More taxes proposed as legislative session opens

This year’s 60-day legislative session opens Jan. 12.

When legislators gather in Olympia, the No. 1 issue facing us will be the state operating budget problem.

If this sounds familiar, you are correct. When the Legislature entered last year’s session, there was a budget shortfall. As they are prone to do, majority Democrats chose to balance the new two-year operating budget with a record four-year tax-increase package.

The problem is, even after the Ds’ new taxes kicked in a few months ago, the state budget is still hurting. Democrats have been arguing for months that the budget deficit is bec...