The state budget deficit is now more than eight billion dollars, according to Arun Raha, the state's chief revenue forecaster, in a preview of the official March forecast.
Here's what the Seattle Times article said:
Washington state forecasters had previously projected a nearly $6 billion shortfall. Thursday's preliminary forecast shows an additional $721 million gap in the current two-year budget and $1.6 billion more in the next biennium that starts in July. That pushed the overall shortfall to $8 billion.Still, we shouldn't forget, it is an increase in spending. It's more revenue than the last two-year budget, but much less than the Democrats had hoped to spend.
Eric Earling, at Sound Politics remembers that something about that $8 billion rings a bell ... it's the amount spending increased during Gregoire's first term.
It would be nice if someone had a list of the moron legislators who voted for those spending increases. Here's just such a list: the Senate, and House votes when the last two-year budget was approved.