From the news coverage of yesterday's revenue forecast, it's likely that the 2008 legislature won't be boosting spending. At least, not much.
Chris Mulick reports in the Tri-City Herald:
ChangMook Sohn, the state's chief economist, called the drop a "very minor fine tuning" that is likely to represent just the beginning of a long-expected slowdown.
"Deceleration is coming," he warned.
Folks got the message.
Victor Moore, director of the state budget office, said voters were right this month when they approved a constitutional amendment creating a rainy day savings account ...
Gregoire is not expected to include major new spending initiatives in her budget plan.
"Caution is still the rule of the day," Moore said.
"Restraint is really the key," said Rep. Jim McIntire, a Seattle Democrat ...
State Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, said ... "I think we need to be putting more money in that rainy day fund than we are."
While Sohn's not predicting a recession, he acknowledges that the downside risk is greater than the upside.
The Calculated Risk blog points out international concerns over the health of the US economy.
