Blog

Public policy implications of California Rule for pensions

At the Volokh Conspiracy, a legal blog now housed at the Washington Post, Sasha Volokh has been writing about the California Rule and public pensions. Volokh’s brief description of the rule is: . . . in California (and some other states), the courts give constitutional protection not only to the amount of public employees’ pensions […]

Minimum wage bill passes out of House committee; closing skills gap a better solution

Yesterday, on a 5-4 party line vote, the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee passed HB 2672, which would raise the statewide minimum wage to $12. Committee passage was expected. Whether there are the votes in the full House to increase the wage is somewhat in doubt. And it’s a certainty that the Senate will […]

Putting the focus back on increasing economic opportunity for all

In my column, I comment on the president’s State of the Union address and the shift in focus from inequality to opportunity. The new opportunity emphasis was previously discussed here and is examined in this New York Times story. I also highly recommend this Robert Samuelson column explaining why inequality is not the problem. To create “ladders […]

The problem with letting cities set the minimum wage

The Spokesman-Review editorializes for maintaining the current statewide minimum wage law without local variation. The editorial uses the SeaTac $15 minimum as a teaching moment. … Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, would stop the wage wars by forbidding any local government entity to set a minimum above the state level. Bravo, Braun. Employees are migratory, not so […]

New Brief: Sector Distribution of Washington's Minimum Wage Jobs

Last week we released a policy brief on the county distribution of Washington’s minimum wage jobs. Today we have a follow-up to that report: Sector Distribution of Washington’s Minimum Wage Jobs. The accommodation and food services, retail trade and agricultural sectors would be most affected by any increase in the minimum wage.

Seattle's income inequality "not as bad as you think," plus bonus links on mobility and the minimum wage

Emily Parkhurst reviews income data in the Puget Sound Business Journal and finds the metro area is doing pretty well. The national debate over income inequality and raising the minimum wage may begetting a lot of attention here in the Seattle area, but this region is one of the best in the country to go […]

WA ranks #42 in share of tax filers claiming Earned Income Tax Credit

The Tax Foundation’s tax map this week shows EITC claims as a share of filers by state. Washington ranks No. 42. Go here for a good explanation of the EITC. BTW, today is Earned Income Tax Credit Day. Who knew? The Tax Foundation summarizes the general resul. Lower-income, southern states had a higher proportion of […]

New Brief: County Distribution of Washington's Minimum Wage Jobs

In 2012, there were 68,567 full time equivalent jobs at the minimum wage in Washington. In a new policy brief, we take a look at the distribution of those jobs across the state. Below is a chart from the report, showing the number of minimum wage jobs in each county:

Why it makes no sense to tie minimum wage increases to gains in productivity

The recent push to raise the minimum wage has seen occasional efforts by proponents to relate the minimum wage to increased productivity. For example, Up to 1968, increases in the minimum wage kept up proportionately with productivity increases. That made sense, as the gains in productivity were in that way equitably shared between employers and […]

Increasing opportunity: better politics and better policy than attacking inequality

In the days leading up to the State of the Union, the White House signaled a rhetorical shift. Less talk of inequality, more emphasis on opportunity.  As ABC News reported, The adjustment reflects an awareness that Obama’s earlier language put him at risk of being perceived as divisive and exposed him to criticism that his […]