Media Center
Members of the media: Looking for information or a quote? Our staff represents a wide range of disciplines, expertise, and viewpoints - we're ready to respond to requests for information and commentary. Contact Aaron Keating, Communications Director for background information, referrals to EOI staff or board members, and/or a press packet.
EOI View | More
Local governments, with help, can stem this decline
11.12.2008 | Everett Herald | Erin, a mortgage counselor at a nonprofit organization, experiences the economic crisis up-close and personal every day. For the past six years, she's helped people behind on their mortgages fight to stay in their homes -- or at least held their hand through the foreclosure process. Now, as the need for services is spiking, Erin's agency is losing funding and she could face a layoff herself. | More
Individuals reap benefits when communities unite
10.29.2008 | Everett Herald | Halloween rules in my neighborhood. From a pumpkin on the porch to front lawns transformed into graveyards, almost every house is decorated this year. Some have always gone all out with seasonal displays, but this near unanimity seems new. Maybe it's the recent influx of younger couples into the neighborhood. Or maybe it's the recession. | More
Basic rules, enforcement enable society to function
10.15.2008 | Everett Herald | I confess I speed when traffic allows. But I never go more than 10 mph over the speed limit. That's not due to my general law-abiding nature, concern for public safety or desire to conserve gas. It's knowing that a State Patrol trooper with a radar gun might be lurking around the next bend. Sometimes I resent that brake on my speed. But I'm also glad that someone is keeping the truly crazy drivers from endangering us all.
One of the basic functions of government is to set and enforce rules that keep us safe and give us the confidence to participate in the market economy. Because of government regulation, food we buy and water from the tap don't make us sick, buildings and bridges don't collapse, and medicines don't kill us -- or when they do, it's a rarity that dominates the headlines. | More
Other Voices | More
Take a Stand: Minimum wage is too low
04.27.2008 | Lawrence Journal-World and News | The April 1 Journal-World carried a column by Kansas University business professor Mark Hirschey called “Inconvenient truth about minimum wage.” Since it was April Fools’ Day and the article gave many anecdotes but few “facts,” we’re not certain it was altogether serious. In case it was, we’re responding with some facts of our own. | Read
In Our View: More Learning
04.16.2008 | Vancouver Columbian | Justifiable demands for improved quality of public education will continue to reverberate fruitlessly until a stark confession is made: Students in Washington state and across America are not spending enough hours and enough days in classrooms. | Read
In The News | More
The Money Squeeze: Household income rose in 2007 but inflation erased most of region's financial gains
08.27.2008 | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Data released this week from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey show that median household income in 2007 rose from the previous year in Washington and the greater Seattle region, and that the poverty level dipped slightly. But inflation erased most of the income gain, and the poverty figures are misleading, some analysts say. | Read
Retirement Plans Shrink as Economy Falters
05.05.2008 | National Public Radio Morning Edition | More and more older workers are opting to stay on the job rather than retire. For some, it's a matter of choice. For others, the uncertain housing market and shrinking returns on retirement funds make retiring a difficult prospect. | Read | Listen