Emily Makings

Opportunity Washington: Priorities for Shared Prosperity

Yesterday Opportunity Washington: Priorities for Shared Prosperity was launched. Opportunity Washington was developed by the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy (WashACE), which is a partnership of the Association of Washington Business, Washington Roundtable, Washington Research Council and Enterprise Washington. Opportunity Washington is “a roadmap for expanding Washington’s culture of opportunity to individuals, families, employers, […]

Union membership declined in Washington in 2014

New data from the Current Population Survey shows that union membership in Washington declined in 2014, both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of total employment. In 2014, Washington’s total union membership was 490,112 (compared to 544,986 in 2013) and the percent of employment that was unionized was 16.8 (compared to 18.9 percent in […]

New brief: Higher Education Policy and the State Budget

We have a new policy brief today on Washington’s higher education system.

How does the Washington Health Benefit Exchange fare in the governor's budget?

As I wrote in October, the Health Benefit Exchange (HBE) had requested $67 million for 2015-17 (in addition to the $80 million that had already been appropriated for the biennium). Gov. Inslee’s budget proposal would provide that amount: $33.3 million in federal funds, $13.8 million from the state general fund, and $20.2 million in the […]

States looking for money in e-cigarettes

Stateline has an article today about e-cigarette taxes: With the popularity of e-cigarettes growing, more states are more likely to look to the new devices for revenue. . . . “This is going to be one of the most introduced and debated topics in state legislatures this year, especially the tax issue,” said Max Behlke, […]

New brief: Governor Inslee’s 2015–17 Operating Budget Proposal

Today we’ve published a policy brief on Gov. Inslee’s 2015-17 operating budget proposal. It would increase spending by $5.2 billion. It would also increase revenues over amounts already forecast by $1.6 billion.

Robotic orchard bins and the minimum wage

Last week Democrats in the House announced a bill that would increase the state minimum wage to $12 in 2019. Washington currently has the highest state minimum wage in the country, at $9.47. Meanwhile, researchers at WSU have won a federal grant to develop an intelligent bin management system supported by a robotic self-propelled fruit […]

Port delays could mean long-term damage for businesses

Yesterday the Senate Commerce & Labor and Trade & Economic Development Committees held a joint work session on the slowdown at the ports (which we have written about previously). Several Washington businesses affected testified. Marc Spears of Chelan Fresh Marketing said that they’re losing $1.2 million in sales per week. He noted that they are […]

Seattle businesses win when the Seahawks do

Some interesting data points in this TechFlash story on the economic impact of Seahawks playoff games: About half of the attendees come from outside of King County. Hotel occupancy rates are usually 50 to 60 percent on January weekends. “But when the Seahawks hosted home playoff games last year, occupancy rates jumped above 90 percent.” […]

New WRC president

We are pleased to announce that Lew Moore has been hired as our new president. The press release is below:   WASHINGTON RESEARCH COUNCIL HIRES NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE The board of the Washington Research Council, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy research organization, is pleased to announce the hiring of Lew Moore as its new president. […]