About the Economic Opportunity Institute

No matter what we look like, where in the state we live, or how we make a living, most of us pitch in for each other. We all want to live in robust communities with access to well-funded programs and services, leaving things better off for generations to come.

However, everyday Washingtonians are overwhelmed by the rising cost of living, threats to vital programs and services, and widening wealth inequality. The ultra-wealthy and large, profitable corporations have avoided their responsibility to communities by not paying what they truly owe.
In recent years, we’ve moved the needle on balancing our tax code. But there’s still work to do.

Washington state ranks 49th out of 50 states in the country in terms of having the most regressive tax code — ahead of only Florida — and has one of the highest millionaire growth rates over the last decade. We need to make sure the wealthiest Washingtonians and large corporations pay what they owe through taxes so we can fully fund our schools, ensure quality healthcare for anyone who needs it, and provide stability for our families.

Since 1998, the Economic Opportunity Institute has been in the fight for economic justice through progressive policies that reach every corner of our state. As an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit 501(c)3 research and advocacy organization, our work reaches the halls of Washington state’s capitol building, where we champion policy that centers fairness, care, and opportunity.

Our policy experts, working across areas from progressive revenue to health care to the care economy, identify where transformative systems change is needed for communities across our state to thrive. We work with coalitions, community leaders, labor unions, elected officials, and small businesses to find viable solutions to some of the state’s most pressing issues. We leverage a collaborative advocacy approach that includes coordinated action alerts, public testimony, educational presentations, and listening sessions with the community.

As we create innovative strategies that build an economy of care, we recognize that our work doesn’t stop once a policy initiative is passed. EOI follows policies through implementation and partners with community members to ensure they remain equitable. Through our commitment to progressive policy work, we believe a brighter future is possible.

EOI’s Land Acknowledgement

Since time immemorial, Indigenous communities stewarded these lands, providing historical and current wisdom on how to be in right relationship with Mother Earth — and with one another.

We show our respect by bearing witness to the generations of displacement, erasure, and harm Indigenous communities face around the world, particularly here in our home state. EOI’s office sits on the unceded land of the Suquamish, Duwamish, and Muckleshoot peoples. Their presence is imbued in the lands and waters surrounding us, and by making this acknowledgment, we remind ourselves that we must remedy these injustices through our actions.

We offer this acknowledgment because Native land was taken by force and colonized to form the country we know today. Because of this process and ongoing systemic oppression, Indigenous communities continue to bear the brunt of colonial systems, including economic injustices. Native peoples are more likely to live in extreme poverty and lack access to resources essential to a thriving life.

We cannot achieve economic security without changing our relationship with Indigenous peoples of this land. May we continue to nurture our relationship with our Native neighbors and the shared responsibilities to their homelands where we all reside today.