Gregoire the realist
Wash gov Gregoire has guts. Faced with the unbreakable need to cut spending, she's made some extremely hard choices.

Eliminate the Basic Health program

Consolidate and eliminate many state agencies

Cut food stamps drastically

Stop automatic rises in pensions

Cut deep in education:

— About $1.1 billion would be saved by not paying for two voter-backed education initiatives for class size reduction and teacher pay.

— Another $1 billion would be saved by cutting college scholarship programs and outreach to future college students from underserved communities.

— The lack of investment in education reform would save an estimated $600 million.

— Another $99.5 million would be saved by suspending annual bonuses for National Board-certified teachers.

— State support for higher education would be cut by $344.7 million, but most of those losses would be offset by major tuition increases and scholarship money.

Slashing education is especially gutsy for a Democrat politician, unless you think in terms of the dog-bowl rule. By that rule, only a Dem politician can cut education.



Polistra's law of dog-bowls: Politicians are like two dogs with two food bowls, or two babies with two toys. Each party only wants the voters and lobbyists in the other party's bowl. Repooflicans get no money from lawyers, but they want money from lawyers, so they never try tort reform. Repooflicans get no votes from blacks and Mexicans, but they want votes from blacks and Mexicans, so they suck up to blacks and Mexicans while neglecting whites.

= = = = =

Aside from speculation about motive, Gregoire's cuts will be good in the long run.

Less education money will lead to better education.

The state cuts will ripple downward, and local schools will have to make their own hard choices. At some point they will run out of teachers to fire, and they will grudgingly have to cut one or two administrators because there won't be any alternative. Some districts may even decide to disobey Federal mandates because Federal mandates cost more than they bring in. And when that decision happens, education will finally begin to improve.

More broadly, the state will now be in a better position to attract business because its regulators will be weaker and less able to squash any sign of incipient life.

But this won't last long unless the underlying Nazi environmental laws are repealed. As soon as the moment of maximum crisis has passed, the fascist bureaucrats will resume their tumorous multiplication and resume sucking the state's blood.
  ¶ 7:17 AM