Marijuana, budget are hot topics at 36th District open house

The King County Democrats Legislative Action Committee is alarmed that the Governor only intends to restore $.7 billion of the $2.6 billion in service cuts. This will not be nearly enough to restore the shredded social safety net in our state. The King County Democrats instead recommend that 2/3 of the deficit be met by revenue increases and 1/3 by cuts. Among the broadest revenue sources would be a tax on all services, not just professional services. This would be a progressive tax, one that falls more on high-income people, and it would help correct our system that taxes poor people (bottom 25%) 17% in state and federal taxes, while wealthy people (top 20%) pay only 3%.

We would prioritize restoring the Basic Health plan, restoring general assistance and Medicaid for people with disabilities (half with mental illness) and education.