Is Washington’s Governor Set To Achieve A New Level of Hypocrisy?

Since 2012 Jay Inslee has been the Governor of Washington State.  Over the last dozen years he has cemented himself as, arguably, the greatest tax and spend governor in history.  He ranked 50th in the Cato Institute's Fiscal Policy Report Card in 2022.  He taxed and spent more than Gavin Newsom of California and, at the time, Kate Brown of Oregon.

The interesting thing about that is, while on the campaign trail running for his first term as Governor, he said for a year he opposed the creation of any new taxes or increasing existing taxes.  That ended his second day in office when he decided temporary tax increases passed in 2010 should be made permanent.  His first budget also featured rollbacks on tax breaks for private citizens as well as businesses.

My How Much The Budget Has Grown

In the last biennial budget under Christine Gregoire, 2011-2013, the Legislature approved a total of $76.2 billion in total spending.  Washington State does have a balanced budget law on the books, meaning they can't authorize more spending than what projected revenues lay out.  In the most recent budget approved by the Legislature, 2023-2025, two-year total fund spending is $140.9 billion, and general fund spending (subject to revenue outlook) of $71.9 billion.

Get our free mobile app

That's a bit of a jump.  Now the state has seen it's revenue grow through the legalization of marijuana, the passing of a capital gains income (er um excise) tax, and nearly 50 other created or increased taxes over the last decade.  Seems a little hypocritical from a guy who said he wouldn't support tax increases before getting elected.

This is also the same guy who on a webinar with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont at the beginning of the COVID pandemic tying climate change economic opportunities to the pandemic.

You might think that if you are pushing tax increases on residents of your state that you would be full in support of those increases when you are no longer the Governor.  Well, think again.  The Idaho Tribune dropped a nugget on their X feed that 'Dear Leader' may be looking to retire east of the tax bog he helped create.

To be clear...it hasn't been verified that the world champion of 'good enough for thee but not for me' is planning to retire to the Gem State, but would it be a surprise?  In some ways, yes.  You may recall the back and forth Inslee had with Idaho Governor Brad Little after the Dobbs verdict from SCOTUS that overturned Roe v Wade.  Idaho is also a wee bit more conservative that Washington State.

Attractive parts to Idaho are lower property and real estate taxes, no state tax on social security income, and the cost of living is roughly six percent below the national average.  I don't think I need to tell you about how housing costs along with property taxes have increased around the State.  Washington State's cost of living is currently seventeen percent HIGHER than the national average.

If Inslee truly is considering a move to a wallet friendlier state in 2025 his ultimate hypocrisy will be revealed.