Submitted by KM Hills.
Some of you may have read this article in the News Tribune.
The article noted that Pierce County is requesting additional funds, from the State, to provide essential services. One of the essential services is for public mental health and therapeutic courts, even though both were to be funded by the 1/10 of 1% sales tax collection, which was passed by County Council in December 2020. Another request for increased funds, to support homeless programs, even though the County spent 25 million in 2024 and the homelessness rate only continues to rise.
It confuses me that the County had funding in place and yet both mental health and homelessness got worse in Pierce County. Where is the accountability for the monies spent. Matters only get worse as the article reveals that the State is facing its own 10-12 BILLION dollar shortfall.
The cherry on top though, the below article which shares that we the tax payers are going to reward politicians, with a significant raise, for running the public budget into the ground.
I don’t know about you, but my raise was not this exorbitant even during times of the recent significant inflation.
Maybe there will be more like minded thinkers, who are now blaming the state budget crisis on the politicians, most of whom are Democrats.
If I need to live within my budget the so should those that are managing my tax dollars!!
Quit giving tax breaks to developers!
Did anyone else notice an ad (run at least twice) during the Super Bowl with animated children at a playground talking about the 10-12 Billion dollar shortfall; urging them to tell their parents? Who paid for those ads?
Get ready for another round of urging taxpayers to pass a state income tax; promising it will only affect those making “x-amount of dollars” which we all know will go lower and lower as the state’s insatiable appetite for more and more money grows.
How about considering a massive campaign for SPENDING REFORM? Maybe a state-level DOGE is needed here.
$10-12 billion from now to 2029. Current state budget is $140.9 billion. There will be changes within the next 2 and a half budget cycles. The sky is falling?
“2024 PIT Count Results
On January 26, Pierce County leaders, service providers, and volunteers surveyed people experiencing homelessness during the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count. The count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to effectively allocate funds to support efforts to end homelessness. We counted 2,661 people on our streets and in our shelters; roughly 6,335 were connected to our homeless crisis response system during the same time.”
https://www.piercecountywa.gov/5985/Point-in-Time-Count-Results
Do the math! $9394 spent per homeless person on the street or in shelters? Where’s the money going? To a myriad of “service provider” salaries? This has become an industry for service providers yet the problem isn’t being resolved, it’s expanding. Washington needs its own equivalent of DOGE.
We keep electing liberal minded Democrats who can’t keep their spending habits under control.
They pander to all the “so called” social justice programs that don’t seem to accomplish anything other than perpetuate their own existence.
One day, hopefully we will open our eyes and vote for common sense advocacy in Tacoma, Pierce County and Washington State political positions. With the unprecedented budget shortfalls even the Dems might experience some uncomfortable cuts. That might be a good thing!
Why don’t we give conservatives a try?
This problem of spending other peoples. especially by governments at all levels, is the total lack of accountability and inability to hold anyone responsible for overspending and a lack of results.
Washington State, our states’ counties and many cities all seem to have a serious misunderstanding of their duties and responsibilities. Once in office they all act as if they are royalty and their citizens are serfs to be treated as financial slaves having no right to protest. Upon entering office they neglect their constitutional responsibilities to free up funds to feed their pet feel good projects with no regard for the neglect of taxpayers.