Reports & Articles
The Economic Opportunity Institute prepared this rebuttal in October 1998 in response to the position papers opposing Initiative 688 authored by the National Federation of Independent Business/Washington (NFIB) and the Washington Restaurant Association (WRA). [This rebuttal was prepared in October 1998 and updated in January 2001.] Issue #1: Members of the NFIB oppose increasing the […]
45.4 million people received Social Security benefits in 2000, including 4 million children: Social Security is life insurance: 15% of recipients are surviving family members of deceased workers. A widow with two young children collects an average monthly benefit of $1,700. For a young married worker with two children this is the equivalent of a […]
Health care insurance is fundamental to Americans’ quality of life and peace of mind. Unfortunately, our health care system, which relies on a patchwork of voluntary employer and government sponsored health insurance, has failed to insure health care for millions of low and moderate income working families. In our own state, half a million individuals […]
Community Jobs is the first and largest program in the nation to provide welfare recipients with paychecks for their work in the public and private nonprofit sectors. A component of the state’s WorkFirst welfare reform program, Community Jobs incorporates training, intensive support services, and paid work that all lead toward permanent economic self-sufficiency. Community Jobs […]
Program Timeline August 1997 WorkFirst begins, replacing former welfare system. WorkFirst caseload stands at 90,000. September 1997 The former Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (now the Office of Trade and Economic Development) and the Economic Opportunity Institute begin development of Community Jobs program in partnership with the Department of Social and Health Services, the state Department of Employment Security, […]
Community Jobs is the first and largest program in the nation to provide welfare recipients with paychecks for their work in the public and private nonprofit sectors. A component of WorkFirst, Washington state’s welfare reform program, Community Jobs (CJ) incorporates training, intensive support services, and paid work that all lead toward permanent economic self-sufficiency. Community […]
In a time of unprecedented prosperity the ranks of the “working poor” are expanding. In Washington State 23% of families earn less than $35,000, the bare minimum needed to support one adult with two children. Families must work more hours and multiple jobs to catch up because there aren’t enough of the kinds of jobs […]
The new era of welfare reform emphasizing the movement from welfare to work began in 1996 with the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The PRWORA abolished entitlements to public assistance, created Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and gave primary responsibility to the states to develop new methods of […]
Proponents of Social Security privatization often trumpet the Chilean “success story.” Right wing economists (and the finance industry-funded think tanks that sponsor them) spin fabulous yarns about the way the free market transformed Chile’s pension system. In doing so, however, they leave out crucial parts of the plot. Privatization advocates paper over very serious problems […]
Proponents of Social Security privatization often claim that their motive is to help workers. Armed with sunny sales pitches and multi-million dollar marketing budgets, privatizers claim that individual accounts would give workers “better returns,” “freedom of choice,” and “improved efficiency.” Interestingly, though, these groups that are purportedly fighting for workers are not funded by workers, […]
Since 1935 Social Security has been the foundation of economic security for America’s workers, retirees and their families. This fundamental program provides benefits to more than 44 million people, including retirees, disabled workers and the families of deceased workers. Social Security is a financially sound program that will have the resources to pay benefits to […]
Community Jobs (CJ) is one component of Washington State’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) “WorkFirst” system that combines waged work, a continuum of supports and mentoring for welfare recipients who are entering work. CJ is the first program in the nation to provide comprehensive, paid work experience plus training opportunities for hard to employ […]
We live in an economy overflowing with abundance, and yet our family values are undercut by the relentlessness of work. We can do better for our families and our children. We are proposing family leave with partial replacement of lost wages for all workers, so that more working people can take time off to care for their families […]
Social Security is one of the most popular, successful and worthwhile government programs ever, according to the American public. Americans give unwavering support to Social Security in its current form. However, one in four people incorrectly think that the Social Security trust fund will go bankrupt within ten years if no action is taken to […]
Community Jobs is an innovative public-private partnership serving “hard-to-employ” individuals on TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families). Community Jobs promotes work in the community, skill building and livable wage employment. The program is the only one of its kind in the nation which provides welfare recipients with paychecks for their work in the public and […]
For a PDF of this report, click here. The Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI) is a pragmatic, progressive public policy institute. We are focused on developing new public policies in Washington State to create ladders for low-income people to move into the middle class and to plug holes so that middle class families do not fall […]
Community Jobs is an innovative public-private partnership serving “hard-to-employ” individuals on TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families). Community Jobs promotes work in the community, skill building and livable wage employment. The program is the only one of its kind in the nation which provides welfare recipients with paychecks for their work in the public and nonprofit […]
For a PDF of this report, click here. Beneficiaries of a Minimum Wage Increase David Macpherson produced a study entitled “The Effects of the Proposed 1999-2000 Washington Minimum Wage Increase” for the Employment Policies Institute. While the summary and body of the study are useful for the propaganda purposes of the opponents to the minimum […]
Opponents of the proposed increase in the minimum wage assert that raising the minimum wage will result in lost jobs and lost job opportunities. This is an old argument which may correspond with neoclassical economic theory, but which is not related to the reality of minimum wage increases. Here is the reason why: The federal […]
Initiative 688, the Paycheck Protection Act, is a ballot measure in Washington State that will increase the minimum wage to $5.70 per hour on January 1, 1999 and to $6.50 per hour on January 1, 2000. Thereafter, the minimum wage will be adjusted annually by the rate of inflation. An increase in the minimum wage […]