Blog

New Brief: Legislative Congestion Shouldn't Stall Transportation Fix

Washington hasn’t increased the gas tax in eight years, but transportation system maintenance needs and demand for new projects have grown. As the 2012 Connecting Washington Task Force report explains, Fuel tax increases in 2003 and 2005 made it possible to issue bonds to pay for 421 transportation projects throughout the state. That means the […]

Seattle's job growth comes despite the city's business climate

Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat calls Seattle’s recent employment boom an “inconvenient truth” undercutting claims that the city’s “taxes and rules and supposedly socialist groupthink” are bad for business. There’s no denying the growth in metro Seattle, but a good case can be made that it’s occuring despite the city’s  business climate, not because of […]

From tailwind to headwind Boeing announces that it will lay off 800 machinists by year end

A story (here) on the Seattle Time website says that Boeing will lay off 800 machinists by year end. With attrition "the total number of positions cut this year will be between 2,000 and 2,300." This news is not a complete surprise, as state forecasters have expected that Boeing's employment would peak this year. The […]

STEM education increases opportunity, drives economy

The shortage of workers with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills means that too many jobs go unfilled even as too many Washingtonians need jobs. The mismatch is the them of a good op-ed by AWB president Don Brunell in the the Bellingham Herald. Simply put, employers need people proficient in science, technology, engineering […]

State treasurer argues against shifting state workers to 401k-style pension plan. There's more to it.

In today’s Seattle Times, State Treasurer Jim McInitire makes his case for rejecting proposals to place younger and newly-employed state workers in defined contribution pension plans, similar to the 401k programs common in the private sector. Basically, his argument amounts to a variation on “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” a sentiment I generally […]

More on the revenue forecast

As I noted in an earlier post, the economic and revenue forecast council issued revised forecasts today. For the general fund-state account, the new forecasts are up $59 million for 2011-13, down $19 million for 2013-15, and down $49 million for 2015-17. For the education legacy trust account (which receives proceeds from the estate tax […]

Chart on Washington jobs

Here is a chart comparing job losses in Washington for the 11 recessions since World War Two.

March state revenue forecast up $59 million for 2011-13, down $19 million for 2013-15

The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council is currently meeting. The new foreast for the 2011-13 is up $59 million for 2011-13, down $19 million for 2013-15, and down $49 million for 2015-17. The handout for the meeting is available here.

Preliminary estimate: Washington added 4,000 jobs in February

This morning the employment security department released preliminary estimates for February showing that the state added 4,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in February, 3,600 in the private sector and 400 in government. The preliminary estimate of the February unemployment rate is 7.5%. The estimate of the January job gain was revised upward by 100, to 24,200. […]

Official state revenue forecast comes out at noon today. View with caution.

In my column today I suggest lawmakers take a cautious view of the numbers. The state, national and global economies continue to face substantial risk. A balanced budget is, of course, a priority. But With much risk beyond their control, lawmakers should be cautious in their spending and prudent in maintaining adequate budget reserves. They […]