DC Budget Blues

Apparently, D.C. councilmembers have exempted themselves from parking laws. The Examiner notes that while Councilman Kwame Brown voluntarily paid his recent parking tickets, Councilman Harry Thomas, Jr. is refusing to pay $655 from four tickets. His SUV got booted last week.

Meanwhile Mayor Fenty divvied up a bunch of free baseball tickets with the City Council, and only now are getting cold feet about throwing a bunch of tax subsidies at favored companies. If companies refuse to locate or expand in D.C. because of its awful tax system, that’s a sign that something needs to be done about the awful tax system. For everyone, not just one company.

D.C. is trying to close a $200 million gap between expected revenues and planned expenses in this year’s $10.2 billion budget, and a $550 million gap in next year’s budget.