Work with Gary for More Community, Less Olympia

Current run-away spending has consequences.  Instead of getting more money into our local communities, it is sucking money out of them. Our politicians have been growing central government two to three times faster than our economy, but our local schools are failing, our gridlock is getting worse, and the reliability of services are declining. The growing number of bureaucrats in Olympia burden our communities with unfunded mandates and create roadblocks to common sense local management.

 Local policy makers are more innovative and accountable to citizens. Our legislators claim that they cut spending, got rid of waste, and cut government to the bone. The truth is that they are growing central government faster than ever.   While Olympia extends its power, our local concerns are being overshadowed and overlooked. Large corporations,  big unions, national organizations, the big cities and counties have their concerns addressed first at the state level. Olympia's bureaucrats and union bosses get first claim on our tax dollars, leaving less and less for our local schools and  communities. 

Bottom up spending is more efficient. Local budgets are more straightforward and accountable. Waste and corruption are inherent in large, convoluted systems.  When problems are addressed top down, we spend years trying to craft "one size fits all" solutions that never satisfy anyone.  Concepts such as "basic education" are impossible to define statewide, but each parent knows what his or her kids need. Good schools depend on parental choice and control by local teachers and principals. As long as authority in defining education is top down, we are at the mercy of distant, unelected bureaucrats who we can neither reason with nor replace.

Local control creates a balanced approach.  Centralized control moves the center of gravity away from the parents. For example, when policy boards for early childhood programs were set up by Olympia, big corporations such as KinderCare, national organizations such as the YMCA, and unions such as SEIU got a seat at the table. Who didn't? The parents and local owner-operators who provide almost all of the early child care in the country. The resulting policies favor the big organizations' needs, but they are far removed from our local, day-to-day problems.  The policies and plans they create address the needs of bureaucrats to create more government not parents and children.

A Common Sense Plan for Future Spending

An innovative approach is required for our peace of mind and future prosperity. We cannot keep taking money from our citizens and wasting it in top-down systems that deliver the poorest possible services at the highest possible cost.

• Basic local services such as education, transportation, and law enforcement should have the first claim on taxpayer dollars, not the last.
• Spending priorities should be local where the people affected can influence their particular priorities in government services. 
• Central government and their budgets should not grow faster than those of our local agencies.
• Money from taxpayers should flow to their local communities first. Local agencies should voluntarily fund district, country, and state agencies based on the services that are most economically shared.
• Control in the system should flow from the bottom up, from citizens to local service providers to larger agencies.