• Seattle P-I article posted March 11, 2006 -- Election-year session: The winners, losers & surprises.

• Seattle P-I article posted March 9, 2006 -- Lawmakers pass new state budget, head home.

• Seattle P-I article posted March 9, 2006 -- Wash Democrats count numerous wins this legislative session.

• Seattle Times article posted March 9, 2006 -- Key legislation noted in passing — or not passing.

• Seattle P-I article posted March 6, 2006 -- Gregoire signs malpractice deal into law.

• FamiliesUSA.org.

• The Campaign for Mental Health Reform.

• National Mental Health Association.

• National Alliance on Mental Illness.

• Increased Use of Expensive Resources
  
  Lack of appropriate outpatient services leads to expensive, repeat emergency room care and expensive housing and treatment in hospital and and prison settings.

• Increased Relapse and Recidivism
  
  Lack of appropriate support services and continuity of care leads to excessive relapses. Subsequent mental illness relapses are progressively more expensive and difficult to treat and recover from.

• Increased Ethical Problems
  
  Lack of continuity of care brought about by budget cuts can be experienced as an "abandonment" by patients. The same strict ethical principles that prohibit "abandonment" of patients by physicians should apply to legislative and budget decision-makers.

• Reduced Community Morale
  
  "Civilization" takes a big hit when care is so compromised that disabled mentally ill persons are forced into surviving on the streets of our cities.

• Increased Mental Illness Stigma
  
  When substandard care is offered to mentally ill persons, the community learns that mentally ill people do not seem to get better. It is a classic self-fulfilling prophecy.

  Please check Philip Dawdy's excellent Seattle Weekly articles:
  • Seattle Weekly article posted March 1, 2006 -- Mental Lapse.

  • Seattle Weekly article posted February 8, 2006 -- Always a Crisis, Never a Solution-- Again, state cuts threaten King County services for indigent mentally ill people.

  • Seattle Weekly article posted December 22, 2004 -- Mindful Reform -- It's time for lawmakers to reconsider how we treat and care for the mentally ill..

  Please check Lynne Varner's excellent column in which she states "It's time to acknowledge how a crueler, less-humanistic society is directly linked to our unwillingness to pay the true costs of a productive, compassionate society" -- Seattle Times Opinion dated January 7, 2003: Losing the blinders, feeling the pain.

• The Department of Social and Health Services Overall DSHS Budgets page. To view budget information for a certain DSHS department, just click on the department name.

• Mental Health Budget page.

• Alcohol and Substance Abuse Budget page.

• King County Budget Office Web Site.

• Seattle City Budget.

Do those of us who care about the less fortunate in our state want to continue experiencing budgets for social services being persistently poached for patching pavement potholes?

The following are links to legislative proposals and discussions about a Washington State income tax and related tax issues spanning the last three years.

• Seattle P-I article posted September 17, 2004 -- Tax reform remains a state issue.

• From IDEAlog.us, posted July 8, 2004 -- Support Ron Sims' call for tax reform.

• From IDEAlog.us, posted March 9, 2004 -- The Sales Tax: is chump change making you a chump?.

• Seattle Times article posted December 22, 2003 -- Letters to the Editor Regarding State Income Tax.

• Seattle Times article posted December 17, 2003 -- The joys of not having a state income tax.

• Seattle P-I article dated January 8, 2003 -- State tax system hurts poor, data find -- Washington reported to have one of most regressive structures.

• Please check Lynne Varner's excellent column in which she states "It's time to acknowledge how a crueler, less-humanistic society is directly linked to our unwillingness to pay the true costs of a productive, compassionate society" -- Seattle Times Opinion dated January 7, 2003: Losing the blinders, feeling the pain.

• Seattle P-I article dated December 8, 2002 -- State's tax system: It's broke and needs fixing.

• Seattle P-I article dated December 4, 2002 -- Income tax is needed, panel tells Legislature.

- Best wishes, Ron Sterling M.D. (Seattle, Washington, USA)