The total personal income for everybody in the
state of Washington added together rose by 4.5% from 2011 to 2012, the
fourth-highest percentage increase among the states, the
federal government says.
So a lot of folks saw their income go up last year,
which is certainly good news.
And you might think that would also be good news for the
hard-pressed state budget, since a
bit of those increased earnings might be spent
on stuff that's covered by the state sales tax.
Turns out it's not such a budgetary boon. Why? Because
over the last 20-odd years, state government has tapped an ever-declining share
of that personal income to pay for education, the State Patrol, bridges and
highways, foster care and all the other services the state provides.
Part of the reason for that is that the
Legislature is very reluctant to raise taxes.
Another part of the reason is our revenue system – which, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, is the
most regressive of any state's ("most regressive" means that in Washington,
the rich pay less and the poor pay more than anywhere else, in terms of their shares
of the total tax burden).
All of that makes balancing the state budget a tough
job. That's the main task before the state House and Senate right now, and we
will see their ideas for how to do it announced soon.
