Richard S. Davis

Economic growth the Seattle Way … or not

Two reports today present sharply contrasting views of the Puget Sound region’s economy and prospects. In the New York Times, Harvard economist Edward L. Glaeser sings Seattle’s praises. Seattle is one of the few large cities outside the Sun Belt that is growing more quickly than the country as a whole. The city’s growth reveals […]

Editorial support for bipartisan Senate workers' compensation bill…

The Senate passed ESB 5566 last weekend, a good workers’ compensation bill that will move Washington closer to the national mainstream, benefiting both injured workers and employers. The Washington Research Council last year published Mainstreaming Workers’ Compensation: Reforms for 2010. The bill refines several of our recommendations and represents a major step forward for the […]

As we were saying about compensation comparisons …

… they’re not easy to get right. USA Today headlines today that Wisconsin is one of 41 states where public workers earn more than their private sector counterparts. According to the paper’s analysis of data from the U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, State, city and school district workers earned an average of $50,774 in […]

Sorting the data on public sector compensation …

Well before the protests in Madison, Wisconsin, touched sympathetic nerves around the country, the disparity between public and private sector employee compensation drew controversy. A headline in Sunday’s Seattle Times asks, “Have Washington state workers given their fair share?” It’s both unanswerable and, in many respects, off point. Compensation for services provided is not the […]

An Oscar miss on an education breakthrough

As I rarely go to movies and don't own a TV, my thoughts on the Academy Awards are not worth sharing. So I'll just refer you to AWB president Don Brunell's post on Waiting for Superman.  

Unemployment insurance compromise tough to replicate for workers' comp reform

In the Puget Sound Business Journal today, my column examines the 2011 legislative session’s big accomplishment so far: an agreement on unemployment insurance that drew overwhelming bipartisan support. It’s a good deal, providing tax relief to 90 percent of the state’s employers and increasing benefits for 70,000 unemployed workers. Conditions aligned for this to be […]

Competing to deliver public services …

That’s the theme of my column this morning, which also considers some recent activity in Wisconsin (you might have read about the collective bargainng flap there) and the UK (which has not gotten the same visibility). Here’s my conclusion: Government employee unions come under increased scrutiny as budget shortfalls force cutbacks in public services. Public […]

Tax Foundation releases state/local tax burden study: WA ranks 29th

The national Tax Foundation published its annual review of state/local taxes. Here’s the PDF of the report. And here’s the press release. TF uses a different methodology for calculating tax burdens than that used by some other familiar sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau. Here’s how TF describes it: For each state, we calculate the […]

Liberty Mutual CEO discusses U.S. inflation and more

I know a lot of folks who follow the WRC blog care about the economy, inflation trends, and the like. If you’re in that camp, I think you’ll enjoy this interview on Bloomberg with Liberty Mutual CEO Edmund “Ted” Kelly. Liberty Mutual is a good WRC member.

About Thrive Washington …

In the latest edition of AWB’s Washington Business magazine, I write about Thrive Washington, the research and communications partnership between the WRC and the Washington Roundtable. It’s seems wrong to quote myself. Please go to the column and let me know what you think.