugly thing is her face.

Posted by Above-n-Beyond at 11/24/08 10:18 p.m.

UH....Gee, thanks DUMocrats!

Posted by JWOODEN at 11/24/08 10:34 p.m.

All the Democrat-bashing and blame-Gregoire commentary would be much more credible if the entire USA economy hadn't been driven into the toilet by the coming of the second Republican Great Depression. You all are so filled with hate and blinded by ideology that reality really has no meaning for you. Thanks for your non-solution, now go away.

Posted by LEVEL HEADED at 11/25/08 11:13 a.m.

APOSTLE

Not the great depression....Come on!!!!!!!

I would say your good old your buddy JIMMY CATER.