Richard S. Davis

Washington House committee votes to make it harder to outsource

Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee passed (14-13) HB 2473, a labor-initiated bill that would make it more difficult for state agencies to outsource work. From the bill report, here’s a bit of what it requires: Requires agencies to prepare a written record of the basis of the decision and a comprehensive impact assessment when contracting out […]

What's the right minimum wage? How about $5 an hour?

We’ve heard a lot of talk about where the minimum wage should be set to increase economic opportunity and provide an adequate income for low wage workers. Gov. Inslee has talked about bumping it a buck or two. The president and some in Congress want the federal minimum wage set at $10.10. In Seattle they’re […]

It's a competitive world: Management prof recommends Microsoft move to San Francisco

It’s no secret that much of the world covets Washington’s twin economic engines, aerospace and technology, anchored by Boeing and Microsoft. And it’s no secret that this state occasionally takes its prosperity for granted. Every so often, Boeing will remind lawmakers that complacency is not a prize-winning strategy. But for the most part, Olympia tends […]

Minimum wage bill passes out of House committee; closing skills gap a better solution

Yesterday, on a 5-4 party line vote, the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee passed HB 2672, which would raise the statewide minimum wage to $12. Committee passage was expected. Whether there are the votes in the full House to increase the wage is somewhat in doubt. And it’s a certainty that the Senate will […]

Washington youth unemployment is much higher than the national average. Think the minimum wage plays a role?

We’ll be releasing a policy brief on this issue next week. But I think this slide that Kriss prepared for today’s meeting of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers is highly consistent with national studies showing that minimum wage hikes negatively affect teenage unemployment. In 2013, the overall unemployment rate for Washington was 7.0 percent; […]

From Gallup: The State of the States, an interactive political map

Some of you will enjoy this.

Putting the focus back on increasing economic opportunity for all

In my column, I comment on the president’s State of the Union address and the shift in focus from inequality to opportunity. The new opportunity emphasis was previously discussed here and is examined in this New York Times story. I also highly recommend this Robert Samuelson column explaining why inequality is not the problem. To create “ladders […]

Appointing the insurance commissioner? We've suggested it before.

Sen. Randi Becker has introduced a bill eliminating the elected office of insurance commissioner, replacing it with a 10-member board who would hire a director. We’ve previously written on the merits of replacing an elected commissioner with one appointed by the governor. In 1999 we wrote: The argument for making not only the insurance commissioner […]

The problem with letting cities set the minimum wage

The Spokesman-Review editorializes for maintaining the current statewide minimum wage law without local variation. The editorial uses the SeaTac $15 minimum as a teaching moment. … Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, would stop the wage wars by forbidding any local government entity to set a minimum above the state level. Bravo, Braun. Employees are migratory, not so […]

WA ranks #42 in share of tax filers claiming Earned Income Tax Credit

The Tax Foundation’s tax map this week shows EITC claims as a share of filers by state. Washington ranks No. 42. Go here for a good explanation of the EITC. BTW, today is Earned Income Tax Credit Day. Who knew? The Tax Foundation summarizes the general resul. Lower-income, southern states had a higher proportion of […]