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Recent Releases & Coverage
Liberal Revenue Agents: 115 Groups Unite to Promote New Taxes
02.04.2010 | Olympia Newswire | The quality of life for tens of thousands of Washington’s most vulnerable residents depends on a group with a clunky name that most of them have not, and will never, hear of: the Rebuilding Our Economic Future Coalition. The Coalition’s lobbyists are putting options before legislators...drawn from the work of liberal economists like...the Economic Opportunity Institute’s Marilyn Watkins.
State tax increases, spending could protect Washington job market
01.14.2010 | Washington State is losing an estimated 44,000 private
and public sector jobs due to billions of dollars in state budget
cuts in 2009 – and further cuts could axe another 33,600. By contrast,
a combination of new state taxes and federal aid to fill the state’s
budget gap could save up to 30,000 jobs.
A Tale of Two Recessions: Wealth grows for a few as low- and middle-income families struggle to get by
12.01.2009
| A new analysis of Washington’s economy
reveals that many hallmarks of middle-class
life – owning a home, sending the kids
to college, having health care, and building a retirement
nest egg – have become increasingly unattainable
for local families. The
State of Working Washington 2009 examines these and other economic
trends, and offers an agenda for shared prosperity
to position Washington
for future economic
growth.
Recent Commentary
Vote on special tax exemptions every 2 years
03.03.2010 | John Burbank | It is not just the cherry trees blossoming in Olympia. Our legislators are shaking off the winter doldrums. They know that public structures like education for our kids and basic health care are good things, necessary elements of a modern democracy and a vibrant economy. And they realize that cutting services further would be the most backward thing to do in a recession.
Full Column | Everett Herald »
The logic of the unthinkable in Olympia
02.19.2010 | Marilyn Watkins | Our Legislature’s chief concern as it wrestles with how to close the $2.6 billion budget gap should be protecting and creating jobs. Contrary to what some pundits are saying, the best bet to spur private sector jobs is to raise taxes as much as necessary to maintain state spending. According to Mark Zandi, economic advisor to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and businesses around the world, each $1 of general state spending results in a $1.41 increase in economic activity. Does raising taxes also cost jobs? Yes, but not as many as the equivalent cuts in state spending.
Full Column | Puget Sound Business Journal (Subscription) »
Give our kids' caregivers a voice in their own future
02.17.2010 | John Burbank | This economy has pushed down wages for almost everyone, so both parents go to work to make ends meet, and single parents have no choice whatsoever. So who takes care of the kids? They are too young for public school, but the family paycheck cannot be put off for four years. So these parents, playing by the rules, depend on paid child care for their kids' well-being.
This
work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License
from the Economic Opportunity Institute. Liquid layout thanks
to Matthew James Taylor.