Budget cuts hit most vulnerable the hardest

"Just hours after releasing her budget request to the Legislature, Gov. Chris Gregoire told The Olympian's editorial board, "I can't do this." The budget cuts, she said, don't mesh with her values.


Gregoire was clear that she was putting forth a budget proposal she abhors. She is required by law to present a budget that is balanced within existing revenue, but readily concedes that her all-cuts budget plan to fill the $2.7 billion state budget gap is unacceptable to her. The governor will propose a more realistic budget next month — a budget that combines budget reductions with tax increases..."