Ijust read something in The Washington State Standard that made me wonder if Democrats in Olympia are finally seeing what the rest of us have been seeing for years.

Senator June Robinson, who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee, just sent an email to her colleagues with a simple message: Don’t even bother asking for new spending. The cupboard is bare. We’re broke.

In a note to her colleagues, she wrote, “I will not be soliciting or accepting any member requests for the operating budget.”

This is remarkable. Not because the state is out of money, but because someone in leadership is finally admitting we can’t keep spending like we have been.

The numbers tell the story. Our state budget has more than doubled in the past decade, from around $38 billion to nearly $78 billion. We

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