At the Statewide Poverty Action Network, we are fighting for a world where everyone has what they need to meet their most basic needs, no matter what.
Over the past month, the legislature and Governor’s office have been hard at work developing our state’s budget for the coming biennium. In early March, Governor Ferguson held a press conference to share the latest updates on his administration’s budget planning process. While the Governor’s proposal does not include cuts to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash grant or the Medicaid Adult Dental program, his updates included cuts and delays to crucial services and no plans to create new revenue.
“When we talk to families living on low incomes around the state, we hear that when they face a budget crisis, they tighten their belts, but they also look for new sources of income.”
On March 18, the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released their March forecast, which predicts that Washington state will collect nearly $845 million less in revenue over the next four years than what they projected in the November forecast. While this additional reduction in revenue was generally expected by the legislature and advocates, it underscores the need for the state to pass progressive revenue and avoid taking an all-cuts approach to balancing our state’s budget.
Indeed, when we talk to families living on low incomes around the state, we hear that when they face a budget crisis, they tighten their belts, but they also look for new sources of income. Our state should follow this community example and pass new revenue while looking at ways to trim the budget.
We recognize that this budget is being written in an uncertain and challenging economic landscape. The federal government is threatening disastrous cuts to services like Medicaid at the same time as the state of Washington is trying to navigate its own budget deficit. In the face of these uncertainties, cutting funding for food banks, continuing to withhold child support payments from families who receive other cash assistance, and continuing the practice of requiring disability payments to be repaid is not the path to wellbeing for the state’s communities. With such a volatile federal environment, we need to build a stable revenue base in our state to fortify our state against unpredictable actions at the federal level.
As we face a revenue shortfall, we must ask the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share and pass progressive revenue. Instead of making cuts to vital services, we could expand eligibility for the Working Families Tax Credit and bridge benefits cliffs for TANF recipients. Progressive revenue would tap our state’s plentiful, renewable resources instead of balancing the budget on the backs of those who are already struggling.
Citing increased inflation, uneven revenue growth and recent federal policy changes, House Appropriations Chair Timm Ormsby expressed commitment to a “balanced approach to reducing the budget where we can and addressing our regressive tax structure to ask the wealthiest in our state to help us keep people alive.” Similarly, Senate Ways & Means Chair June Robinson noted that “while [the revenue forecast] doesn’t change the broader fiscal challenges we face, it reinforces the need for a balanced and sustainable approach as we finalize the 2025-27 operating budget.”
We are encouraged to hear Chair Robinson’s commitment to a balanced approach and Chair Ormsby’s call on the wealthiest in Washington to contribute to a balanced budget and a healthy state.
Furthermore, we commend the legislature’s interest in increasing revenue and working towards a progressive tax code which asks everyone to pay their fair share. In the midst of a rocky federal landscape, Washington state has a chance to stand up to the barrage of Trump budget cuts and clear a new path towards economic prosperity – A balanced tax code and robust social supports for a strong and healthy Washington. The options are clear, and now it’s up to our elected officials to make the right choice for the people they represent.
– Marcy Bowers, Executive Director of the Statewide Poverty Action Network