News and perspective on public policy issues affecting Washington's economy and quality of life, brought to you by the Economic Opportunity Institute.
Last summer, a respected policy expert from the Brookings Institution spoke at a large meeting. He introduced himself, saying that he works with a lot of brilliant economists who can’t understand why the recovery is so slow. Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman has an explanation, ”…corporations use their growing monopoly power to raise prices without passing the […]
As Washington voters consider their ballots in the final days of election season, there’s no doubt many are thinking about the economy. So where does Washington’s economy stand? Economic growth has finally begun to accelerate in 2012, with most sectors adding jobs each month. Yet, employment gains are modest, and the state’s unemployment rate sits […]
Recently the Employment Security Department released its latest unemployment numbers for Washington: 8.6% unemployment in August – up from 8.5% in July and 8.3% in June. We would expect to see a concurrent fall in jobs numbers. Fewer jobs mean higher unemployment, right? While generally true, the numbers don’t always match up month-to-month. A couple […]
Standing inside a crater, it looks like mountains surround you. But if you climb out to get a better view, you can see it’s actually a huge hole in the ground. That’s pretty analogous to what the Wall Street implosion of 2007 did to the American middle class. According to a new Federal Reserve report, […]
