Blog

No joy in today's employment report

As foreshadowed earlier in the week, today’s job report confirms that the American economy remains stagnant. From the statement by BLS Commssioner Keith Hall: In May, nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+54,000), following increases that averaged 220,000 in the prior 3 months. The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged, at 9.1 percent, in May.  Employment in […]

Preliminary June Economic Forecast

Economic and Revenue Forecast Council has posted the preliminary June economic forecast (available here). Under the new forecast, growth rates for Washington employment and personal income are a bit lower than under the forecast ERFC adopted in March, while the new forecast for the unemployment rate is correpondingly higher than the March forecast (see table […]

House leadership should allow vote on needed workers' comp reform

In my column today, I call on Democratic leaders in the House to bring to the floor legislation that would allow voluntary settlement agreements for workers’ compensation claims. This is not a new theme. An excellent editorial in the Herald of Everett urged the bipartisan majorities in both houses of the Legislature to hold firm […]

NLRB's Boeing complaint generating plenty of heat

The NLRB’s Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon lodged a complaint alleging the Boeing company’s decision to expand in South Carolina amounted to impermissible retaliation against the union. I wrote about it in this column. Unsurprisingly, the complaint has become a national issue, properly, because of its sweeping consequences. In the Wall Street Journal, Boeing CEO […]

May Report on State Tax Collections

Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly update on revenue collections and the economy today, and while the headline number looks very good, revenue for the month $157.7 million higher than had been forecast, the underlying story was not positive. The good headline number was entirely due to the tax amnesty program, which ended […]

NLRB complaint against Boeing unwarranted

In my column today I consider the NLRB complaint against Boeing. The NLRB acting general counsel filed the complaint, asserting that the company’s decision to open a new production line in South Carolina was impermissible retaliation against the machinists union. I write: The NLRB’s charges are factually inaccurate, unprecedented and contrary to precedent. To support […]

What's wrong with the NLRB complaint against Boeing's S. Carolina expansion

Plenty. We’ve spent at lot of time at the WRC looking business decision-making and considering how public policies shape the competitive environment for employers. A fundamental premise: Investors and employers have choices. Last week, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint against the Boeing Company, alleging that the decision to open a second 787 […]

Moderate Democrats get workers' compensation reform bill moving again

Yesterday’s move by moderate Democrats in the House to amend the bipartisan workers’ compensation reform bill passed by the Senate has revived prospects for legislative success in the waning days of the legislative session. This is an issue the Research Council has followed closely for a long time. Most recently, we published The Time Has […]

Tax Day column on assessing the tax burden

In my column in the Puget Sound Business Journal today I look at Tax Freedom Day, the level and distribution of the tax burden and how our state’s revenue structure compares with other states. It’s behind the firewall, so access is limited to subscribers. Here’s a sample. The tax discussion generally comes down to the […]

Revenue Collections for March 11–April 10 Period Exceed Forecast by $5.1 Million

The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly Economic & Revenue Update today. Here are the key takeaways: