News & Stories
Policy is personal. So, we want to share more than just data.
Stay up to date with our legislative updates, organizational news, media mentions, and more.
Last month, Washington State reported that 11 insurers filed 74 health plans for the 2019 state Washington Health Benefit Exchange market. The good news: no counties will be without issuer coverage. The bad news: health insurers proposed a 19 percent increase in insurance premium costs. The rising cost of health care leaves working individuals and […]
The high cost of child care is a major stumbling block for parents of young children. In the greater Seattle area, it costs $17,472 annually for infant care and $15,288 for toddlers, which is more that undergraduate in-state tuition at the University of Washington. Even in less expensive markets, such as Yakima, it’s as much […]
Many progressives are rightfully worried about the consequences of the Supreme Court’s Janus decision, which enables workers to gain the wages and benefits collectively bargained by unions without contributing dues. It is a public-sector version of “right to work” laws that are in force in 28 states. But we can do things to reinforce the […]
One year ago, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed the first progressive income tax in our state in 85 years. This tax on incomes in excess of $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for families will produce sufficient revenue – more than $200 million a year – to lower property taxes, provide affordable housing and transit, […]
We have had more than a week of devastating news from Washington DC on immigrants, workers, women, consumers, citizens, and non-citizens. Some of us are hoping to take a break from this madness on the Fourth of July, our country’s Independence Day. It’s a day to celebrate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, to […]
This year, we’ve started the Floyd Jones fellowship, honoring a man who grew up in dire poverty, as a sharecropper in Arkansas, yet moved to Washington and became an extremely astute and successful financial investor. Floyd did not sit on his wealth. He put it to work for the benefit of others, in both big […]
Can you believe it’s been a year already? Thanks to you and so many others, one year ago this week Washington’s Legislature passed Paid Family and Medical Leave.It means starting in January 2020, all workers in our state will be able to take 12 to 18 weeks of leave to care for a new child, […]
It is easy to get discouraged by the actions of the US Supreme Court in their continued five-to-four assaults on women, immigrants, workers, and consumers. With the next Trumpian Supreme Court nominee, we can only expect that things will get worse. But if we focus on DC, we miss the opportunities in our own backyard. […]
The Economic Opportunity Institute just released a new report on the gay wage gap in Washington State. Read it here. The Census Bureau doesn’t try to collect data on LGBT people. No administration has made that a priority. But with some charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent, we can learn still about queer incomes. Gay men […]
The Economic Opportunity Institute just released a new report on the gay wage gap in Washington State. Read it here. After same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015, many Americans came to the well-meaning but misguided conclusion that LGBT people were finally in the eyes of the government. But the American government has never cared […]
These are flyers explaining new rights for workers in Washington that recently came into effect or will come into effect soon. Overview of New Rights Paid Family and Medical Leave Paid Family and Medical Leave Business Guide
You now have the legal right in Washington to talk about wages with coworkers and to ask your boss why you’re paid differently than coworkers or haven’t gotten that promotion you deserve. Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunity Act comes into effect today, guaranteeing this freedom of speech in every workplace. The law also provides penalties […]
The 2018 Social Security Trustees Report is out, weighing in at a somewhat-intimidating 270 pages (!). But if you don’t want to wade through it, here’s the bottom line on Social Security’s bottom line: it’s in good shape – and with a few legislative changes, could be even better. A large (and still growing) surplus […]
My friend Professor Hubert Locke died this week. He was more than a friend. Hubert was the sage who guided many of us through the thickets of morality and policy. Hubert look deeply into the systems of inequality and hierarchy and evil. He was exacting in words and teaching, and he demanded from each of us, […]
Karl Marx-inspired credit ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service issued a report this month saying that Amazon’s bullying tactics over Seattle’s newly-passed employee hours tax show it has too much influence over our city. The tax would require businesses with more than $20 million in annual revenue to pay about $275 per full-time employee, per year. […]
Seattle Colleges can be tuition-free! Let’s create a vision together about how that should happen! The mayor has announced that she plans to fund tuition-free community college for graduates of Seattle Public Schools. We want to hear what students have to say concerning what the Seattle Promise program should look like. Everyone deserves access to […]
There’s a lot more to do, though, to change the rules of our economy so that women and children of all income levels and races have access to opportunity and the ability to pursue happiness.
Thank you Jeff Bezos! With one public comment, Amazon has opened the door to rational and humane development in our city. How did Bezos manage to do this? Simply by stating that he would halt construction of a new Amazon building downtown and not occupy another building already under construction. We seem to see this […]
Earlier this year, Amazon was secretly lobbying to stop equal pay for women, even though other tech companies like Microsoft supported it. But now Amazon is openly bullying the city, halting construction on buildings because the behemoth would have to pay 0.26 percent of its profits in local taxes to help solve the homelessness crisis […]