Blog

Should state pension reforms include shift to 401k-type plans?

Sen. Rodney Tom has introduced a bill that would shift new hires and younger workers to a defined contribution pension system, similar to the 401k plans common in the private sector. Here’s how the bill report summarizes it: The Washington Public Employees Savings Plan (PESP) is created as a new defined-contribution plan to replace PERS, […]

State budget worry mounts as federal sequestration deadline approaches

Even arbitrary, manufactured  and gimmicky fiscal crises have consequences. So it is with the federal sequestration – $85 billion in spending cuts – scheduled to hit at the end of the week. As the New York Times reported over the weekend, The point of sequestration, in fact, was to define cuts that were so arbitrary […]

The details of the House transportation package proposal

A new “Connecting Washington” transportation package was released this week by state Rep. Judy Clibborn and others. According to the project overview, it would “raise nearly $10 billion for Washington’s transportation system.” The package has been introduced in the House as HB 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957.

Lower Business Costs, Better Education & Transportation = More Jobs

Gov. Inslee’s jobs plan, released last week, again highlights the state’s enduring problem: Too many people looking for work and not finding it. In my column, I lead with this: Nearly 17 percent of the state’s workforce — one in six of us — is either unemployed or underemployed. So much for the recovery. Nationally, […]

New Brief: More Reforms for Workers' Compensation

On February 4, the state Senate passed three workers’ comp bills. In a new brief today, we take a look at those bills and discuss why reforms are needed, even after the changes made in 2011.

President's proposal would increase federal minimum wage, nearly to Washington's level

In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama proposed increasing the federal minimum wage to $9.00 by the end of 2015 and indexing it to inflation. (It is currently $7.25.) Twenty-two states currently match the federal minimum wage, 19 states and DC have minimum wages above the federal requirement, four have minimum […]

Monthly state revenue collections report released today

The state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council issued its monthly Economic and Revenue Update today. Here are the document’s summary points on revenue. Major General Fund-State revenue collections for the January 11 – February 10, 2013 collection period were $8.4 million (0.6%) lower than the November forecast, but a shortfall had been anticipated due to […]

Congratulations to Arun Raha, named top forecaster by the Wall Street Journal

Arun Raha, former Executive Director of the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, has been named top economic forecaster for 2012 by the Wall Street Journal. From the WSJ’s Real Time Economics blog: Arun Raha of power-management company Eaton Corp. was the year’s top economic forecaster, according to the Wall Street Journal’s annual rankings. The […]

Paid sick leave in Washington, and a new study on Connecticut's law

The House Committee on Labor and Workforce Development held a hearing this morning on HB 1313, which would require Washington employers to provide paid sick and safe leave to their employees. The bill is very similar to Seattle’s paid sick and safe time ordinance, which has been in effect since September 1, 2012. We wrote […]

New Brief: Leveling the Playing Field with Tax Preferences

Many business tax preferences serve to normalize Washington’s tax structure by reducing distortions, offsetting disincentives, and avoiding pyramiding. This is important from the standpoint of good tax policy, as we outline in a new policy brief. We also discuss the high tech R&D tax credits in particular.