News & Stories

You can add “healthier babies” and “stronger pocketbooks” to the list of reasons why paid sick days and paid family leave are essential to economic recovery for America’s working families: The percentage of American mothers who breastfeed their babies has risen over the past decade, but it remains far below the rate public health officials […]

You’ve probably seen that bumper sticker that says, “The Labor Movement: The Folks Who Brought You the Weekend.” While the sentiment rings true – and not just about the weekend, let’s be clear –  it also evokes a kind of “what have you done for me lately?” feeling. It turns out the answer is: quite […]

Today’s introduction of  the “Rebuild America Act” by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin would do more to help the American economy and revitalize the middle class than any bill currently before Congress. This sweeping legislation would boost employment by investing in infrastructure upgrades, promote U.S. manufacturing, and end tax breaks that encourage U.S. firms to move […]

As legislators attempt to hammer out a final state budget agreement, Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Kent) has introduced a bill to expand Washington’s Basic Health Plan (BHP) for the first time in more than a decade – without raising taxes or diverting funds from other public priorities. According to an analysis by the Economic Opportunity Institute, […]

Nearly 1 million Washingtonians are uninsured; more than 155,000 residents are on the wait list for Washington’s Basic Health Plan (BHP), which shares costs for basic health insurance between participants and the state. In 2014 the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will cover those eligible for BHP, along with hundreds of thousands of others who are […]

Paid sick days are good for our economy, according to numerous studies by seasoned economists. That’s why Americans in cities and states across the country from all parts of the political spectrum support this policy. The same policy is under fierce attack by big corporate lobbyists, whose job it is to protect the top 1% […]

The drumbeat for economic advancement is filled with warnings that our kids must get a college education to get ahead. So it’s instructive to see where those college educations can lead. Take my friend’s son Dale, for example. He’s 28, with a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Washington. He is highly skilled […]

Many American voters seem ready to run our country as if it were a business. Some businesses take a long-range growth perspective, and honor all their stakeholders. A country run that way would be OK. However, other businesses believe their markets are “unattractive,” to use the business school expression. If your business is in an […]

From Miller-McCune: Few things ignite a community quite like this question: if you don’t have children in the local public schools, should you have to help pay for those schools? Tax exemptions for specific demographic groups like senior citizens, for example, are often rationalized as lightening the burden on residents who don’t benefit from public schools. […]

The Great Recession and ensuing state budget cuts have severely impacted women’s employment, economic security, health, and safety, according to a recent brief from the Washington Budget and Policy Center. A few of the highlights lowlights: Of the $10 billion in state spending cuts already made, 93 percent have targeted education, health, and human services – […]

Arthur Laffer is the go-to guy for conservative fiscal types who think tax cuts for millionaires are just the recipe for economic growth. Problem is, Laffer’s numbers don’t hold up under scrutiny. Laffer contends that the nine states without personal income taxes have economies that far outperform those in the nine states with the highest […]

Washington state has taken some steps to curb excesses in the payday loan industry, but the industry keeps evolving. According to the Center for Responsible Lending, several nationally-chartered mainstream banks are now offering their own version of payday loans – complete with high fees and short-term balloon payments similar to those that cause the typical […]

The National Federation of Independent Businesses calls itself the “voice of small business” as it argues against closing corporate tax loopholes and against higher taxes for millionaires. That’s odd, because 75% of small business owners say it harms their business when big corporations use loopholes to avoid taxes small businesses have to pay, and 57% […]

Last year, President Obama asked Steve Jobs what it would take to convince him to build iPods in America, and Jobs said it couldn’t be done. And to hear the political pundits tell it, manufacturing jobs in America will soon be gone forever. But nothing could be further from the truth, according to a recent […]

As “Dean Vedder” would sing it (with apologies to Eddie): Freezin’ pension contributions hurts your long-run, again Oh, feelin’ maybe we’ll see a little better, P&E rate, ooh yeah Oh, maxin’ contributions makes too hard on your seniors, ah Oh, bubblin’, you can’t help, when the market looks insane, hey Even flow, you’ll avoid the […]

Passing the Jobs Bonds package should be a top priority for Washington’s Legislature during the special session. Rebuilding school facilities, retrofitting for energy efficiency, improving water quality, and cleaning up the environment will immediately create badly needed jobs across the state – and build the foundation for a healthier, more sustainable economy in the future. […]

A growing body of evidence shows that a minimum standard for paid sick days would not only improve people’s health – it would also save the nation’s bottom line. According to a recent report published by the National Institutes of Health: the absence of certain workplace policies, such as paid sick leave, confers a population-attributable […]

Cross-posted from Washington Work and Family Coalition: Have you heard about the highly contagious Koala flu that turns people into horrifying, albeit adorable, zombie marsupials who subsist only on human thigh meat and eucalyptus leaves? No, you haven’t, because it hasn’t happened — yet. When it does, we’re probably all going to get it because […]

Sightline’s Eric de Place pulls together recent research illustrating three very disturbing trends in U.S. income distribution: ossification – the rich are more likely to stay rich and the poor are more likely to stay poor; gentrification – older households are making dramatic economic gains relative to younger households; and concentration – an ever-smaller group […]

I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt The Mackinac Center for Public Policy – a corporate-backed think tank based in Michigan that calls climate studies a “pseudoscience”, opposes the minimum wage, and argues against state support for more affordable college tuition – has attacked EOI. Why? […]

According to a recent report from Policy Matters Ohio, while compensation and job security often grab all the attention, public sector unions also negotiate for provisions that directly benefit the communities they serve. For example: Firefighters and police agreements outline minimum numbers of on-duty personnel to ensure rapid response times; negotiate for improved training protocols […]

The U.S. Treasury recently published an interesting set of charts – 13 in all – about the state of the U.S. economy. The economic data underlying these charts – and the state of the 2012 economy – will likely determine who wins the White House in November, but let’s set aside short-term political implications for […]

EOI is seeking an experienced candidate to coordinate a campaign for Seattle Retirement Accounts. Background in organizing, campaign strategy, and/or communications is especially desirable. 40 hours per week for a minimum of 3 months beginning in March 2012.

From the Everett Herald: Are you saving for your retirement? If you are working, you are. You put 4.1 percent of your paycheck into Social Security, through the FICA tax. Now consider if we had no Social Security. The vast majority of workers would be understandably worried about paying the bills on their current income, […]