Gregoire proposes huge State budget cuts

By Evan Rohar

Gregoire has put out an initial plan for making the cuts necessary to balance the State's budget. The Seattle Times published an article today on her plans. Here are two excerpts:

"The governor's office, along with agency staff, reviewed state programs and ranked them by priority. About 200 state programs and services, worth about $2.7 billion, top their list for cutting or eliminating entirely to help close a gaping hole in the state budget."

"On the chopping block: more than $900 million over two years that funds an initiative approved by voters to reduce class sizes; $342 million that aids school districts with small property-tax bases, and about $20 million that pays for gifted-student programs." (Seattle Times, "Gregoire looking at massive state budget cuts," 11/30/08)

Also on the chopping block is $404 million for higher education.

There are two things especially to note about this initial proposal. First of all, it is about half or perhaps less than half of what will need to be cut to balance the budget (Gregoire admits that the budget deficit may reach $6 billion in this deteriorating economy). This first shot at identifying programs to be cut is meant to soften the blow of what truly lies ahead: a much more aggressive reduction of spending. The $404 million for education will almost certainly grow back to the $600 million cut that educators have been told to prepare for. Cuts to cost of living pay increases for State workers will almost certainly be part of the plan (a modest 2% per year which at this point does not even cover inflation).

The other very interesting point to note is that this plan looks very similar to the Seattle Times' plan laid out in their editorial published on Nov. 23rd (article and analysis in a post below). Going right down the list, you have a $1.3 billion from public schools (which is actually $400 million more than the Times' proposal), $572.5 million from social services (cutting health care for the children, the poor, and the elderly), and the $404 million from higher ed. The Seattle Times is the principle newspaper for putting forward the opinions and program of big business in Washington State. Gregoire still has not set a course that would avoid hurting students and working people. Her request of $100+ million fromt the federal government is still just a drop in the bucket compared to the massive deficit this State will run. We have to organize to put our program forward, because we don't have a newspaper, staff writers, or a governor to do it for us.

Tabling in the CAB

By ECFF

Come to the CAB during lunch hours (11am until 1 or 2pm) starting Monday December 1st through the 8th for tabling (excluding Saturday and Sunday). We will be handing out fliers, circulating our petition, and talking with people to raise awareness about the proposed higher ed budget cuts, the need to organize against them, and our meeting toward that end (December 10th in SEM2 A1105 from 4-6). We have to offer an alternative to higher tuition and a lower quality (or no) education. Everyone who is able should get involved. Bring signs or whatever else you can think of to grab attention. The biggest problem right now is letting people know about this issue and inviting them to join in our struggle against it. See you in the CAB.

Community colleges must cut 6,000 students

By ECFF

"Community colleges would need to shed at least 6,000 students and end a long tradition of opening the doors to everyone, leaders say. And the University of Washington would need to abandon its plans to double the number of students at its branch campuses in Tacoma and Bothell."

Further articles from the Seattle Times on cuts to higher education:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008408803_uwcuts19m.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008425188_highered23m0.html

First Meeting of Evergreen Commitee for Full Funding

The first meeting of the Evergreen Committee for Full Funding will be Wednesday the 10th of December in SEM 2 A1105 from 4 to 6 PM. All are encouraged and welcome to come!

The Seattle Times - Legislature, governor must find $5 billion in spending cuts without raising taxes

By Evan Rohar

The Seattle Times on Sunday called for what amounts to an all-out attack on students and state workers. Here's the article, with analysis below:

