Reports & Articles
As 2021 draws to a close, and the COVID-19 pandemic heads into its third year, nationally and here in Washington state, we face a choice: should we choose to invest in people and infrastructure in order to build more resilient communities and a more equitable economy? Or should we ratchet back public spending and emerge […]
We’re a major step closer to a stronger and more equitable recovery from COVID with the passage of Build Back Better through the House in Congress. Build Back Better makes important investments in America’s people and families that will build up health and economic security both for those who have been most devastated by the […]
Inflation has been in the news a lot lately. The Consumer Price Index, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows a 5.4 percent increase in prices nationally since September 2020. Higher prices for basic needs such as food, energy, and housing are driving the increase. Food prices increased 4.5 percent overall, with meats, fish, and […]
Why should we care about Washington’s tax structure? 1. Taxes allow our government to invest in the services and structures necessary for thriving communities and a strong economy. Broadly, investments in public services and programs are an investment in all of us. Some of the most important areas that state revenues support are education – […]
Texans woke up last week with their abortion rights stripped away, after the Supreme Court refused to block a law prohibiting most abortions in the state. Senate Bill 8 bans abortions taking place after 6 weeks of pregnancy, which account for 85 to 90 percent of abortions. This ban will be enforced not by the state, but by the public. Citizens […]
Higher education can be a pathway toward racial, gender and economic justice. However, the austerity mentality has become entrenched in our public institutions of higher education after decades of underinvestment. This shows up in high levels of college debt that fall disproportionately on first generation, low income, and BIPOC students, and the heavy reliance on […]
Originally published in the South Seattle Emerald Starting Oct. 1, households that rely on SNAP, also known as food stamps, will see a welcome increase in their grocery budget of about $36 per person per month. Currently, the maximum monthly benefit for a family of four is just $680 per month. About 950,000 people in Washington — 1 […]
It’s time to expand economic security for workers across the country with national paid family leave
Washington’s workers, families, and businesses are fortunate to have paid family and medical leave (PFML). Our state’s Paid Leave program provides 12 to 18 weeks of benefits for parents welcoming a new child, workers coping with a serious health condition or caring for ill loved ones, and people dealing with a family member’s military deployment. […]
As many as 33,000 child care workers in Washington will soon be eligible to enroll in a premium-free health insurance program through the Health Benefit Exchange. Recognizing the urgent need to help child care workers access affordable health insurance during the pandemic, the Washington State Legislature created a new program in the 2021 legislative session […]
The U.S. Congress is working out the details of a Human and Care Infrastructure package that will make major investments in childcare and pre-K access, long-term care, paid family and medical leave, health care, college affordability, and other essential family economic security needs, all paid for with increased taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations. These […]
The Washington Work and Family Coalition, and the many people who shared their experiences helped win essential improvements to Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program during the 2021 Legislative Session. We are excited to share that people can now claim these new benefits! Covering All Families Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program now […]
With the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium on Sunday, a new analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows more than six million households nationwide — including nearly 130,000 in Washington state — are behind on rent and at risk of eviction. A typical Washington household included in that number owes an average […]
August 3 is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. That’s the day in 2021 when Black women in the U.S. who have worked full-time since the start of 2020 catch up to what the typical white man was paid by the end of December. In other words, African American women are paid just 63 cents to […]
This week the Seattle City Council unanimously passed Seattle’s Rescue Plan. For the first time ever, the compensation of child care workers will be augmented with $3 million of public funding. This significant step forward for child care workers in Seattle was only made possible through the catalytic and thoughtful organizing of the Seattle Child […]
The gradual reopening of the economy as COVID vaccines become more widespread has allowed a partial rebound in the leisure and hospitality sector and other service-sector jobs this spring, and Washington’s unemployment rate stands at 5.5 percent in April 2021. But the COVID Recession isn’t over — not by a long shot. Unemployment claims are […]
