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2010 Media Coverage
Murray Fights for Workforce, Worker Safety Priorities in Key Spending Bill
08.02.2010 | Sen. Patty Murray Press Release | Murray fought to include $10 million in a spending bill for a State Paid Leave Fund, a competitive grant program to support start-up activities for family paid leave programs in states. Comments from Marilyn Watkins, EOI Policy Director.
Can WA's Wealthy Help Solve State Budget Crisis?
07.02.2010 | Public News Service | It looks like I-1098 will make it onto the November ballot in Washington. Petitions turned in on Thursday to the Secretary of State's office contain an estimated 360,000 signatures, well over the required number.
New Survey Shows Widespread Support for Paid Sick Days
06.22.2010 | Public News Service | More than half the people questioned in a new national survey said they've either gone to work with a contagious illness or sent their kids to school or child care sick, because they didn't have paid sick leave and couldn't afford to stay home.
What We Can Learn From Finland's Education System
05.26.2010 | Bam Radio Network | EOI Executive Director John Burbank joined Rae Pica, host of "Body, Mind and Child", on her radio program for a discussion of early childhood education in Finland -- and what the U.S. can learn from one of the most highly rated early education systems in the world.
Listen in Windows Media Player »
Bill Gates’s Dad Says the Rich ‘Aren’t Paying Enough’ in Taxes
05.20.2010 | Business Week | Bill Gates Sr., a retired Washington state lawyer, supports a proposed ballot initiative that would require the state’s highest earners including himself and his son to pay an income tax. The initiative, I-1098, was co-authored by the Economic Opportunity Institute, a non-profit group in Seattle, and has drawn funding from the Service Employees International Union, said Sandeep Kaushik, a spokesman for the I-1098 campaign. Gates Sr. agreed to serve as the public face, visiting business groups and unions to solicit support.
Report: What WA Moms Really Wanted for Mother's Day
05.10.2010 | Washington News Service | Over the weekend, working moms might have been treated to cards, flowers and even breakfast in bed. But today, life is back to normal - and for Washington women, that means earning less per hour on the job and receiving fewer workplace benefits than men. "Washington's Working Women 2010," a new report by the Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI), indicates the economic progress of women in the Evergreen State has stalled. (Comments from Marilyn Watkins, Policy Director, Economic Opportunity Institute.)
Obama Budget Pushes Paid Leave Programs
05.10.2010 | National Public Radio | For millions of Americans, a major illness or family crisis means time off work with no pay. In recent years, several states have passed their own paid leave programs. Half a dozen more are trying but are largely stalled by the bad economy. Now, the Obama administration's proposed budget aims to encourage states to push ahead. (Comments from Marilyn Watkins, Policy Director, Economic Opportunity Institute.)
Progressive tax might make a breakthrough in state
04.23.2010 | Crosscut.com | Advocates of an income tax in Washington, long accustomed to a losing fight, are playing on a new field in 2010, and the filing of Initiative 1077 on Wednesday (April 21) could be a breakthrough in efforts to make the state's tax system more progressive. The state relies heavily on a sales tax at both the state and local levels, a tax that fall disproportionately on lower incomes.
Who is Behind I-1077?: A Survey of Some of the Major Players Who Launched the Campaign
04.22.2010 | Olympia Newswire | One of the more formative events that provided the seedbed for coalition building around progressive tax reform in Washington state came in 2003, when the state Legislature completely ignored the recommendations of the Washington State Tax Structure Study Committee. Afterward, according to John Burbank, Director of the Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI), a liberal economic policy think tank, there were “discussions over the last 6 years in a relaxed fashion” over how to restructure the state’s tax system in ways that either voters or the state legislature could support.
Push for Paid Sick Days in Tacoma: For Public Health and Business
04.08.2010 | Washington News Service | A citizens coalition is working to push the City of Tacoma to become the fourth in the nation to adopt a paid sick day law. The Healthy Tacoma Coalition will hold a roundtable meeting today to hear from the community and to discuss what they say are the benefits to public health and business of allowing workers in all businesses to earn paid time off in the event of illness.
