Rep. Orcutt issues statement on today’s preliminary revenue forecast

'We're throwing in the towel if we think the solution is a bailout by the taxpayers,' says Orcutt

 

Rep. Ed Orcutt, the ranking Republican on the House Finance Committee and member of the  Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, issued the following statement today in response to the council's preliminary findings:

“First and foremost, we cannot let today's news scare us into taking the easy way out with tax increases.  We're throwing in the towel if we think the solution is a bailout by the taxpayers.

Yes, things look worse today than they did four months ago.  But taking more money away from struggling families right now would be devastating.  People are fighting desperately to pay their food, energy and housing bills.  If we leave families – the very consumers who help fuel our economy – with less money because of higher taxes, we're going to make a bad situation worse for everyone involved.

“There is now official talk of asking the taxpayers to bail out state government.  I feel that punting this issue to the voters is an admission of defeat.  We're saying we either don't have the ability or don't have the courage to make the necessary changes to how government operates.  It's that lack of courage that got us here in the first place, and it will be that lack of courage that will keep us here in the future when a another situation like this comes along.

“We have an opportunity before us to change the 'business as usual' culture of Olympia.  We need to change the structure of how state services are delivered.  The agencies tasked with delivering services need to change from being agency-centric to being citizen-centric.

“If we think tax increases are the answer, we're on the road to making things drastically worse for our families, our employers and our economy .”

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Washington State House Republican Communications
houserepublicans.wa.gov