The headline is one part wishful thinking one part clickbait.
The article says that a business surtax that was supposed to pay for expanded college tuition assistance will come up $28 million short, and so they will have to take $28 million from the State’s general fund. That’s p*ss poor planning and quite typical of leftists State legislative hacks.
But no where does the article claim that Washington State “cannot afford” the $28 million needed by the program.
Already happening! The People’s Republic of Washington and the Seattle City government is doing its socialist best to KILL the entire state. Boeing already moved it’s headquarters to Chicago. Amazon is actively searching for Headquarters II and III (remember the NY debacle) which will quickly divide the company into thirds with deals which will make it easy to escape the majority of these types of taxes. Many of the larger companies came together and spent MILLIONS to overturn several city council seats and they will continue to muck about in the political realm as long as politicians unfairly try and take advantage of their success.
The State needs to start by cutting Professorial and Administrator pay in half and double the hours the Profs spend in the classroom.
Anything else is just continued theft from the students and taxpayers.
Like AOC says: “they’re not making it, they are taking it”.
Continued support for Brick and Mortar Higher Edumacation without improving its teaching efficiency is unsustainable and likely a major cause of the Climate Emergency.
As long as the linchpin industries such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, Costco/Kirkland, Providence Health, and Boeing stay put they have a very solid economic engine. We also have a very successful and lucrative agricultural industry within the state, which enjoys cheap electricity thanks to the Bonneville hydro-power projects that attracts more tech and manufacturing.
One of these days the state legislature will finally pass an income tax and that is when things will change. The legislature continues to propose all kinds of new taxes and an income tax, but they keep getting shot down by the voters.
The very strong businesses and industry have allowed for a lot of leftist silliness, but these companies survive and thrive based on their own merits and not because of state/local government policies. Washington is a smaller California with many similarities and a similar track.
The day they go too far and one of those companies pull out will happen, but ironically under the Trump economy it will not happen.