Reports & Articles
As fears of a swine flu pandemic spread, President Obama and public health officials are urging Americans to stay home from work and keep their children home from school if they have flu symptoms. But nearly 4 in 10 private sector workers lack even one paid sick day, and many more face disciplinary action if […]
The worldwide recession has struck a major blow to state and local government budgets, including Washington’s. But Washington’s budget woes will outlast the recession because the state also has a structural deficit. Without raising rates or adding new taxes, revenues to support public services grow more slowly than the economy as a whole. As a […]
Washington State has been losing ground on education for 15 years, slipping towards the bottom of national rankings in class size and school funding. Our children, workers, and businesses deserve better. The recession highlights how difficult it is to raise additional revenues to maintain and improve public services, given Washington’s outmoded and regressive tax structure. […]
For PDF, click here. In the face of impending budget cuts to higher education, Washington policymakers are considering adopting a “high-tuition/high-aid” model of financing. In theory, by significantly increasing tuition, students who can afford it pay more; those students who cannot, benefit from larger financial aid packages supported by the tuition increase. But the experience of universities that […]
Women’s earnings are essential to economic security for the majority of families in Washington State. Women comprise about half of the state’s workforce. As job losses mount in the second year of the national recession, women’s support of family incomes is more important than ever. However, women continue to earn far less than men. On […]
Over the last several decades, a large body of rigorous research on early childhood education has repeatedly shown what many in the field already know: teachers are the most central figures in the quality of care. This overarching finding is based on the results of numerous studies examining the differences between high- and low-quality child […]
Early learning is the basis for our children’s success in school, in work, and life. High-quality early learning relies on the most critical factors in teacher-child interaction: the teacher’s own professionalism, education, compensation, and morale. But the market for child care is fundamentally broken in Washington State. Demand for high-quality care far outstrips supply; families […]
The Pension Problem • Half of all workers have no employer-sponsored retirement plan • Complexity and cost prevent many workers and small companies from starting plans • We’re living longer, yet retirement wealth has fallen for the majority of workers during the past two decades – even before the drop in the stock market • […]
During the first half of 2008 Washington’s economy slowed but looked relatively healthy compared to the rest of the United States. In September, as job losses accelerated nationally, Washington, too, began shedding jobs. By December 2008, Washington had 54,800 fewer jobs than twelve months earlier. Announcements of layoffs by major employers in January 2009, including […]
Rebuild family economic security Adopt Washington Voluntary Retirement Accounts, HB 1893, SB 5791 Expand and fund family leave insurance, HB 1609, SB 5679 Early Learning Budget item: Maintain $3 million in the 2009-2011 budget for the Career and Wage Ladder Approve collective bargaining for child care centers – HB 1329, SB 5572 Improve early learning […]
The most important elements of high-quality early childhood education are the compensation, consistency, and education and training of child care teachers. Based on this knowledge, in 2005 the Legislature passed and the Governor signed into law House Bill 1636, the Early Childhood Education Career and Wage Ladder (the Wage Ladder). The Legislature found that “low wages for child […]
We will not be able to get Washington’s economy – or the nation’s – on track to sustainable growth without rebuilding a financially secure middle class. Working families in Washington state and across the nation were already highly stressed prior to the collapse of housing and financial markets. Throughout this decade, the majority of families […]
Washington’s minimum wage will adjust to $8.55 per hour on January 1, 2009. A full-time employee earning the minimum wage in Washington will earn $17,784 per year – $1,000 more than in 2008 and $4,160 more than the federal minimum of $6.55 in 27 other states. $8.55 per hour in 2009 represents the same buying […]
In the midst of an economic downturn, programs that lower health care costs and support economic security for working families are more important than ever. Too many workers are forced to put economic security at risk when their families need them most. Improving health and maintaining buying power for working families is the most effective […]
David Kirp is a professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. His body of work includes some fifteen books, as well as many articles that have appeared in leading policy focused social science journals and law reviews. His latest book is “The Sandbox Investment: The Preschool Movement and […]
This fall, Governor Gregoire announced she is suspending development of the Family Leave Insurance program’s computer system because of a projected budget shortfall. The program has not been cancelled – it is still on the books, and scheduled to begin delivering benefits to Washington’s families and children less than one year from now. Sadly for thousands of […]