For PDF version, click here. Introduction and Overview The Economic Opportunity Institute collaborated with Families of Color Seattle to conduct two listening sessions in March 2021 on Black, Indigenous, and other women of color’s experiences with Washington’s Paid Family & Medical Leave program (PFML). Fifteen women who had recently had babies participated: 14 used or had […]
For pdf version, click here. Introduction and Overview In January 2020, Washington became the fifth state in the U.S. to provide comprehensive paid family and medical leave (PFML) benefits. As of early 2021, seven states operate fully functioning programs and three more are in the process of implementing programs.[1] With no permanent national paid leave […]
Headlines are abuzz with “labor shortage” stories, often featuring employers in restaurant and other service industries who are apparently unable to hire enough staff to meet customer demand. With unemployment still high, Republican governors in 18 states have prematurely ended federal emergency unemployment benefits, claiming unemployment insurance and pandemic stimulus payments are to blame. That […]
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) passed by Congress in March was the most significant advancement in health care affordability since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Over a million previously uninsured people will have access to care and Americans will save millions of dollars in health care expenses. But what does this mean for you? If you are uninsured, you can purchase health coverage for as […]
2019 Annual Report
If I claimed that a lion is a big animal while holding a teacup poodle in my hands, few people would argue. But if I said so while standing next to a life-size replica of a blue whale, most would likely disagree. Context is key when making comparisons — but too often, it goes missing […]
March 2021 marks a year into a world-altering global pandemic declared during Women’s History Month. A year of turbulence, loss, and what seemed like never-ending change. Many of us transformed our homes into offices, classrooms, gyms, and shelters that kept us safe while a mysterious virus raged on. COVID-19 forced the collective to get creative […]
Washington is one of the country’s most affluent states, ranking fourth in GDP per capita and seventh in median household income. However, Washington’s tax system prevents the state from turning its affluence into true prosperity.
Reproductive rights are tied to everything. Economic security, health care, race, gender, and human rights. Considering reproductive health to be separate from all other health care and ignoring the ways reproductive health impacts physical and economic wellbeing is sexist, classist, and racist. If we are to celebrate women and all people with uteruses this month, we must ensure that everyone has what they need to exercise basic bodily autonomy and […]
Early on in the pandemic, Washington’s budget forecasters were predicting sharp drops in state revenue to well below the level necessary to sustain state services. The good news in the March 17, 2021 forecast is that expected receipts from state taxes are pretty much back to the level being projected for this budget cycle in […]
House Bill 1111 restores fairness to Washington’s tax system by including the investment revenue of wealthy companies and nonprofits in the state’s tax base.
Black communities have been hit hard by the pandemic and economic fallout. Black Americans suffer higher rates of infection and experience a larger than average share of job losses.
While Washington’s unemployment rate for January now stands at 6.0 percent — a welcome decline from April’s 16.3 percent high-water mark — the state’s joblessness rate is effectively unchanged since October 2020. More troubling: since February 2020, three-quarters of all jobs lost and 65 percent of all jobs gained are in sectors where typical pay […]
The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession has fallen disproportionately on Black and brown households. These communities continue to face systemic racism that manifests itself in police brutality, mass incarceration, and economic and political disenfranchisement, all of which have only been heightened with COVID-19. One indicator of these inequities is the racial wealth […]
For PDF, click here. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the health care affordability crisis. People who must buy on the individual market through the Health Benefit Exchange can spend up to one-third of their income just on health insurance.[1] High costs push half of new enrollees on our state’s Exchange to purchase plans that seem […]
Child care expenses are so high in Washington, many jobs don’t pay enough for families with younger children to make ends meet, even with two adults working full time. We looked at median wages (where half of all workers are paid more, and half are paid less) for hundreds of occupations in Washington* and compared […]
During this pandemic-recession and beyond, the people of our state need our government to provide public services for their wellbeing, economic security and good health. Our state should be insuring that all residents have safe and COVID-free housing, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, wealth, or poverty. As low income and middle class Washingtonians already pay […]