Legislature should stop living beyond means — like we’ve done
Thank you for printing Kate Riley’s column “There has to be a better way,” [Opinion, March 12] and Andrew Garber’s article “Despite cuts, state spending actually on track to go up” [page one, March 11].
My husband has again been laid off after he had been called back as a temp for five months. After his first layoff last April, we went into our “survival mode,” eliminating all but necessary expenses. It was not that hard to do as we do not frequent movie theaters, restaurants and don’t have satellite or cable TV.
For the time being, our cutbacks are simple but effective, including turning down our heat, running the laundry and dish washer only when they are full, curtailing our driving and simplifying our meals. We do not buy anything that we do not absolutely need.
I know we are not the only family in this state that has had to cut back on everyday expenses. It is time that our representatives started listening to us and followed our lead.
They should stop spending what they don’t have on programs that we don’t need. There are many programs that need to be funded, but Olympia throws money away on too many that should not even get a first look — let alone funding.
— Shirley Morgan, Camano Island
Can’t afford special session
I am writing to propose a state initiative that would eliminate any payment to our legislators for their participation during special sessions.
Again in 2010, the citizens of Washington are being asked to reward our legislators — at a cost of approximately $18,300 a day — for their inability to complete their required work — in this case, to pass a balanced budget — during the constitutionally approved regular session.
The irony of paying approximately $90,000 for a weeklong session while the legislators try to figure out which state programs to cut sounds too much like “Alice in Washington Land.”
For me — the average state taxpayer — it is hard to understand why legislators need extra time since they always resolve the issues before them [during the regular session]. Paying the legislators for extra time only rewards them for not being efficient. Let’s remove the money and see if that will provide a sufficient incentive to complete their work on time.
— Theodore E. Andrews, Lacey, Thurston County