Budget & Taxes
A budget is where priorities meet realities. At least that's how it should work.
The problem with government is that it gets to write the rules--about tax rates, fees, and even what counts as a balanced budget. That makes it easy for politicians to pretend everything is a priority and every moment a crisis demanding greater sacrifice from taxpayers.
The Freedom Foundation is a tireless voice for priority-based budgeting in state and local government. We work with responsible policymakers to craft sound, balanced budgets. We expose irresponsibility and gimmicks. We helped launch performance audits in Washington State as well as the model for health savings accounts eventually adopted into federal law.
We work with elected officials and citizens to make government budget writing transparent and to focus it on real priorities, cutting spending on programs that are unnecessary, counterproductive or unconstitutional.
The principles are pretty simple: taxes should be as low, simple, and fair as possible and budgets should be balanced.
Special Session
Get all the latest news and unbiased information from this year's special session. Can our legislators figure out the budget deficit? Are we destined to return to this same problem every few months?Get the Facts on Initiative 1183
We are highlighting the facts about each 2011 ballot measure every day this week. Before you cast your vote, make sure you get the facts about I-1183.Informed Voter Guide 2011
It can be tricky to make the right decision when it comes to voting on an initiative. More often than not you don't have enough information to make a confident choice either way. But now you can get the unbiased facts about the 2011 Washington initiatives by reading our Initiative Guide!State Budget
Get all the latest budget news, analysis and happenings here. The development of this year's budget is bound to be a fight, and the Freedom Foundation stands squarely in the taxpayer's corner. We get dirty so you don't have to."Class warfare is a form of bigotry"
"Class warfare is a form of bigotry" That's the first line in a Forbes article by fellow free enterprise proponent, John Tillman. Tillman is the CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, which you may have heard of as they were in the center of the Chicago teacher's union strike.No, public works projects don't create jobs
Contrary to what politicians and road signs would have you believe, public-sector jobs simply confiscate investment capital that could be used to grow the economy and pay it out to a hand-picked contractorCost of Government Day Announced
The Americans for Tax Reform Foundation (ATR) announced today that 2012’s national Cost of Government Day will fall this Sunday on July 15th. This means that the average worker has to work 197 days of the year to pay for their share of the spending and regulatory burdens imposed by local, state, and national government.
Updated Revenue Forecast: Is No News Good News'
Washington’s budget is safe for now; the state should be in the black this year and legislators should avoid a special session until at least September. Still, the state’s miniscule ending fund balance and large downside risks make further budget woes likely.68 Washington public agencies and municipalities fail to report lobbying expenses
OLYMPIA—Today the Evergreen Freedom Foundation filed complaints with the Public Disclosure Commission against 68 public entities for either improperly reporting lobbying expenses or failing to report them altogether, based on discrepancies between expenditure reports filed by lobbyists and those filed by public agencies. Most of the agencies are cities, counties, ports and utility districts.