March 08 , 2015 - Emily Makings
March 04 , 2015 - Emily Makings
March 02 , 2015 - Emily Makings
The impacts of a bad reputation
U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez talked recently about how a good reputation can trump a good location when it comes to trade. Washington’s ports had enjoyed an advantage due to their location as a good access point to and from Asia, but the result of the West Coast ports work slowdown may be that that […]
February 26 , 2015 - Emily Makings
Reputational damage at the ports
As an addendum to my earlier post on the deal at the ports, NPR has a good interview with U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez. On the impacts of the slowdown, he says, There is so much collateral damage occurring. . . . You are playing with fire because, yes, the West Coast ports have the […]
February 24 , 2015 - Emily Makings
Deal reached at the ports, but normalcy may be a long way off
On Friday, the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union came to an agreement on a new contract, averting a full shutdown of West Coast ports. A major slowdown had been ongoing for the past several months, which we have written about previously. According to the Los Angeles Times, The agreement, which […]
February 06 , 2015 - Emily Makings
Remainders: liquor, apples, jobs
As we wrap up the week, here are some items of interest: The Office of Financial Management released a paper on the impacts of I-1183 (liquor privatization). Sample line from the report: “Thus, pre-privatization, the LCB mission was achieved: to induce and maintain a liquor market characterized by allocative inefficiency, inhibiting full market demand.” Good […]
January 28 , 2015 - Emily Makings
January 28 , 2015 - Emily Makings
Opportunity Washington: Priorities for Shared Prosperity
Yesterday Opportunity Washington: Priorities for Shared Prosperity was launched. Opportunity Washington was developed by the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy (WashACE), which is a partnership of the Association of Washington Business, Washington Roundtable, Washington Research Council and Enterprise Washington. Opportunity Washington is “a roadmap for expanding Washington’s culture of opportunity to individuals, families, employers, […]
January 26 , 2015 - Lew Moore
Progress on Government Reform
In December, Governor Inslee reported on the progress of the Lean/performance management program, originally conceived at MIT and instituted by the legislature to create savings and efficiencies in the delivery of government services. This interesting reform initiative has progressed due in no small measure to over $6m worth of pro bono training efforts by many […]