Unfortunately, the mainstream media is trumpeting the missives of former Governors Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire to cut progressive policymakers off at the knees. The Seattle Times characterizes Gregoire’s and Locke’s criticism as an “intervention” – as if Democrats have an addiction. They want to focus on “out-of-control” revenue and taxes, and not on the services that are provided by our government.
The Urbanist's Fall Member Drive is in full swing! Support our work, read ad-free, and help us hit our goal for the member drive!
When Locke and Gregoire were governors, Washington state did not have paid family and medical leave for workers, we did not have long term care, we did not have the climate commitment act that funds projects to limit greenhouse emissions in our state.
Gregoire wrote budgets that doubled tuition at the University of Washington, which under her leadership exceeded $10,500 in 2011 ($16,000 in today’s dollars), eliminated Basic Health for low-income Washingtonians, almost completely defunded our public parks, and suspended initiatives which had been passed by the people into law to reduce K-12 class sizes and increase teacher pay. And now she works for the corporate oligarchs who fund her business policy alliance, Challenge Seattle.
Governor Locke began his own attack on public services at an Association of Washington Business conference. These two old-time leaders don’t speak for Democrats, they speak for the oligarchy. And it’s important Washington raises its voice for the people, rather than doing the bidding of oligarchs.
Locke's "budget discipline" comments made the rounds, especially on conservative-leading media sources. (The Center Square)
The upcoming Congressional elections and the probability that Democrats will win majorities in the House and the Senate is grabbing much of our political attention. These majorities, whether dominated by mainstream or progressive Democrats, could effectively decelerate the undermining of our democracy.
But we need to be aware of Trump’s veto power and the fact that whatever the legal outcomes, the Trump administration will continue to roll over them, with the help of the Supreme Court. Don't get me wrong - these elections are extremely important and I, as millions of other Americans, have contributed significantly to help our allies win political power.
But, we must not forget about legislative elections in our own state. While we may be unable to reverse oligarchic neoliberalism at the federal level, we can build our own universally shared commonwealth in Washington state. In fact, we must do so, to provide a template for rebuilding our country, not as it was before Trump, but as it should be as a true democracy, inclusive of social democracy. This is fundamental to saving our country.
Progressive states can go on the offensive, embodying a counterpoint to the growing fascism of Trump and his accolades, as well as to the neoliberal planned disintegration of public services embraced by Republicans and many Democrats.
Rather than bemoaning state budget increases, we should be looking at people’s needs. But the current Democratic budget architects have actually taken away support for these needs. These legislators have defunded child care, reduced College Grants for low-income and working class students, cut $27 million out of “transition to kindergarten” programs, and chopped 10% out of the Parent to Parent program, a vital connection for parents of children with developmental disabilities.
That is just a start. The legislature managed nickel and dime (or better said, million and million) cuts to programs across the board. These cuts hurt all of us.
When legislators convene in January, they must look forward, not back. They must step up to all the cuts coming down from the Trump administration – possibly $15 billion over the next decade - as well as the unmet needs which have been left unfunded for decades. We must build our commonwealth. Let’s consider the bookends for K-12 education, child care and higher education.
21 years ago the Legislature established a career and wage ladder for child care teachers. However, as part of Gregoire’s cost cutting, they stopped funding this ladder in 2011. The median wage in 2025 for child care workers in our state was $20.55 and the career and wage ladder law lies dormant. It doesn’t need a new law – it is ready to be funded and could create a true and respected career ladder for 30,000 child care teachers. That would cost $1 billion a year.
Child care is a budget buster for working parents. In New Mexico, it isn’t. That is because the state of New Mexico provides universal no-cost childcare for the children of all residents. If we did the same thing, the cost is estimated at $2.5 billion a year. A universal child care program voids all of the Legislature’s cost-cutting antics, like the $143 million cut to Working Connections Child Care and throwing off kids from child care by lowering the income ceiling for eligibility.
Tuition and living expenses at the University of Washington exceed $37,000 for in-state students and almost $30,000 at Seattle Central Community College. At Evergreen State College tuition itself is a little under $9,000. But not if you are a graduating senior from Shelton High School. All Shelton graduates, regardless of income, get four years of tuition-free education at Evergreen, plus help with the cost of living. In September of 2024, three students from Shelton enrolled at Evergreen. In September 2025, 53 students enrolled. Their retention rate is 95%. And this month 60 new Shelton high school graduates will be enrolling at Evergreen.
This pilot project points to the fact that it is the cost of tuition, more than anything else, which is keeping kids from going to college. Washington state’s Business Roundtable, again representing the top corporate oligarchs, claim they want to increase post-high school enrollment to 70%. Currently only 53% of last year’s high school graduates are enrolled in higher education. But these oligarchs don’t want to fund higher education.
Amazon and Microsoft in particular benefit from a tax ceiling legislated for them, only. No other businesses benefit. The workforce education investment fund loses over $1 billion a year from this giveaway. With that funding the state could have tuition-free education for all community colleges and regional universities, and half the tuition at UW and WSU. That would be a true gamechanger for students, their families, and our economy.
Between child care and higher education alone, the state needs to raise an additional $5 billion a year. Where is that money? About 1,900 households in our state enjoy incomes exceeding $5 million. A 10% tax would bring in about $1.5 billion. A half of a percent tax on wealth would generate at least $3 billion a year. A 5% tax on compensation in excess of the Social Security tax ceiling tax ($184,500) would generate another $3 billion a year.
We must tax the oligarchs, the merely wealthy, and the corporations that have been Trump’s toadies and beneficiaries. It is of public and private benefit to tax these corporate behemoths and C-suite executives, including all those privileged “workers” who are granted salaries in excess of a million dollars, 60 times the minimum wage and more than 13 times the median salary in our state.
Runaway salaries pull the beneficiaries away from the body politic and the culture of community. Families with incomes exceeding a million dollars segregate their kids in private schools, surround themselves with private clubs, inculcate themselves and their kids with a sense of superiority, and stand apart from the financial stresses and realities faced by 90% of the population. Many of them get public gratitude for charitable contributions while corrupting the potential for common wellbeing.
We need this new revenue to rebuild our public services and make up for the billions of dollars of cuts coming down from the Trump Administration. We need progressive taxation to build the cross-class solidarity of our state. E Pluribus Unum.
Amy Sundberg
