7% return on transportation infrastructure investments; payback in 17 years
At New Geography, Susanne Trimbath reviews the economic benefits of smart transportation investment. Investments that improve the performance of transportation in the US will pay for themselves in 17 years through increased economic activity and the resulting gains in federal tax revenue. The rate of return for national investments in transportation is 7%, significantly more than […]
October 23 , 2014 - Kriss Sjoblom
Washington ranks 6th best in growth since 2008 in per-student state funding for public schools
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has a new report examining changes in state government spending on K-12 education since the beginning of the the Great Recession. Between fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2015, per-student inflation-adjusted state support has decreased in 30 states and has increased in 17 states. For 3 states, data […]
October 22 , 2014 - Richard S. Davis
More on why a statewide transportation funding plan is a 2015 legislative must-do
Yesterday’s release of the Washington Roundtable/Boston Consulting group transportation report could not have been better timed. That report found that a $7 billion infrastructure investment would yield $42 billion in economic benefits. Also yesterday, the Washington State Department of Transportation released its 2014 Corridor Capacity Report. It’s long, wonkish and important. A couple of bullets pulled from […]
October 17 , 2014 - Emily Makings
With ballots arriving, here's our take on I-1351
Ballots are in the mail or already delivered, so I thought I would re-post the link to our policy brief on one of this year’s initiatives: Initiative 1351 Class Size Reduction: A $4.7 Billion Unfunded Mandate with Dubious Educational Merit. It may also be helpful for voters to consider I-1351 in the broader budget context. […]
October 16 , 2014 - Emily Makings
Balancing infrastructure needs and debt levels
As the Washington Roundtable’s Benchmarks for a Better Washington show, the condition of Washington’s infrastructure is poor compared to other states. The Everett Herald recently editorialized that the Legislature should have only two items on its agenda next year: education and transportation. A story in Bloomberg Business Week notes that, nationally, “local governments are not […]
October 13 , 2014 - Emily Makings
I-1351 in the news
There have been several articles written about I-1351 over the past few days. For an initiative without an organized opposition campaign, it has been getting a lot of press. For good reason: the devil’s in the details. The Columbian writes, By Evergreen School District Superintendent John Deeder’s math, if Initiative 1351 were to pass this […]
October 13 , 2014 - Kriss Sjoblom
September 11–October 10 state revenue collections were $14.4 million above forecast
This morning the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly Economic and Revenue Update. Here are the key bullets on revenue from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the September 11–October 10, 2014 collection period were $14.4 million (1.2%) higher than the September forecast. Revenue Act collections were $5.4 million (0.5%) higher […]
October 07 , 2014 - Emily Makings
Seattle Times urges no vote on I-1351, CWU's president sees need for budget cuts
The Seattle Times editorial board is urging voters to reject Initiative 1351: ON the surface, Initiative 1351 appears appealing, promising smaller classes in Washington public schools. But what it really does is unnecessarily complicate the state Legislature’s very serious job of meeting a state Supreme Court order to fully fund basic education. . . . […]
October 03 , 2014 - Richard S. Davis
Davis column: Hard to do priority budgeting if you don't set priorities
My column this week suggests that the presidents of the six four-year colleges should have complied with the governor’s budget office and shown the effects of a 15 percent budget cut. They prefer to paint with broad brushstrokes as they make a strong case against any further reductions in the higher education budget. I write, […]
October 01 , 2014 - Emily Makings
McCleary, I-1351, and budgeting choices
Budgeting is fundamentally about choices. The McCleary decision and the prospect of I-1351 are making this plainly evident to many. Last week the League of Education Voters decided to oppose I-1351. Even though they supported a previous class size reduction initiative (I-728), LEV said, We know there is no single silver bullet that will close […]