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Inequality and the poor 50 years after LBJ launches the war on poverty

A half century ago, LBJ declared war on poverty. He said it wouldn’t be a short or easy struggle. About that, he was right. Today’s debates on the minimum wage and inequality remind us of the challenges. It’s necessary to get past the rhetoric, though, to get some insight into the proper role of public […]

Metro Puget Sound region poised for strong growth in 2014

In my column today I review a couple of recent studies that show economic strength in metro Seattle. Here are links to the reports for cities with economic momentum and the Milken Institute’s assessment of the best performing cities in 2013. As I note, the machinists’ vote to accept the Boeing contract helped make the […]

I-522 postscript

The Wall Street Journal reports that General Mills has begun making Cheerios free of genetically engineered ingredients. As we showed in our report, “Initiative 522: Costly, Flawed and Ill-Conceived,” genetically engineered foods are safe and widely used. I-522 would have required mandatory labeling of certain foods made with genetically engineered ingredients, but Washington voters rejected […]

From the auditor: "Regulatory Reform: Improving Permit Timeliness"

The state auditor’s office (SAO) has been working on a series of performance audits of state regulations. The first piece, an inventory of regulations, was finished in 2011, and the second piece, “Communicating Regulatory Information and Streamlining Business Rules,” was finished in 2012. (For more on these, see our 2012 policy brief, “A Complex Maze […]

Charter schools will move forward, but what about levy money?

Education funding is in the news yet again: Yesterday, a Superior Court judge ruled in the case a number of groups had brought against charter schools. Approved by voters in 2012, Initiative 1240 allowed a limited number of public charter schools to be opened in Washington. (None have opened yet.) It defined them as common […]

SeaTac-to-Seattle $15 minimum wage march and the renewed national debate

Activists across the country protested for a $15 minimum wage for fast food workers today. Marchers left SeaTac this morning to bring the $15 wage narrowly passed in the airport city to Seattle. For some council members, it won’t be a hard sell. Newly elected socialist city council member Kshama Sawant (CHAH’-mah SAH’-want) says if […]

SeaTac and local minimum wage laws

The Wall Street Journal writes about the “patchwork of local wage laws”: A wave of successful state and local initiatives to raise the minimum wage is creating the potential for a greater patchwork of pay standards around the country than ever before, fueling the debate over whether Congress should raise the federal level. Of course, […]

Special legislative session signals good news for machinists, for Boeing and for the state economy

Gov. Jay Inslee called lawmakers back to Olympia for a special session today designed to secure the Boeing 777X and its carbon fiber wing for Washington state. The proposed legislation complements the agreement reached by Boeing and the Machinists union for an eight-year contract extension assuring continued labor peace and changes benefiting the company and […]

More on state Supreme Court pension case and its budget implications

In my column Wednesday, I take a deeper look at the pension lawsuit before the state Supreme Court. Emily wrote about the hearings, which involve union challenges to the Legislature’s repeal of gain-sharing and the Uniform Cost of Living Adjustment. The implications are serious. If the court rules for the public employee groups contesting the legislation, the increased burden to taxpayers […]

State Supreme Court hears public pension arguments

This morning the state Supreme Court heard arguments on the public pension gain sharing and uniform COLA cases. The Department of Retirement Services summarized the issues yesterday: At issue in one case is a law from 2008 which repealed gain sharing provisions for members and retirees of certain state retirement plans and replaced them with […]