Sue Lani Madsen: The state of the state is not No. 1

The state of the state is not No. 1

Gov. Jay Inslee announced in his last annual state of the state speech that we are the “strongest state in the nation.” According to US News & World Report “Best States” rankings for 2023, Washington was overtaken by Utah in 2023 and is No. 2 in the overall rankings, just like the UW Huskies.

So maybe it’s the economy and growth that makes us the strongest. Gov. Inslee cited population growth, a rising minimum wage and a higher GDP. But we can’t claim that first place trophy on the basis of the economy, at least not according to Statista. Our GDP growth rate at 45% is lower than the overall national rate of 51% over the same period. And US News ranks Washington as No. 6 to Idaho’s No. 1 in economic and growth categories, where Washington also lags behind Utah, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona.

Traffic deaths are at a 20-year peak, the homeless population count is at an all time high and grew at rate of 11% per year, our estimated shortfall in housing is over a quarter of a million of new housing units, and student achievement scores are abysmal on OSPI’s annual report card on our public school system.

If all that makes us the strongest state in the nation, heaven help those behind us.

In a rebuttal from the Washington Republicans, Sen. Nikki Torres (R-Pasco) said “Under one party rule in Olympia our state has become less safe, less affordable and in far too many ways we are failing our children.” The statistics seem to be in her favor.

According to Torres, deputy Republican floor leader and first Latina senator elected from Eastern Washington, “the news is like a running indictment of the majority’s failed policies. Record number of overdoses and fentanyl deaths, ‘Kia Boys’ inspired by internet trends and weak police pursuit laws are on a crime spree from one end of the state to the other.” She also cited the impact of the Climate Commitment Act on driving up prices, impacting working Washingtonians and those in the rural parts of her district the hardest.

Washington ranks second in highest rates of auto theft per capita at more than twice the national average, according to Torres. She also pointed to the impact of retail theft on perceptions of public safety. “The 24% rise in larceny thefts from 2019 to 2022 is also second highest in the nation according to FBI crime data.”

At least we’re not No. 1 in those categories.

It wouldn’t be an Inslee speech without a climate lecture on a clear “path to slash greenhouse gases 95% by 2050.” There’d be less eye-rolling if we were already hitting targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, but overall emissions rose 7% from 2018 to 2019. Inslee’s own Department of Ecology shows a nifty chart outlining peaks and valleys as greenhouse gases rise and fall in response to complex climate factors, then assumes this year, yes this is the year the line will slide smoothly and steadily down without interruption.

And why will emissions suddenly become orderly and predictable? In 2019, Inslee signed an executive order requiring that by the 2020/2021 fiscal year, half of all purchases of passenger vehicles for the state vehicle fleet would be battery electric vehicles .

They weren’t.

So in 2021, the governor issued another Executive Order 21-04 establishing a new set of ambitious goals. But in spite of confidently pronouncing good intentions and according to his own Department of Enterprise services report, “The State of Washington is unlikely to meet the BEV goals” due to a variety of ordinary logistical challenges.

Even the Department of Ecology didn’t buy EVs when they replaced seven vehicles in 2022. According to Todd Myers, they bought “3 Nissan Titan Pro4Xs, 2 Dodge Ram 3500s, and 2 Dodge Ram 2500s.”

It’s another odd-numbered year, must be time for another wave of the magic wand by executive order, the same wand Inslee keeps emphasizing can’t make homelessness disappear.

Inslee closed his state of the state with classic fear-mongering on a Democratic rile-up-the-base issue “to enshrine reproductive freedom in the Constitution.”

There is no Republican assault on abortion in Washington in 2024. This year’s partisan assault on choices in reproductive care is coming from the left. A bill filed this session would restrict access to ultrasounds at pregnancy support centers, eliminating an option for women seeking information to make an informed choice. The rationale? Such woman-focused care centers don’t provide a full range of health services. It would be ironic if an enterprising lawmaker filed a bill requiring any clinic advertising it’s purpose as planning for parenthood to provide pre-natal care, parenting classes, a choice of obstetrician or mid-wife for delivery, and free diapers.

Or maybe legislators could just focus in this short 60-day session on the core business of the state and resist political posturing. Torres closed her state of the state response with a more positive message. “Together we can put people before politics.”

Contact Sue Lani Madsen at rulingpen@gmail.com.