Blog

Northwest coal ports and American railroad success

The Economist, England’s business-oriented news magazine, features the Northwest’s coal export controversy this week. The relatively short piece offers both sides a chance to state their case. Balance in coverage of this issue can be hard to find. It’s worth a read. An associated story from the previous week should not be missed. It deals […]

Regulations as protectionist policy

Trade is a big deal for Washington, where 40 percent of jobs are trade-related. Often people think of tariffs when they think of trade barriers, but regulations can also be protectionist. A new paper from the Cato Institute looks at this issue. As its authors (K. William Watson and Sallie James) write, The practice of […]

Monthly employment report for Washington: unemployment rate falls to 7.3 percent while the state loses 5,500 jobs

The Employment Security Department’s Monthly Employment Report was released this morning. The preliminary estimate for March puts the state’s unemployment rate at 7.3%, down from 7.5% in February. Despite this unemployment rated drop, the preliminary employment estimate shows that the state lost 5,500 jobs (seasonally adjusted) from February to March. This follows a revised gain […]

March 11 to April 10 state revenue collections beat forecast by $28.7 million

Budget writers received a bit of good news today in the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council’s monthly Economic and Revenue Update. For the March 11 to April 10 period, collections were a bit above the amount expected under the forecast adopted on March 20. Key points from the summary: Major General Fund-State revenue collections for […]

Courting California: UT & VA Governors Want to Win Jobs from Golden State

California’s troubled business climate has become a punchline. Earlier this year, Texas Gov. Rick Perry ran radio ads in California urging businesses to check out Texas. Chief Executive magazine ranks California the worst state for business. The California Business Roundtable finds a majority of business leaders think it’s harder to do business in California than […]

Incentives (Still) Matter

News today that Boeing will be investing $1 billion and creating 2,000 jobs in South Carolina over the next eight years underscores the aggressive competition among the states. And, it shows that incentives continue to play a role in corporate investment decisions. Communities and states that understand that simple fact stand to gain. While we […]

Oil companies top the list of taxation heroes

In today’s Wall Street Journal, Merril Matthews debunks the enduring myth of the undertaxed oil company. …those special tax breaks just for the oil and gas industry don’t exist. <snip> Ironically, USA Today just published the top-10 list of companies that paid the highest U.S. income taxes as of 2012, and oil industry companies took […]

Skilled worker shortage starts with high school

Education Week carries a short item on the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers. It’s consistent with what we posted on yesterday regarding a new study of the skills gap in Washington. The EW story has this additional insight. In Minnesota, 13 percent of all jobs are in manufacturing, and the average pay is about $56,000 […]

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 […]

Business leaders concerned that Inslee's tax hikes will hamper growth

Since Gov. Jay Inslee announced a budget that raised taxes $1.2 billion over the next biennium, business groups have argued that many of the proposed hikes will depress economic activity. AWB president Don Brunell identified the clear immediate consequence. Families and employers pay the government more money. Washington Retail Association president Jan Teague has an […]