Answering the "Why?"

I've spent some time regurgitating what we all did at the Social Issues seminar, and if you're bothering to read this journal, you may be wondering why a program sponsored by, and largely directed towards professionals in, Agriculture and Forestry would bother with such a topic, placed directly after our three skill-building sessions.

Here in the 12th district, one of our three representatives, Senator Linda Evans Parlette, is a graduate of the Ag-Forestry leadership program, and two of our Chelan County commissoners, Keith Goehner and Ron Walter, are also graduates.

Of the $60.0 billion Washington state budget, human services represents about 36% of the total, or $22.1 billion dollars. These funds are spent on medical, public assistance, long-term care and prisons, and one in five people in our state receive some sort of service (for a more comprehensive overview of our budget, check out this publication).

For this comprehensive and wonderful leadership program to be ultimately effective, it's essential to understand what needs our legislators must weigh in deciding where funds are allocated.