"Five billion dollars. The state has to cut that amount of projected spending to balance its budget from mid-2009 to mid-2011. It can be done — with enormous difficulty.
The $5.1 billion gap is a projection only, and could change. Between now and March, when the state budget is finalized, it probably will widen. It is not likely to shrink.
The gap might be filled with new taxes, but it would be foolhardy to lay on big new taxes during an economic crisis. Every business is trying to manage its way out, conserving its cash. Gov. Christine Gregoire pledged she would manage the state's finances without any tax increase, and she should stick to that.
After discussions with budget people in both political parties, we have some ideas for reaching $5 billion. The ideas are rough ones — with neither the Republican or Democratic name on them — and we are not sure we like our name on all of them, either. But this list is a place to begin.
• $926 million — Cancel the Initiative 728 money, or most of it. Officially this is for class-size reduction in the public schools, but the schools have folded it into everyday operations. Cutting I-728 money was done in 2003, when the budget was in a crisis, and has to be done again. That is the danger of budgeting by initiative.
• $887 million — Don't fund increases in pay and benefits for government employees, including at state-funded schools and colleges. Simply put, it's a crisis. Nobody on the state tab can expect a raise. This is unavoidable.
• $700 million — Tap the state's rainy-day fund. "I don't know that it rains any harder than this," says the governor's budget director, Victor Moore.
• $600 million — Cut seats in state universities and community colleges. Cut some tuition waivers. Offset some cuts with increased tuition.
• $440 million — Skip the payment to state employee pension funds, which was done in 2003. This will have to be made up later. A cut does not affect anyone's benefits.
• $150 million — Freeze enrollment in the Basic Health Plan, the state's health-insurance plan for the not-quite-poor.
• $100 million — Cut General Assistance-Unemployable, a welfare program most states don't have, by time-limiting the program and forcing clients onto Supplemental Security Income, which is federal.
• $100 million — Extend the partial state hiring freeze past June 30, 2009.
• $82 million — End sales-tax-mitigation payments to cities.
• $70 million — Skip a contribution to the Life Sciences Discovery Fund.
• $52 million — Take away the three math and science learning-improvement days — nonteaching days — for high-school teachers, and two similar days for elementary teachers.
• $45 million — Require that children with household incomes under 200 percent of the poverty level now in the Basic Health Plan enroll in Medicaid instead, because half of Medicaid is paid with federal dollars.
• $28 million — Repeal Initiative 1029, which requires extra training for in-home-care workers.
• $20 million — Don't raise the cutoff on the state Children's Health Insurance Program from 250 percent of poverty to 300 percent as previously planned.
• $12 million — Cut Community, Trade and Economic Development money to "coordinate government efforts to improve the effectiveness of economic investments."
That list totals more than $4 billion. There are many other ideas, some of which could offset proposals that are unacceptable.
The state could raise the minimum loss for felony theft, so that more thieves would go to county jail than to state prison. It could repeal the "three strikes" law and parole some prisoners convicted under that law. It could divert tax sources, like lottery money, that now go into the capital budget back into the general fund. It could do some contracting out. Etc. Etc.
The Legislature will have a painful time to get to $5 billion. But with a close look at many small things, which we have not done here, it can be done.
Taxpaying families and employers are having to live within their means and their government must do the same.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company"

This article calls for cuts to programs that people need most in a recession and furthermore calls for selling out the future by defunding public schools and universities. The idea to freeze the wages of state workers violates collective bargaining agreements negotiated between the state and unions representing those workers (Washington Federation of State Employees, Service Employees International Union, Washington Education Association, and the American Federation of Teachers, among others). The plan to skip financing of pensions for state workers in this economic environment could potentially be disastrous. In 2003, we were seeing the tail end of the economic downturn after 9/11. Now that we're facing the very beginning of what could be a long, deep recession, state tax revenue could remain depressed beyond FY 2011, which would eventually endanger state pensioner benefits. Extending the state hiring freeze is not the thing to do in an environment where workers are already having trouble finding any jobs, let alone good state government jobs. Finally, freezing enrollment for the Basic Health Plan would be a disaster for working people; whether poor or on the brink, people still need health care and this is the only way for many to get it right now.

The $5 Billion Threat to Students and Workers

By Benjamin Gallup and Evan Rohar

Due to plunging tax revenue because of the weak economic situation, Washington State will run a budget deficit of $5 billion over the next two years. Legislators are exploring all possibilities for balancing the budget, including a $600 million (20 percent) cut to higher education. A budget cut of this magnitude would have dire consequences for students and campus workers (including faculty, staff, and maintenance workers). Meanwhile, the legislators in Washington, D.C. find $3 trillion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and more than $1 trillion to bail out rich investors.

