News & Stories

Last week, the FAMILY Act, a bill that would establish a national paid family and medical leave insurance program, was introduced to Congress for the first time. The National Partnership for Women and Families joined together with more than 415 groups nationwide – including the Economic Opportunity Institute and the Washington Work and Family Coalition […]

Most Americans have no access to paid leave when babies are born or serious personal or family medical needs arise, but that will change when Congress passes the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act. This badly needed legislation was introduced for the first time today by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D – N.Y.) and Representative […]

This post is part two of a three-part debate of Pay It Forward that recently appeared on City University’s Graduate Advocate between bloggers Matt Bruenig and Mike Konczal. Read part one here. In his 1975 collection of essays There’s No Such Thing As a Free Lunch, the libertarian economist Milton Friedman wrote: “I believe one of […]

This post is part three of a three–part debate of Pay It Forward that recently appeared on City University’s Graduate Advocate between bloggers Matt Bruenig and Mike Konczal. You can read parts one and two here and here. To respond to Mike Konczal requires first some clarification. One analogy that might make things clear is […]

This post is part one of a three-part debate of Pay It Forward that recently appeared on City University’s Graduate Advocate between bloggers Matt Bruenig and Mike Konczal. Here’s an idea: let’s eliminate student debt and make college education free by increasing income taxes. This is not my idea of course. It has been the […]

Last month voters approved a $15 an hour minimum wage for workers at Sea-Tac. In California, Ron Utz, a conservative Silicon Valley millionaire, is pushing an initiative for a $12 minimum wage. In Seattle, there is a growing movement for increasing the minimum wage to $15 within the city limits. Is this a trend? Perhaps […]

When the first lady is attacked for embracing her role as “mom-in-chief”—despite her leadership in key policy areas like stemming the childhood obesity epidemic, increasing access to healthy food and aiding military families and veterans—it’s time to call foul. The headline for Michelle Cottle’s recent article in Politico Magazine, “Leaning Out: How Michelle Obama Became […]

Local business owner, entrepreneur, chef, author and all-around rock star Makini Howell recently joined the Washington Work and Family Coalition for a local forum on women’s economic security. Makini, who is on the board of the Main Street Alliance, shared how, as a business owner, strong wages, paid leave and smart workplace policies make her […]

Yesterday, the Washington Work and Family Coalition hosted a forum on the economic security of women and families. The event included remarks from U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Representatives Suzan DelBene and Adam Smith and local women who are advocating for smart working family policies – including fair pay, paid leave and affordable […]

U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Representatives Suzan DelBene and Adam Smith joined hundreds of workers and parents for a forum on Pelosi’s economic plan: When Women Succeed, America Succeeds. “For too long, women in Seattle and across the country have been waiting to receive the equal treatment and opportunities they deserve,” said […]

Too often, policies are blind to the true impact they have on low-income and communities of color. Well-intended hopes can result in disastrous outcomes when the voices of those most affected are not included or considered. Here at EOI, we believe in the power of everyone coming to the table to have a stronger collective […]

As students and teachers settle into the school year, they’re starting to see some benefits from the legislative “down payment” on the state Supreme Court mandate (McCleary vs. Washington) that Washington’s K-12 schools be fully funded by 2018. The question remains: where will they find the rest of the money? For the 2013-2015 biennium, lawmakers put together just […]

So how about that $8.7 billion tax give-away Boeing just received to build the 777X? We have been here before. In 2003, the Legislature excused Boeing from $4 billion in taxes, in order to build the 787 in our state. What happened to that $4 billion? Over $1 billion was used to construct a copycat […]

Aerospace workers in Washington State made a clear statement in favor of rising living standards. It’s a rare pause in the middle class decline of the last 30 years. Members of the Aerospace Machinists union rejected a collective bargaining proposal, full of historic takeaways, by a margin of 2-1. The employer is Boeing, a premier […]

President Obama has been getting a lot of grief in the last few weeks over his pledge that with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in place, people would be able to keep their insurance if they like it. The media have been filled with stories about people across the country who are having their insurance […]

The proposed “Pay It Forward” financing program in Oregon continues to pose an existential dilemma for much of the higher education advocacy community. Take Education Trust’s opinion piece by Kati Haycock in Inside Higher Ed today. The organization decidedly opposes the plan, making points that are representative of the criticisms education advocacy organizations have listed generally […]

Now that the election is over, it is a good time to reflect. We elected these public servants. What do we expect our governments to do, from local fire districts and water districts to libraries to school boards, city councils, public utility districts, and county governments? These local governments are the street-level face of democracy […]

As the flu season creeps closer, Newark residents can rest assured this year that they are one step closer to not having to choose between their health or their paycheck.  Last week, Newark’s City Council voted to unanimously to introduce a paid sick days ordinance.  If the pending vote is successful,  New Jersey’s largest city […]

Any woman who’s gone through pregnancy hears the same advice: hydrate more and listen to the needs of your changing body. Almost everything a pregnant woman does requires adjustment. Eliminating caffeine and alcohol, hydrating more frequently, avoiding strenuous activities — all are immediate considerations, activities women have control over. But what happens when pregnant workers […]

The U.S. is negotiating two huge problematic trade agreements — one with Europe (TTIP), and another with countries around the Pacific (TTP). Both dramatically extend the NAFTA model. First, I am 100 percent in favor of trade. Everyone I know wants good trade policies that raise living standards around the world. Equally, I oppose bad […]

“We are not going to balance the budget on the backs of the elderly, the children, working families, the sick and the poor. We’re not going to do that.” – Senator Bernie Sanders Today, John Burbank, EOI executive director, and Dean Baker, EOI board member, joined Social Security Works, lawmakers and experts from around the […]

In the last two posts of this blog series about the National Institute on Retirement Security’s new report “The Retirement Savings Crisis: Is It Worse Than We Think?”, we outlined just how bleak the future looks for many retirees. The country faces an aggregate savings gap of between $6.8 and $14 trillion, the average savings […]

Miguel Cortez, a teacher’s assistant in Northridge, California, is looking forward to July 1st, 2014. Not because of school being out, but because California’s minimum wage will increase from $8 an hour to $9. A recent grad of California State University at Northridge, he knows exactly where that extra money will go: bills and saving […]

I saw the movie Inequality for All, where Robert Reich explains the depth and meaning of inequality in America. He paints a compelling picture. Reich sets up the movie with a teaser: “Something happened in the mid-’70s.” Indeed “something did happen in the mid-’70s.” For one thing, since then workers’ wages as a fraction of the total economy have […]

On my way to a conference in Philadelphia last week, I took the subway from the train station. It was in disrepair, with no signage and blocked exits and entrances. And the people I saw on the subway reflected the cards they had been dealt — somewhat forlorn, not much hope and a lot of […]