There’s still room to cut state spending

For the past two sessions, we’ve heard majority lawmakers complain about state spending cuts: “We’ve cut to the bone” and “People will die” were common refrains to try to garner public sympathy.

But the public seems to know something that state budget writers skipped over – There’s still room to cut. Former Okanogan County Farm Bureau President and current state Rep. Joel Kretz hit that nail on the head in a recent op-ed in the Seattle Times.

Kretz highlighted the need for fiscal reform and scrutiny, and cited specific examples of state environmental agency overlap and duplication. “This has created a web of money funneling that cannot be tracked effectively,” Kretz said.

In fact, total state government spending for this year is actually higher than it was last year.

“Taxpayers deserve a government that is transparent, accountable and run by people who understand every dollar spent is first earned by a hardworking citizen,” Kretz concluded.

Bottom line: This election cycle, we need to elect people who will stop this excessive spending and restore accountability to our government.