News & Stories

The minimum wage is 23 percent less than its peak inflation-adjusted value in 1968. This is despite  productivity (how much output can be produced in an average hour of work in the economy) more than doubling in that time period. The low-wage workforce has surely contributed to this rise in economy-wide productivity, since as a […]

In November, we gathered nearly 300 women and families in Seattle to hear from House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, local members of Congress and local advocates on strengthening women’s economic security. On January 29th, the Economic Opportunity Institute, our allies, and champions in Congress invite you to join an unprecedented national conversation with Nancy Pelosi […]

It’s time.  It’s time to talk about motherhood, and our changing nation, front and center.  It’s time to talk about the fact that 81% of women in America have children by the time they’re forty-four years old, yet too often the adverse economic impact of motherhood is hidden and ignored. It’s time to talk about the fact […]

Income inequality isn’t a new story – it’s been on the rise since the mid 20th century. The top 1% of income earners control 20% of our national wealth, with their share of wealth doubling since 1980. The U.S. ranks 4th in the world for income inequality, trailing only Russia, Ukraine, and Lebanon. A new […]

Across the country, cities and states are working to ensure that every working family has access to paid sick days. In Washington, we’re working with small businesses, faith leaders, unions, doctors and moms to pass HB 1313 – a bill that would allow every worker in Washington to accrue paid sick leave. But we need […]

The stark inequality in our nation is on display here in Seattle – high-end restaurants and food banks, shops full of pricey designer gear and homeless folks. A few enjoy prosperity and seemingly boundless opportunity, while in nearby neighborhoods people struggle for the basics. The so-called recovery from the Great Recession has heightened these contrasts. […]

In Tuesday’s State of the State address, Gov. Jay Inslee called for a minimum wage increase in the range of $1.50 to $2.50. It is about time. Our minimum wage has steadily fallen away from its high point in 1968. That was 35 years ago. And yet, worker productivity has almost doubled since then. Up until 1968, […]

This week, prominent economists, including 7 Nobel Prize winners and 8 former presidents of the American Economic Association, signed a letter to the president and Congress endorsing the economic benefits of raising the minimum wage to $10.10. The letter urges lawmakers to immediately enact a three-step raise of 95 cents a year for three years—which […]

One evening in 2010, Monica’s baby had a seizure. After a frantic call to 911, a terrifying rush to the hospital, and a night spent by her son’s side, Monica had to get to her 7 am shift at a local Safeway. She hated to leave her son but she couldn’t afford to lose a […]

The slow recovery from the great recession has heightened stark inequality in Puget Sound. Corporate profits and the stock market are soaring (think Boeing) but wages are stagnant, workers have lost their company pensions (think Boeing) and job growth is still lagging. Even with the 777X, think of Boeing again — they pushed 1,500 engineering […]

After the Boeing machinists’ historic and close vote recently, the debate around retirement security continues. With the approval of their next contract to build the 777x here in Washington state, backed-in Boeing machinists voted to eliminate their pensions by 2016 and transfer to a 401(k) retirement benefit system. The question remains, how equitable is a […]

Today, EOI released a new report highlighting the crisis of economic inequality in Washington state, brought on by ever-higher barriers to upward economic mobility for middle-class and low-income workers – including stagnating wages, declining workplace benefits, underemployment and low retirement savings. “Through the middle part of the 20th century, the American economy grew, workers became […]

One million Washington workers – or one-third of our state’s workforce – have no access to paid sick leave. In 2014, EOI is working to pass a statewide paid sick days bill.  Two years ago, Connecticut implemented a statewide paid sick leave law, the first of its kind in the nation. A new survey of […]

A strong voice from Wall Street is weighing in on the importance of paid family leave for parents of newborn children and people caring for seriously ill or elderly relatives. Tom Nides served as Deputy Secretary of State and recently moved to Morgan Stanley. The investment banker supports legislation that would create employee-paycheck deduction pools […]

When Chris Renshaw told his co-workers that he was planning to take six weeks of paternity leave, they responded with overwhelming support. “It’s definitely looked at in a good light,” says Renshaw, 28, who lives in Northern California and was taking infant-care classes to hone his diapering and baby-bathing skills. “People have said, ‘That’s a great […]

Happy New Year! Often we take the first day of the year to look back to what happened, or didn’t, in the previous year. That doesn’t make a road map for the future. So why don’t we imagine looking back a year from now to 2014, and see what we want to happen this year, […]

Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) introduced the “Pay It Forward” Guaranteed College Affordability Act of 2013. The bill would provide federal support for Pay It Forward pilot programs. For those of you late to the party, Pay It Forward is EOI’s proposal for debt-free higher education. Under Pay It Forward, students would pay no […]

One week ago the sun set at its earliest: 4:16 p.m. Every day forward means that the sun sets a little later. By Christmas day we will have gained five minutes of extra sun at the end of the day! Our mornings continue to get darker, with sunrise at its latest at 7:59. But starting […]

This time of year, visions of sugarplums dance in some people’s heads — but we dream a little differently. Here are some of the news headlines we at EOI want to read in 2014: “New legislation means paid sick days for all in Washington” “States putting higher education back in reach with ‘Pay It Forward’” […]

One evening in 2010, Monica’s baby had a seizure. After a frantic call to 911, a terrifying rush to the hospital, and a night spent by her son’s side, Monica had to get to her 7 am shift at a local Safeway. She hated to leave her son but she couldn’t afford to lose a […]