News & Stories

Governor Gregoire’s proposed revenue package is a good start toward restoring cuts to essential public services – but doesn’t go far enough. Under the Governor’s proposal, we’ll still have: over 90,000 working people on the wait list for the Basic Health Plan; low-income children cut off from access to quality daycare – while already underpaid […]

From the Puget Sound Business Journal: Our Legislature’s chief concern as it wrestles with how to close the $2.6 billion budget gap should be protecting and creating jobs. Contrary to what some pundits are saying, the best bet to spur private sector jobs is to raise taxes as much as necessary to maintain state spending. […]

Reprinted from the Everett Herald: Who is getting hurt most in this recession? It’s the workers among us who earn “too much” to qualify for Medicaid and food stamps, but don’t get much help from their employers for health care or any other benefits, for that matter. They make between $10 and $15 an hour […]

With the legislative cut-off just behind us and less than a month to go until the end of the session, legislators are getting down to business. Early learning issues have been a hot topic in this year’s short supplemental session. Four bills were introduced at the start of the session, two in each legislative chamber […]

President’s Day in Olympia was celebrated with rallies by two different groups, each delivering a different message to our state legislators and Governor. At 10 a.m. the first rally of TEA Partiers kicked off with some solid gold oldies and and no shortage of talk about limiting the role of government. A common theme with […]

Washington state’s budget deficit swells more, but revenue picture improves | Washington’s budget deficit grew to about $2.8 billion, but early signs of an economic recovery are making the state’s financial future a bit brighter. The new deficit figure stems from Friday’s report of the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, which formulates the official […]

Today I’ll be blogging live from the Olympia. First up at 10am, the TEA Party’s anti-revenue rally. Than later at noon I’ll be covering the Rally to Protect Our Economic Future, put on by the Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition. I’ve heard both rally’s should draw an estimated 4,000 extra people to the Capitol steps […]

11:50: I’m with a group from the Children’s Alliance marching toward the Capitol steps. Signs seen so far: Kids Not Cuts, Kids Come 1st, and Children Are Our Future. Biggest difference from TEA Party rally so far (aside from substantive issues)? Lots of kids and young adults. 11:59: Descending on the Capitol steps. It’s apparent […]

Today’s suggested exemptions to ax and sins to tax: $9.0 million | Special Public Utilities Tax rate for urban transportation and small vessels. A preferential rate for urban transportation was adopted when street cars and interurban railways were financially distressed. Private street cars and interurbans have been replaced with public transit. Primary beneficiaries now are […]

University centers create economic opportunity | As the budget picture worsens, higher education is again a target for policymakers, even as they argue that their top priority is economic recovery. If lawmakers want to grow the economy and revive the state’s workforce, they should be investing in higher education — not steadily withdrawing state support […]

Washington legislators have introduced House Bill 3184, which if passed will double the state’s current estate tax rates. (The bottom bracket is now 10%, and it tops out at 19% on estates over $11 million). It’s a sensible way  to help close the state’s budget gap — and one we’ve previously highlighted here in our Ax […]

Today’s suggested exemptions to ax and sins to tax: $10.9 million | Sales tax on out of state coal. Coal burned by a Centralia power plant was exempted from sales tax when 70% was purchased locally, to help preserve jobs. Now coal is imported into Washington — and the plant is a top producer of […]

Today’s suggested exemptions to ax and sins to tax: $92.9 million | Implement Governor Gregoire’s proposals for limiting tax exemptions: B&O exemption for out-of-state businesses with “economic nexus”: Washington now taxes companies with a physical presence in the state – this change would broaden that definition to include those with a significant economic presence. | […]

Cross-posted from Olympia Newswire: We can’t focus tax hikes on the wealthy as easily as Oregon with its progressive income tax. But here’s what we can do instead. Washington’s $2.6 billion budget gap presents state lawmakers with a two-for-one opportunity to lay the groundwork for a more prosperous future. By raising revenue to protect important […]

Reading Richard Davis’ latest opinion column in the Puget Sound Business Journal is like eating a meal prepared by a blindfolded cook. We begin with a helping of red herring, in which Mr. Davis cites a Heritage Foundation report that says unionized government jobs pay $430 per week more than comparable jobs in the private […]

Today’s suggested exemptions to ax and sins to tax: $176 million | End the sales tax exemption on fuel and other items used in interstate commerce. Air, rail, and water transportation companies engaged in interstate or foreign commerce are exempt from sales tax on fuel and other items. The United States Supreme Court has ruled […]

The National Partnership for Women and Families recently released a “State of the Working Woman” info sheet highlighting important facts about economic life for America’s working women. Keep an eye out — EOI will be releasing the 2010 edition of “Washington’s Working Women” this March. Percent of U.S. workers who are women:  49.9 [1] Proportion […]

In which Senator Debbie Regala (D-27, Tacoma) takes a clear-eyed look at state taxes and spending over the long haul, and Amy Kinsel (Professor of History at Shoreline Community College) points out the short-sighted irony of cutting funding for the very community colleges people need to retrain for new jobs during a recession. Plus, EOI […]

Today’s suggested exemptions to ax and sins to tax: Washington relies heavily on sales tax revenue. Services, which are largely untaxed, make up a growing percentage of the state economy in comparison to goods. The net effect is that the percentage of transactions covered by sales tax has been shrinking. Expanding the sales tax base […]

(Reprinted from the Everett Herald) || Most of us have a sense of how much a dollar will buy. But it turns out there are times when a buck is worth more than face value. For example, every public dollar we spend is actually worth about $1.41, thanks to the mathematics of the multiplier effect. […]

Newborn Family Leave: Effects on Business, Parents, and Children Full Report | Executive Summary The arrival of a new baby changes the world for parents, often bringing familial and work responsibilities into conflict. While some employers provide parents of newborns with the option to take time off of work to care for a new child, […]

Today’s suggested exemptions to ax and sins to tax: $84.5 million | Repeal Business and Occupation (B&O) tax deduction for interest on residential property first mortgage loans. Since 1970, credit agencies have been allowed to deduct interest earned from loans for first mortgages on residential property – presumably to encourage home purchases. However, there is […]

Released today, President Obama’s budget includes funding to help states provide paid family leave to to workers. Current federal law, the Family and Medical Leave Acts (FMLA), only provides unpaid leave — forcing workers to choose between caring for their families or losing a paycheck. Both California and New Jersey already have paid family leave […]

Yesterday, Oregon voters responded to the recession with strong votes in favor of two tax measures that will help preserve state funding for health care and education. The two measures provide more than a just revenue Band-Aid – they are a big first step toward resolving long-term problems in Oregon’s tax structure. So what lessons […]

From 12:05-12:10pm today (Wednesday the 27th) Sara Watson from Pew Center on the States will be on KUOW’s “The Conversation” to talk about the Partnership for America’s Economic Success recent early childhood education brief, The Costs of Disinvestment. You can listen online live or after the show here.

If this is what is happening in Bellevue, imagine what’s happening in the rest of the state: “This year’s [2009] budget cuts resulted in 60 Bellevue teachers losing their jobs, elimination of all librarians in secondary schools, and larger class sizes for all students. In my school we had to eliminate popular dance and drama […]