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Sunday, May 1, 2011

Piling On

The State of Washington is faced with $5+ billion budgetary shortfall. There are going to be a lot of cuts and they will impact negatively a large number of people. No matter how the legislature and governor's office make their decisions, I can guarantee you that there will be a lot pissed off people in this state.

There is a better than even chance that a lot of those irate people may be my friends and neighbors. One of the proposals that has raised the hackles of the residents of north Pacific County is the possibility of the closure of our Community Services office of the Department of Social & Health Services (DSHS). This is the office that administers Food Stamps, Women, Infants & Children (WIC), welfare and disability services (to name a few).

The South Bend Branch isn't the only office targeted to be closed. The other three are: Colfax Branch (Whitman County), Othello Branch (Adams County), and Stevenson Branch (Skamania County). What all four of these offices have in common is that each one is in a rural area.

In 3 of the counties -- Adams, Pacific and Skamania -- unemployment is higher than the state average of 9.7%. Here in Pacific County, our unemployment rate stands at 13.8% and it is higher in Skamania County at 14.4%. All four counties have per capita income that is significantly less than the state figure of $22,973. In these 4 counties, per capita income ranges from $11,409 in Adams to $17,322 in Pacific (though, in South Bend itself, the figure is $14,776).

The point I wish to highlight is that the closing of these 4 offices feels like piling on misery on top of misery. All 4 counties struggle with economic development and, as indicated above, unemployment rates are much higher than the state average (though it is LOWER in Whitman County due to the fact that Washington State University is located in the southeast corner of the county).

If this proposal goes forward and is adopted, each county will lose several good-paying white collar jobs. If the workers are able to transfer to other offices, it will add more houses to the glut of houses already for sale in the area and the potential for less property taxes collected. Area businesses also will take a hit because it will mean even fewer middle class consumers.

Not only will such closures exact an economic toll on the area, but it will cause the poor -- people like me -- to shoulder more costs. When I need to visit a DSHS office, I will have to travel to Aberdeen (37 miles north) or Long Beach (43 miles south). At least, Della & I have a car! What happens to those who lack basic transportation?

While the rhetoric and theory of "containing" government spending may have a nice ring to it for some folks, these sorts of situations often are what is wrought. Almost everyone is fine with a reduction in services or accessibility when it involves other people who live somewhere else.

Unfortunately, as is often the case, those of us who live in rural areas are those other people and we are impacted far more negatively than those who live in urban or suburban areas.

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