From the Olympian, Dec. 9

Audits root out inefficiency

When 56.2 percent of the voters approved Initiative 695 last month, they sent a strong message to elected officials about setting budget priorities.

In effect, voters said, "Enough is enough -- pay for essential programs with the tax dollars we have already given you. Set priorities and learn to live with less."

In a letter to the governor, State Auditor Brian Sonntag wrote, "We must not shrink from our responsibility to listen. We must welcome it as an opportunity to reassess whether the way we do business aligns with the desires and expectations of Washington citizens."

Read the rest at:

http://news.theolympian.com/stories/19991209/Opinion/14696.shtml

-- Marsha (acorn_nut@hotmail.com), December 09, 1999

Answers

There are (a few) newspapers that are starting to get the message. It can't hurt. From the Eastside Journal:

http://www.eastsidejournal.com/Opiniondocs/edits/bsm01410.html

Time to look at ways to live under I-695 Friday, December 10, 1999

Since the passage of I-695, Eastside cities have worried over the anticipated loss of revenue. Some have boosted taxes. Others are making plans for cuts in service. Come January, the Legislature will get in on the act.

But the future may not be so grim, at least according to the Washington Institute Foundation, a free-market think tank in Seattle. The group has come up with 25 ideas it says can replace the $764 million revenue loss from repeal of the car tab tax.

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), December 10, 1999.