This is Leadership? Unbelievable!!!

 

A new state revenue forecast was released today, and the previous predicted revenue shortfall of $8.8 billion dollars has been reduced to an expected $4.5 billion.  The good news in the forecast does not erase the legal requirement for Governor Jay Inslee and the Democrat legislative leaders to immediately call for a special session to balance the budget. The forecast notes that without budget cuts (or the Democrats’ preferred solution of raising taxes) the state is expected to run a deficit of $2.4 billion in the current budget (ending June, 2021) and another $2.1 billion in the next budget, which will be developed by the next legislature and go through June, 2023.  The Treasurer reports show that the state’s general fund has run a deficit every day since September 4^th.  State law requires the governor to either make across-the-board cuts or call back the state legislature to fix the budget if any state fund is running a deficit.  Thus far, Governor Inslee has ignored this law. Even Governor Zero understands that if Democrats are forced to vote on their plan for higher taxes before November, they will either chicken out and lose the vote, or Washington voters economically hammered by Jay Inslee’s shut down orders would likely vote against them in the general election. (Washington Policy Center and Washington General Fund balance sheet)

Governor Jay Inslee’s Employment Security Department (ESD) is so poorly managed that it paid fraudulent unemployment claims that were made using the stolen identities of its own employees.  Nothing seems to surprise the public anymore about the ESD’s dysfunction, which has literally cost Washington State taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. But, to not know that your own employees – still on the job – are not eligible for unemployment benefits is a level of incompetency surprising even from a state agency run by an individual whose primary qualifications is that she raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Democrat politicians.   As one current ESD employee stated, “How does our own agency not know that we’re not unemployed? How did our own system not catch it? How did we not stop that gap? It is a mess.” Yet despite the numerous mistakes that have cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars, and have delayed much needed payments to over 100,000 Washington residents, ESD Commissioner Suzi LeVine still has a job.  . (KING5 News)

Instead of promoting cost-saving measures which do not infringe on public safety, Governor Inslee’s Department of Corrections (DOC) is suggesting releasing prisoners, no matter their crimes, out early from their sentences.  The DOC says this extreme proposal, supported by prisoner advocate groups, could reduce the state’s prison population by 30%.  Instead of serving out their time in the state’s corrections facilities, convicted felons would be allowed to serve their final 150 days in “partial confinement on electronic home monitoring.” (MyNorthwest)

Reporting errors continue to plague the Washington State Department of Health’s (DOH) COVID-19 data releases.  On Tuesday, the state (once again) needed to fix its “coronavirus dashboard” because it contained incorrect data.  The DOH claims the dashboard is now accurate to Sunday.  But, why should anyone believe the agency, which Governor Inslee has used as a political tool throughout the crisis to avoid answering questions about his ill-conceived decisions.  (News Tribune and Department of Health dashboard)