The year 2008 has been a tough one for the United States economy. The collapse of the housing bubble has snowballed through the financial and construction industries and wiped out the growth in home equity that had fueled consumer spending. The U.S. has lost over 400,000 jobs in the first half of 2008, ending what […]
The problem: Over the past decade, state policy makers have given out an ever‐growing number of business tax breaks in the name of economic development, while our education system falls behind and commuters and goods sit mired in traffic. At the end of 2007, Washington had 567 tax breaks on the books. The legislature adopted […]
The problem: Washington is facing a budget shortfall in 2009 due to rising prices and the national economic downturn. Without new sources of revenue, Washington will have to cut essential services even while demand increases. We will also be forced to postpone important new investments to improve education, public health, and transportation. In addition, Washington […]
The problem: Washington suffers from an outmoded and regressive tax structure. State and local taxes fall too heavily on low-and middle-income residents, yet public revenues are not sufficient to finance the improvements needed for world-class education and transportation systems. The national economic downturn compounds these problems by further reducing tax revenue. Without new sources of […]
Social Security is one of the great accomplishments of the 20th Century. It has made it possible for a majority of Americans to retain middle class status in retirement. It keeps millions of families and children with a disabled or deceased breadwinner out of poverty. The Social Security Trustees recently released their 2008 annual report. […]
New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance (FLI) program will expand the state’s existing Temporary Disability Insurance program to provide workers with 2/3rds of their normal salary (capped at $524 in 2008) to care for a seriously ill child/spouse/parent or to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child. Starting January 1, 2009, a 0.09% payroll deduction […]
Washington State’s seventy year-old tax structure is built on an ever-shrinking base, and taxes fall most heavily on those least able to afford them. This discussion brief outlines options for a limited tax on the highest income households, coupled with a reduction in sales or property tax. The result would be a fairer tax system […]
Washington had 567 tax exemptions on the books at the end of 2007. These tax breaks added up to $15 billion in lost state and local revenue that could improve education, health, the environment, transportation, or other public services. Providing piecemeal tax breaks is a poor economic development strategy and has made Washington’s tax structure […]
In April 2008, the legislature and Governor Gregoire affirmed key recommendations of the taskforce by: Including $6.2 million in the supplemental budget for program start-up costs through June 2009. Assigning the Employment Security Department to administer the program. Directing ESD to implement efficiencies recommended by the taskforce in designing program systems. These will make the […]
With half of all working Americans not covered by a retirement plan at their workplace,many states across the country are taking an interest in Universal Retirement Savings Accounts (UVRAs). UVRAs make it easier for individuals to save for retirement through work and for businesses without pension plans to offer one to their employees. The UVRA Update, brought to you […]
The proposal for Washington Voluntary Retirement Accounts (WVRAs), HB 1893 and SB 5791, offers an easy mechanism for individuals to save for retirement. WVRAs directly address the importance of a retirement program for about half of all workers who do not have a retirement savings plan in their workplace. Washington Voluntary Retirement Accounts enable individuals to invest in […]
Based on finding from the report: “A World of Opportunity“. The report showcases the practical findings and the transformational nature of a study mission undertaken by a diverse group of 21 people (including members of the media, public school leadership and childcare program directors, policymakers, and business and philanthropic leaders) to investigate early learning best […]
For the PDF, click here. This report shares both the practical findings of the study tour and the transformational nature of the experience. The report begins with the nature and make-up of the study trip followed by a short introduction to early learning in England and Finland. The main body focuses on broad themes that sparked inspiration and motivation among the study […]
First instituted in 2000, the Early Childhood Education Career and Wage Ladder (the Ladder) sought to improve the quality of child care by supporting the career goals of child care workers, based on policy research indicating the most important elements of high quality early childhood education are the compensation, consistency and education of child care teachers. The Ladder […]
In October 2009, parents of newborn and newly adopted children in Washington will be able to take up to 5 weeks off work after a 1 week waiting period, with a benefit of $250 a week for full-time workers, pro-rated for part-time. But will all workers, even those with lower incomes, be able to take advantage […]
Starting October 2009, parents of newborn and newly adopted children will be able to take up to 5 weeks off work to care for their child with a weekly benefit of $250 (pro-rated for part-time workers). All new parents who have worked at least 680 hours in the previous year will be eligible. Workers in […]