Washington Governor Goes after Candy

In a non-serious attempt to make a very small $600m dent in a massive $2.8b budget deficit, Washington Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire has proposed a tax hike on various industries.

"Her package includes collecting sales taxes for candy, soda and bottled water and tripling the tax on cigarettes. She also proposed tripling a tax on hazardous substances, including oil and chemicals and adding taxes for out-of-state companies that do business in Washington."

How in the world does the Governor think that adding sales tax to the price of candy will fix the fiscal mess that the state of Washington is in?

This seems like another ridiculous idea from a politician too afraid of entrenched interests (read: unions) to do what she should be doing (read: slash spending).

Until this Governor grows up and obtains some political courage, expect the budget mess in Washington state to continue.