Washington’s Tax System is Broken; the Working Class is Paying the Price
Washington State is in a serious money crisis that is only going to get worse. The cost of everything like schools, roads and healthcare keeps going up, but the way the state collects money hasn’t kept up. Lawmakers in Olympia, the people elected to run the state, refuse to fix the root of the problem instead protecting a tax system that helps the rich and puts more of the burden on regular working people.
Washington doesn’t have an income tax and that might sound like a good a thing, but it actually makes life harder for most people. Instead of asking the rich to pay their fair share the state gets most of its money from sales and property taxes. That means low and middle income families end up paying a bigger part of their income in taxes than millionaires and billionaires do. That’s not fair and it’s hurting our communities.
Republicans in the state legislature are making things worse by refusing to even talk about adding a fair income tax. This year they demanded Democrats promise not to bring up any kind of income tax at all. Their plan is to cut spending or use money from reserves but that won’t fix the long-term problem. It kicks the can down the road while schools and public workers get squeezed.
Democrats have tried to make small changes like raising taxes on big businesses and wealthy investors, these moves help a little but they don’t go far enough. They know the current system is unfair and talk a big game but when things get politically hard they back down, they don’t have the courage to push for real change.
Washington needs a new plan, a fair income tax that asks the richest people to finally pay what they owe. Most other states do this. It wouldn’t hurt working people in fact it would take pressure off them. In 2024 voters showed they’re ready for this kind of fairness when they voted to keep the capital gains tax, which targets investment income from the wealthy. The public is ahead of our politicians but change won’t happen unless we demand it.
Our leaders need to stop protecting the rich and start working for the rest of us. If they won’t act we need to make them. It’s time to change the state constitution so Washington can have a progressive income tax. It’s about fairness and ensuring our communities have what they need to thrive into the future.