New tax – or wrecking ball for schools and colleges?

One question for the people accusing Gov. Chris Gregoire of grabbing for new taxes instead of downsizing state government:
Where on Earth have you been for the last three years?
Faced with the worst fiscal crisis in a lifetime, she and the Legislature have been paring state services relentlessly.
The K-12 system has been squeezed. Washington’s public colleges have lost a third to a half of their state funding, depending on the school. Health insurance for the poor has been nearly strangled. Many state employees have had wages cut or been laid off. State agencies – large and small – have been turned upside down and had the change shaken out of their pockets.