Reports & Articles
We are prevented from realizing shared prosperity because of the robber baron practice of buy, borrow, die.
Washington state’s taxes require too little of those with the highest incomes.
Washington’s upside-down tax code not only furthers inequity, it also creates annual deficits in the state’s budget.
The general fund is our state’s affordability workhorse — the primary source of money for our most essential public services that help reduce costs for millions of us.
Nearly one-third of Washingtonians are unable to pay for their basic needs with earnings alone.
The Millionaires Tax provides the most substantial small business tax break in Washington state history.
Washington’s current tax system asks more of middle- and low-income households than of the wealthiest earners in our state. The Millionaires Tax is a sensible and measured first step in balancing our tax code.
Relative to income and population growth, Washington’s budget has actually declined by 60% overall.
This report provides a series of data snapshots that illustrate our state’s progress toward embedding the values of fairness, care, and opportunity into the foundations of our economy.
A millionaires tax would help take the pressure off of the majority of Washingtonians — nearly a third of whom cannot currently meet their basic needs — by increasing access to cost-reducing programs.
We can do things differently here in Washington state.
More economic inequality leads to less opportunity, increased rates of poverty, and more instability. Solutions like a progressive tax system could reverse some of these trends and create more fairness, opportunity, and joy for hardworking Washingtonians.
The wealth tax would treat the Wall Street wealth of multi-millionaires and -billionaires, currently tax exempt except when sold, more like how our homes are treated in the tax code.
The benefits of a strong minimum wage are well-documented: reductions in poverty and income inequality, greater business activity and job growth, and a host of other improvements for workers, families, and communities.
These differences illustrate how the structures of our government are partially determinative of the political conversations we have.
Lawmakers can easily close this big tech loophole next legislative session and greatly expand supports for Washingtonians seeking higher education.
Washingtonians hate wealth inequality and the skyrocketing cost of living. Taxes on the rich are relatively popular and the programs that would be funded through these new, progressive taxes, even more so.
This fall we have a choice: hand the ultra-rich a tax break they don’t need or preserve funding for Washington’s youth. We think it’s a no-brainer.
As medical debt reaches untenable highs across the country, we must make protecting patients our top priority.
This initial status report provides a landscape of wealth tax proposals and enacted taxes that show there is a growing movement of state lawmakers working to make the public revenue system more fair.
Good wages are critical to self-resiliency and survival, especially in an expensive city like Seattle.
Last year, Arizona-native and hedge fund manager Brian Heywood used his spare, untaxed cash reserves to launch six initiatives. The subject represent a wide range of social and fiscal issues. All six, though, have the same goals: To roll back, curtail, or prevent progressive policies. Three are set to go to the ballot, while another […]
There’s a lot of scaremongering out there about Social Security’s financial situation – but the bottom line is simple: the Social Security 2023 Trust Fund report projects that this essential program can pay all benefits in full and on time until 2033. After that, approximately 77 percent of benefits will be paid, even if Congress […]
With every paycheck, both workers and employers contribute to Social Security. When we reach retirement age – or face extenuating circumstances like a disability or the death of a breadwinner – we are protected by modest but dependable monthly benefits. Nearly all of us are covered because nearly all of us contribute. But we don’t […]
By Gabriela Quintana, Economic Opportunity Institute, and Tracy Yeung, Washington State Budget and Policy Center Since U.S. Senator Cory Booker and U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley introduced baby bonds in 2019 to narrow the nation’s racial wealth gap and increase families’ wealth, states like Connecticut and Washington D.C. have passed their own baby bonds legislation. We […]
Washington’s outdated, unfair, and inadequate tax code needs both reform and transformation. This session, lawmakers have set their eyes on reforming one of the more progressive taxes in Washington’s otherwise regressive tax code: the real estate excise tax (REET). Making the proposed changes to REET will make our tax code fairer and bring in much […]
For decades, Washington state has held the distinct dishonor of having the most regressive tax structure in the nation
Tens of thousands of Washingtonians are living out their years with a diminished quality of life due to insufficient income in retirement. One factor contributing to the problem: Among the bottom half of wage-earners nationally, only 60% have access to a retirement plan at work – and just 40% participate in such a plan.[1] Enter […]
Americans are living longer and longer. Even amid other public health challenges, life expectancy has risen steadily for the last four decades. Unfortunately, the infrastructure around aging in America hasn’t kept pace. For many retired folks, living longer also means living poorer. Lower wages, a higher cost of living, fewer housing options, and cuts to […]
This summer, I joined representatives from AARP Washington and the Washington State Labor Council for a retirement security listening tour organized by Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti. While the sessions were held in five very different communities (Tukwila, Port Angeles, Yakima, Everett, and Steilacoom), many of the comments and conversations were strikingly similar. One common […]
Most people know that Pride Month is celebrated in June. But did you know that October is LGBTQ+ History Month? This is an important distinction. Pride is a celebration of the queer community and its culture. But we should also take October as the time when we reflect specifically on the ways LGBTQ+ folks have […]
When we discuss ways to correct Washington’s unfair tax structure, we’re often met with questions. If we passed a state wealth tax, who would pay? And who would benefit? How would the revenue be spread across the state, and would less-dense counties really stand to gain much value? These are fair questions – and they’re […]