Blog

AP report highlights problems in retiree pension, health care programs

Yesterday AP reporter Mike Baker exposed abuses in a now-closed pension program for police and firefighters. The program makes it possible for some people to pump their pension by taking late pay raises. As Baker reports, it’s not an isolated situation. And it significantly increases state pension costs. • Even while state and local budget […]

State budget office expresses concerns with proposed Senate budget

Things are moving fast. For now. Then they’re likely to slow down. The quick stuff is the speed of the Senate budget, which was unveiled Wednesday and may go to the floor today, having passed out of committee yesterday. A similarly hare-like pace may be anticipated for the House budget expected next week. Then the […]

New Brief: Increasing Education Spending in 2013-15: New Taxes or Re-Prioritization?

In a new policy brief, we compare Gov. Inslee’s “budget priorities for a working Washington” to the 2013-15 budget proposal from the Senate Ways and Means Committee chair.

Policy reductions in Senate chair's budget total $422.9 million

The Senate Ways and Means Committee chair’s 2013-15 budget proposal would increase near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways spending by $2.084 billion over 2011-13. Included in that increase are $422.9 million of policy reductions. I’ve added these policy changes to the table I posted last week:   The Senate chair’s version would make net policy […]

STEMming the skills gap – better education boosts the economy

In my column this morning I address the recent Washington Roundtable/Boston Consulting Group report on the skills gap. It’s an urgent problem, one that’s costing us jobs now. Combining analyses of publicly-available employment and education data with executive interviews, BCG was able to document the economic impact of the skills gap in Washington. The researchers […]

New policy brief: Revenue and Caseload Forecasts Set the Stage for Budget Writers

We have posted a new policy brief, Revenue and Caseload Forecasts Set the Stage for Budget Writers, which can be downloaded through this link.

Taxing beer and marijuana

As part of its fiscal impact statement for I-502, the Office of Financial Management estimated that excise taxes and license fees on legalized marijuana would increase state revenues by $434.2 million in FY 2015, $447.2 million in FY 2016, and $460.6 million in FY 2017. Now, as reported by the Seattle Times, Washington’s new marijuana […]

Policy increases total $623 million in Gov. Inslee's budget proposal

Governor Inslee’s 2013-15 budget proposal would increase near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways (NGFS+) spending over the enacted 2011-13 budget (with 2012 supplemental) by $3.184 billion. I’ve gone through the budget details to get the policy versus maintenance changes split. Gov. Inslee’s proposal assumes NGFS+ maintenance increases totaling $2.561 billion, and it would make NGFS+ […]

From tailwind to headwind Boeing announces that it will lay off 800 machinists by year end

A story (here) on the Seattle Time website says that Boeing will lay off 800 machinists by year end. With attrition "the total number of positions cut this year will be between 2,000 and 2,300." This news is not a complete surprise, as state forecasters have expected that Boeing's employment would peak this year. The […]

State treasurer argues against shifting state workers to 401k-style pension plan. There's more to it.

In today’s Seattle Times, State Treasurer Jim McInitire makes his case for rejecting proposals to place younger and newly-employed state workers in defined contribution pension plans, similar to the 401k programs common in the private sector. Basically, his argument amounts to a variation on “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” a sentiment I generally […]