News & Stories

Forbes Business points out that many people go to work sick, especially if they “just have a cold”. But it also notes that only 57% of private industry workers have the option to stay home and take a paid sick day, despite the low cost of doing so: just 23 cents per hour! The upshot? […]

Washington has the most regressive tax structure of any state, taxing the lowest earners at 17.3%, while the top 1% pay just 2.6% of their incomes in taxes. How did we get here? Well, for one thing, lower- and middle-income people spend a greater percentage of their income on items that are taxed directly — […]

When it comes to paid maternity leave, the United States is in the postpartum dark ages. One hundred and seventy-seven nations — including Djibouti, Haiti and Afghanistan — have laws on the books requiring that all women, and in some cases men, receive both income and job-protected time off after the birth of a child. […]

Opponents of this year’s tax reform initiative (I-1098) are refreshingly candid. They think continued cuts to public education and health are just fine and dandy. And, like the legendary French princess, they want to “let them eat cake” because, well, they want to stay in the money. Initiative 1098 proposes business and property tax cuts […]

If you want to know why Washington is one of just 7 states without an income tax — or if you’re just a local history buff — this longish but very informative report by University of Washington student Nathan Riding sheds light on the history of the movement for a more equitable tax structure in […]

In a recent presentation to the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, local economist and forecaster Dick Conway presented his perspective on 8 key facts that underpin the debate over Initiative 1098. His comments are reprinted below: Washington’s Tax Structure: Washington may have the most dysfunctional state and local tax system in the United States. Lacking an […]

Peter Callaghan nails it in a wry, tongue-in-cheek column about taxes on candy and bottle water: Some have said paying more for candy is the least we can do to keep public safety agencies intact, to assure that public schools and colleges don’t suffer even deeper cuts, to help maintain the already frayed safety net. […]

Via MomsRising: We’re moms and dads.  We know firsthand how fast the flu travels through our workplaces, schools, and child care centers. We’ve been up at 3 am half-focused on caring for a sick child and half-focused on the related “what ifs?” What if I send her to school sick? Will she get worse, or get others […]

The Columbian’s editorial against Initiative 1077 (now I-1098) is an impressive feat of doublespeak — one in which democracy means elected representatives don’t vote to change laws, judges don’t hear cases or interpret the law, and making it possible for more people to succeed somehow limits success. The Columbian’s first criticism basically boils down to […]

EOI board member Stan Sorscher takes a an insightful look at a new form of market failure: “group-think”: Markets are powerful and efficient. Markets fail. Engineers study failure. When we design a structure or a system, it is our professional obligation to account for known failure mechanisms, and produce a robust, practical, safe design. We […]

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has concluded Washington State has the most regressive tax system in the country. How will Initiative 1098 help restore balance? Background: What’s a regressive tax? A regressive tax is one that takes a larger percentage of the income of low-income people than of high-income people. According to […]

Cross-posted from the Everett Herald: Let’s talk about taxes. Talking with state legislators, you get the feeling that they want to apologize for the new taxes they voted for, as if that was the wrong thing to do. They should apologize for punting when it came to staring down the corporate lobbyists who were carefully […]

So far, Don Brunell (President of the Association of Washington Business) has gone to bat against Initiative 1098 in nearly identical columns in at least three different newspapers (or is it five?). But he keeps striking out by missing — or misstating — three important facts. 1st Pitch: Even though Initiative 1098 will raise the […]

As comfortable as we are with the strengths of market capitalism, we are uneasy and uncertain about its failures: millions of home foreclosures, rising wealth inequality, steady de-industrialization of the US economy, long-term unemployment, threats to the environment, and health care costs that rise without bound. We can collect conventional mechanisms for market failure into […]

Short Answer: I-1098 will eliminate the Business and Occupation (B&O) tax for Washington’s small businesses by increasing the B&O tax credit from $420 to $4,800 per year. According to a Washington Department of Revenue analysis, under I-1098, 81% of Washington businesses would be exempt from the B&O tax (up from 43%); another 12% would see […]

The short, lumpy red couch in Stili Klikizos’ second-grade classroom at Milwaukee’s Fratney Elementary School was meant for quiet-time reading. Now it’s “the sick couch,” a place for ill students to lie down as they await the bus that takes everybody home at day’s end. “The parents work and will lose pay if they come […]

Editorials are meant to express an opinion, but they shouldn’t be a platform for speculation — nor should they play fast and loose with the facts. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the The Daily News does in its May 11 editorial on Initiative 1077 (now I-1098). First case in point: TDN speculates that “backers of [the […]

Whether we’re in a recession or economic boom, almost all employees have family obligations. From planning the birth of a new baby, to taking care of an elderly parent,  to dealing with long term medical emergencies, time away from work is sometimes required to care for yourself or your family. There’s no sane economic rationale […]

Crossposted from the Washington Family Leave Coalition: With the campaign season gearing up, candidates are beginning to hold their first town hall meetings and community forums. Both prospective candidates and incumbents alike are out in the community, eager to bolster their campaign platforms by answering questions from constituents. In response, the Washington Family Leave Coalition […]

This fall, voters will have the opportunity to decide whether Washington’s children will join the ranks of kids in other states who are paying the price for this recession: Hawaii has gone to a four-day school week; districts in Kansas are headed there. Detroit is closing more than 40 schools. Kansas City wants to shutter […]

Washington Policy Review is EOI’s bi-monthly newsletter, with news and commentary on public policy from Washington State and around the country. Click here to subscribe. John Burbank: Most of us can trace our roots back to immigration The discussion about immigration has focused myopically on illegal immigrants from Mexico and other countries in Central America. […]

From the Everett Herald The discussion about immigration has focused myopically on illegal immigrants from Mexico and other countries in Central America. Arizona now compels police to demand papers of anyone they “suspect” may be undocumented. Ethnic studies are banned from Arizona’s high schools. There is an irony in this Hispanic bashing. Arizona was once […]

It was deja vu all over again yesterday as supporters of Initiative 1098 heard a pep talk from Bill Gates, Sr. and picked up the very first petitions for the campaign — just like the Initiative 1077 kickoff that took place almost exactly one month ago. So what’s the difference between the two measures? And […]

Here’s a question to test your knowledge of recession-time economics. In a downturn, will high-paying jobs outnumber minimum-wage jobs, or the opposite? That’s kind of a trick question. The answer is “both.” Surprised? It gets even more puzzling. There’s a chance the median wage could increase, too — as it did in Washington state during […]

Crossposted from MomsRising.org: Earlier this year, the nation of Kuwait passed a law ensuring paid leave to all workers in their country, even in their first year of work. In passing this basic, common-sense legislation, Kuwait joined a community of 145 other nations – including 19 of the top 20 most economically competitive countries in […]

Pop quiz: What common cause unites a prominent philanthropist, a venture capitalist, and a local businessman with a passion for public education? Answer: Initiative 1098. These three — Bill Gates Sr., Gerald Grinstein, and Michael DeBell — have nailed the case for the measure in a new Puget Sound Business Journal column: In the quest […]

The Wall Street Journal examines a budgetary boxing match between opponents and advocates of legislation to ensure New York City workers can earn paid sick days on the job. The question: How much will it cost? In one corner: the New York City Chamber of Commerce, which says the measure will cost billions. In the […]