Blackmail
Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 9:43PM I don’t say this often, but the Seattle Times got it right. In a December 2nd editorial they declared that what Governor Gregoire is attempting is a “form of blackmail.” Our Governor has declared that if the voters “vote no, the cuts are going into place,” she said. “It's not a hypothetical. If they vote yes, they won't.” The cuts she referred to were huge cuts in public education and prisons. Putting it another way she is saying, vote my way or I hurt your children and release dangerous felons.
Governor Christine Gregoire
In a blogpost titled Scare the Taxpayers I quoted Gregoire’s ultimatum and said, “So either the Governor gets to continue hiring state workers, supporting needle exchange programs, pouring money into the state ferry system and other money losing mass transit plans while supporting various art and historical programs to the tune of millions of dollars or she will release prisoners and cut education for your children.” However, I like the succinct way the Seattle Times put it; what she proposed is a form of blackmail.
The Seattle Times supported putting a tax increase to a vote, but not for core governmental services such as education and corrections. They suggested putting good, but not essential services, to a vote. In a blogpost title Simple Solutions , I put that idea more succinctly, “Prioritize Spending.”
A few days ago on their blog, the Freedom Foundation reiterated their call for “priority-based budgeting” and they said, “there are plenty of places to trim state government before cutting anything that impacts the core functions of government.” It appears that there is a consensus building against the Governor’s blackmail and for real budget cuts and prioritized state budgeting and spending.
Christine Gregoire in Budget, Washington State
Reader Comments (1)
For me it is not good for a politician to force his/her people to vote for what she wants. You should explain it more in a good manner and as an educated person. Forcing your people and giving conditions is really a form of blackmail. This must be observed by our officials they should respect the vote of the people because they are on that position because of the people and their votes.