Kriss Sjoblom

Challenging Times for Refiners

These are challenging times in the oil refining industry, as an article on the front page of the business section of today’s New York Times documents (Chilly Climate for Oil Refiners). Five U.S. refineries have shut down in the past year. The recent closings signal the end of a period from roughly 2004 to 2008, […]

FIFO or LIFO

I have been optimistic that this would be a LIFO recession. Washington was one of the last states to go into recession. It has been my belief that Washington would be one of the first states out and that over the next several years Washington would out perform the rest the nation as a whole […]

Caseload Forecast Adds $277 Million to 2009-11 Costs

Yesterday (Friday the 13th), the state Caseload Forecast Council updated its forecasts for K-12 enrollments and for various human services caseloads. Here is a table that summarizes the differences between the new forecasts and the caseloads assumed in the adopted 2009¬11 budget. The key changes include: K–12. Enrollments are now expected to exceed the numbers […]

Another Collections Shortfall

The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (EFRC) issued its monthly update late this afternoon. The document is available here. These three bullets from the update summarize the key takeaways: While our economic forecasts have been accurate, our models appear to be overforecasting revenue. To be fair, these are unprecedented times, and continued weakness in consumer […]

Washington Life Sciences Economic Impact Study

We have just completed an economic impact study of Washington’s life sciences industry. The report is available here.

Comparative State and Local Taxes

On Thursday the Department of Revenue released this year’s edition of its annual report Comparative State and Local Taxes link. The primary data in the new report come from the Census Bureau’s 2007 Census of Government Finance. For 2006/2007, DOR calculates that state and local tax collections in Washington amounted to $109.25 for each $1,000 […]

Arun Raha

On Wednesday I saw Arun Raha, Executive Director and chief economist for the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, speak to the University of Washington Economics Department’s Visiting Committee. The slides from the talk available in both color (best for viewing on line) and black and white (best for printing) on the ERFC website. Arun […]

Initiative 1033

TVW has video coverage of proponents and opponents debating debating Initiative 1033 before the Seattle Times editorial board. WRC groupies will particularly enjoy the segment running from 30:15 to 33:15.

Seattle Times Editorial

Our Brief Seattle’s Lost Decade was mentioned in an editorial in today’s Seattle Times that urged repeal of the city’s “head tax” on employers.

September Washington State Revenue Forecast

The September forecast reduced combined general fund revenues for the 2007–09 and 2009–11 biennia by $238 million. For the broader near general fund, the reduction was $230 million. Our brief on the forecast is available here.