WA Lawmakers Vote for Early Learning 'Investments'
03.18.2010 | Washington News Service | Two bills awaiting Gov. Gregoire's signature could pave the way for a more secure future for Washington pre-school education programs. In passing them, the Washington Legislature has pledged to do a better job of helping "future voters" by taking a closer look at early childhood education and providing more money for it when the state's financial condition improves. (Comments from Hannah Lidman, Senior Policy Director, Economic Opportunity Institute.)
A Specter Haunting Washington: The Income Tax Debate Returns From the Dead Yet Again
03.05.2010 | Olympia Newswire | There’s a specter haunting Washington state, and to many Democrats and Republicans, it might as well be communism. But it’s not communism. Indeed it’s not even socialism. It’s the notion that the wealthy should pay as large a percentage of their income in taxes as everyone else. And that in recessions— when tax revenues decline because people are unemployed or spending less, and more businesses are struggling— those who can pay more taxes should, so that government can continue to provide basic services for everyone. It’s the proposal, in short, that Washington state should adopt an income tax.
Sales tax on vehicle trade-ins may return
02.25.2010 | News Tribune, Olympian | Senate budget writers proposed getting rid of a tax break on the value of traded-in property to save $92 million next year. There are pros and cons to repealing the tax, said Marilyn Watkins, policy director for the Economic Opportunity Institute, a think tank that has argued for eliminating tax exemptions.
Too Many Cuts, Too Few Taxes: The State Legislature’s Budget Proposals Are Out of Balance
02.23.2010 | Olympia Newswire | Mark your calendar. Tuesday, February 23, 2010 was the high water mark in our state government’s efforts to preserve Washington’s health, education and human-services infrastructure against the ravages of the Great Recession. From here, things will only get worse. And even now, things aren’t so great. Marilyn Watkins of the Economic Opportunity Institute, another liberal think tank, thinks the Senate should reconsider their approach.
$500M in tax breaks targeted to help close budget gap
02.23.2010 | Seattle Times | Senate Democratic leaders on Tuesday proposed a budget that would pare 26 tax loopholes and exemptions, bringing back $500 million a year to the state treasury. They also want to ensure closer scrutiny of any future tax exemptions. That's only a small slice of the more than $50 billion a biennium worth of state tax breaks on the books. (Comments from Marilyn Watkins, policy director for the Economic Opportunity Institute.)
WA Lawmakers on Early Learning: Promises Today, Funds Tomorrow
02.22.2010 | Washington News Service, Lake Stevens Journal | With all the state budget talk in Olympia, Washington's youngest residents haven't gotten much media attention, but early learning is another hot topic at the Capitol. A package of four bills to be heard in committee today makes a commitment to fund early learning programs for pre-kindergarteners and services for families of children from birth to age three - not now, but when the state can afford it. Hannah Lidman, Senior Policy Associate with the Economic Opportunity Institute, says a growing body of research shows that helping young families is an investment in the state's future.
Full Story | Lake Stevens Journal »
Full Story | Washington News Service »
Proposal: Double estate tax to help pay for student aid
02.12.2010 | The Olympian | Democratic Rep. Maralyn Chase introduced a bill that would double the state's estate tax Friday. House Bill has five co-sponsors including two Olympia-area Democrats, Reps. Brendan Williams and Sam Hunt. HB 3184 would raise the tax rates for estates valued less than $1 million from 10 percent to 20 percent. The left-of-center Economic Opportunity Institute notes on its list of tax options that the federal estate tax expired on Jan. 1, and it estimates the higher state tax would bring in $65.8 million.
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.
The $700 million question: Will state officials get serious about closing tax loopholes?
01.20.2010 | Real Change News | Last week, Gov. Chris Gregoire announced her keenly awaited proposal to close tax loopholes in order to help shrink the state’s $2.6 billion deficit. Education, health and human-services advocates hoped for a big number, but they were disappointed. In fact, Gregoire’s plan fell about $2.584 billion short.
Report: Cutting WA State Budget = Cutting WA Jobs
1.18.2010 | Public News Service | A Washington economist who has crunched the numbers warns that the more budget cuts the legislature makes, the more jobs the state will lose. Marilyn Watkins, policy director with the Economic Opportunity Institute, says the effects of state spending ripple through the economy, from buying supplies and hiring contractors to the paychecks state employees spend in local businesses.
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