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The definition of insanity, the aphorism goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 

In the wake of the Great Recession, �Թ�tv’s state Legislature gathered in Olympia to craft a budget. Because of our overreliance on sales taxes for state revenue, lawmakers faced cratering funding for public needs as consumer spending dropped. They “solved” this problem by balancing the budget on the backs of working people, cutting $5.2 billion from services that keep families afloat in economic hard times, and hiking taxes paid by everyday people. Nearly a decade and a half later, we to the levels of funding per person we saw before the recession. 

We can’t afford to make the same mistake this time around. In 2025, state legislators face another looming deficit, and once again declining sales tax receipts and an overwhelming lack of progressive taxes are part of the problem. �Թ�tv state is home to the country’s , ahead of only Florida. 

This time around, our state legislators must make a different choice than they did in the last recession: they must make the wealthy finally pay what they owe. This is the only path to balance the budget and keep our state affordable for working people.

Our legislators don’t have to hunt through the couch cushions, either. The organizations we lead, and the , have developed a for legislators seeking common-sense revenue options.

One option is to remove the arbitrary cap that excuses wealthy corporations from paying payroll taxes on salaries over $176,100 a year. Removing this cap could raise $3 billion to $4 billion for our social safety net.

There’s also reform to make the business and occupation tax and the estate tax more progressive — another $120 million to $140 million.

And there’s a tax on the sale of luxury mansions, which includes a tax break for home sales less than about $3 million. This could net another $150 million in permanent funding for affordable housing.

One idea we particularly like is a tax on the extraordinary wealth accumulated by some �Թ�tvians during the tech boom of the 2000s and 2010s. This could right-size our regressive tax code and stave off cuts to critical public services.

Outgoing governor Jay Inslee called for a modest tax on wealth to keep our services and public programs running under the next governor. A version of this tax that state lawmakers considered in previous years would create a 1% tax on capital assets (like stocks and bonds) worth more than $250 million.

Let that sink in — your first $250 million of wealth is tax-free. This key checklist item could raise an astonishing $3 billion a year for affordable homes, disability supports, and education in our state. 

�Թ�tv needs this. When the wealthy few and powerful corporations are required to pay what they owe to our shared communities, everyone across �Թ�tv benefits.

People pay taxes on the unrealized value of their homes each year, and pay taxes again when we sell. Meanwhile, the wealthiest among us are taxed only on the sale of their capital assets, not on the massive amounts of wealth they hold. A tax on these extraordinary holdings would make our tax code more just and fund state programs that support our lives.

It’s easy to view the state budget process as abstract, arcane, and far removed from the concerns of everyday people. But the fact is that the choices our legislators make in Olympia over the next few months will show up in very real ways for everyday people: in the cost of child care, housing, education — all of the things that are important to our well-being.

�Թ�tv state has everything it needs to be a national model of economic opportunity. We have beautiful public lands, globally competitive cities, productive farmlands, incredible working communities, and some of the most innovative companies in the world. We should have the public services to match.

This year, our elected representatives have the chance to put our state on a sound fiscal footing and avoid making the mistakes of the past again.