Up Front AM: “New revenue” plan coming out next week
First take on the day’s political news from the Up Front team.
Tax weary: A new KING 5 poll finds state residents are not necessarily excited about raising taxes, despite the threat of serious budget cuts. When asked if the state should raise taxes to reduce the impact of the governor’s proposed cuts, 64% said the state should not raise taxes, while 27% said they’d support a tax increase. The KING 5/SurveyUSA poll found Republicans most strongly against a tax increase (83% opposed), compared to Democrats who were split (43% opposed vs. 44% support). The poll of 500 statewide adults, has a margin of +/- 4.3%.
No surprise really, that people don’t like taxes. Would the poll results be different if people knew specifically about the cuts being proposed? That’s the calculation lawmakers will have to make.
The “new revenue” plan: Gov. Christine Gregoire tells us, she will present her budget next Monday and at the same time, lay out her plan to raise revenue and avoid some of the most drastic cuts.
“Democrats and Republicans alike have said to me, these cuts are going to cut too deep, they’re going to cut into the bone, this is not what we want for our future, we need to look at alternatives for revenue,” Gregoire says.
The governor says she’s still reviewing all the possibilities, which could include higher taxes or fees. “If we’re going to raise some sort of revenue that’s significant, I just don’t think the legislature should do it, I think it should turn to the voters and ask them what they want,” she says.
Getting the MAX: Gregoire holds a press conference at Renton Technical College this morning on a plan to make sure the new Boeing 737 MAX is built in Washington state.
Cell phone users the swing vote? A new SurveyUSA national poll finds President Obama at 46% to Mitt Romney at 44% in a hypothetical head-to-head. But here’s the interesting detail. Among landline users only, Romney leads. But among respondents who do not use a home phone and were contacted by cell phone or other electronic device, Obama is ahead.
