Who is Paying in Washington State?
Following up on Charlie's post about Crosscut's article on how business says it cares about public education, here's more input from The Stranger Slog. David Goldstein has been laying out the case against the levy swap for our school districts and the supplied graphic says it all.
King County, with roughly 29 percent of the state population, produced 42 percent of state tax revenues, yet it received back less than 26 percent of state benefits. That's a return of only 62 cents on the dollar for our state's Democratic stronghold.
Compare that to the generous $3.16 return on each dollar enjoyed by taxpayers in hard Republican Ferry County in deep northeastern Washington. All in all, only six counties qualified as "net donors" to the rest of the state—San Juan, King, Skagit, Kittitas, Whatcom, and Snohomish—while the remaining 33 counties enjoyed an average return on investment of over $1.40 on every tax dollar sent to Olympia.
If King County's school districts were funded proportionate to what King County taxpayers put into state coffers, our schools would receive an additional one billion dollars a year from the state. Local readers should remember this the next time our local newspaper advocates for a school levy swap that would shift even more of the burden of state K-12 funding onto the shoulders of King County homeowners, while providing zero additional dollars for own schools.
King County, with roughly 29 percent of the state population, produced 42 percent of state tax revenues, yet it received back less than 26 percent of state benefits. That's a return of only 62 cents on the dollar for our state's Democratic stronghold.
Compare that to the generous $3.16 return on each dollar enjoyed by taxpayers in hard Republican Ferry County in deep northeastern Washington. All in all, only six counties qualified as "net donors" to the rest of the state—San Juan, King, Skagit, Kittitas, Whatcom, and Snohomish—while the remaining 33 counties enjoyed an average return on investment of over $1.40 on every tax dollar sent to Olympia.
If King County's school districts were funded proportionate to what King County taxpayers put into state coffers, our schools would receive an additional one billion dollars a year from the state. Local readers should remember this the next time our local newspaper advocates for a school levy swap that would shift even more of the burden of state K-12 funding onto the shoulders of King County homeowners, while providing zero additional dollars for own schools.
Comments
What are your educational and professional qualifications...?!
(kidding!)
If there were two things that convinced me NOT to vote for McKenna -- one was his health care lawsuit (clearly against the wishes of state government AND at least half of the state's citizens, and to torpedo a law that was upheld by a number of circuits AND the Supreme Court). The other was the levy swap. Like many Republicans, he may have been a moderate at some time in the past, but he is no longer one.
But voting for Inslee in light of his promise not to seek new taxes -- when new revenue is CLEARLY what is needed -- was also tough.
Ironic isn't it?
amused-in-seattle
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