The students of this campus and at public universities across the State cannot afford to take the cost of this $600 million on our backs. Nor should we settle for larger class sizes and fewer courses of study. We are already paying far more for our education than our parents' generation. Public grants for higher education have declined in value over the past 20 years. In 1987-88 the Pell Grant covered a student's expenses for half the school year. In 2007 that number declined to one-third, with expensive private loans taking up the slack. If the budget-slashing goes forward, tuition hikes and faculty lay-offs will make higher education even less accessible.

And yet while students will surely be hurt by the slashed higher education budget, we will not be the only ones under attack in the coming period. Governor Gregoire is proposing massive cuts to State programs across the board, which will put people dependent on those programs into dire straits. It is exactly during a recession that working families need these programs. Furthermore, State workers everywhere will face attacks on their wages, pensions, and health care.

No alternative has been offered by the Governor or our legislators to this dilemma. They have never once raised the prospect of abolishing the regressive sales tax in favor of a progressive income tax that targets the wealthy and big business to boost revenue. Nor have they proposed approaching the federal government for aid to schools. Therefore, we must do it ourselves.

We must respond quickly. Evergreen Socialist Alternative is calling for an organizing committee to be formed to plan a response to this crisis. The Evergreen Committee for Full Funding will meet on Wednesday, December 10 in SEMII A1105 at 4:00pm. We are trying to link up all students, faculty, staff, and workers who will be affected by these cuts, and encourage everyone to come be part of the discussion and decision making process. We are proposing various activities including a march on the capitol for some time in January or early February, after the legislature convenes. We must organize on all public school campuses and all State work sites to make the largest possible impact. Some will say that the government cannot afford to sustain current levels of spending, yet there is always enough money for corporate bailouts and war. The money is there if the political will is there, and we can create the political will if we organize.

Students and workers have already been forced over the last 30 years to cut back on their quality of life because of the offensive on unions and students carried out by big business. We must not let them put the weight of this economic downturn on our shoulders. Instead, we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our teachers, staff, and building maintenance workers to defend against the imminent attacks on our quality of life in the classroom and on the job. We need a movement to fight for our right to a good education and living-wage jobs based on a platform of:

No program cuts,

No layoffs,

No tuition increases, and

No attacks on wages and benefits of state workers:

To be paid for by federal aid and taxes on the wealthy.

Contact EvergreenCFF@gmail.com to get involved or come to our meeting in SemII A1105, Wednesday, December 10 at 4:00pm.

State proposes massive cuts for education - build a campaign to stop the cuts!

By ECFF

With the strain of a recession bearing down upon students and workers alike, Washington state has recently declared that it will cut up to 5 billion dollars from the state budget. Over $600 million - 20 percent - will be cut for higher education. This means massive layoffs for teachers and college workers, higher tuition and book prices, reduced student services and choice of classes, and more restrictive entry requirements for both community and four-year colleges.

Not enough money?

While federal and local officials claim that these cutbacks are the result of a state budget shortfall, they have no trouble finding billions of dollars for the disastrous occupation of Iraq or the corporate bailout of Wall Street. The proposed cut of $600 million is equal to 20% of our state higher education budget, but equals only 0.09% of the recent bailout for Wall Street.

These cuts cannot stand. We need to organize a campaign with the following demands:

-Stop the budget cuts
-No layoffs
-No cuts to classes or services
-No increase in tuition
-No to more restrictions on admission requirements
-Hands off open enrollment for community colleges
-No attacks on wages, benefits or working conditions for employees

How can we fight back?

If students, teachers, and staff are firmly united, organized, and are mobilizing to win public support, these cuts can be defeated. That’s why it is important to absolutely reject the argument that, “There isn’t enough money." The second we accept this logic, the politicians will begin dividing students against faculty, faculty against administrators, and staff against teachers -- for crumbs. United we win, divided we beg.

We demand that our federal government fully fund quality education. Any state budget shortfall should be made up through taxes on the wealthy and big corporations, not cuts in our education. We can't afford cuts, but the rich can afford to pay more taxes.

Join us in building a campaign to mobilize enormous pressure on the politicians in Olympia. A successful campaign must rely on our power in numbers, not on the good will of politicians or administrators. Ultimately, defeating these cuts will require the massive united action of students, staff, and teachers, with demonstrations, rallies, walkouts and strikes.

Get Involved:

evergreencff@gmail.com