News and perspective on public policy issues affecting Washington's economy and quality of life, brought to you by the Economic Opportunity Institute.
If you think our elected representatives should be working to undercut – instead of boost – people’s wages, this news won’t make you happy. But there’s good news for everyone else: a three-pronged effort to diminish Washington’s prevailing wage law met a well-deserved defeat during the 2012 legislative session. First enacted in 1945, Washington’s prevailing [...]
OLYMPIA, Wash. – April is Community and Technical College Month, but two-year colleges in Washington have been too busy to commemorate it. The system serves 60 percent of all public college students in the state, with 470,000 people enrolled. The supplemental state budget signed this week by Gov. Chris Gregoire includes $39 million to build [...]
One change could eliminate the long-term shortfall, promote tax equity and allow a modest benefit increase now The 2012 Social Security Trustees’ Report shows the nation’s most important and popular social insurance system is on sound financial footing for at least another generation. With $2.7 trillion in its trust fund, Social Security can pay full [...]
A good education is the key to a shot at the American Dream. So it’s puzzling to see the Seattle School Board pulling the rug out from under hundreds of school-kids by raising tuition for full-day kindergarten by 15% (to $2,720 per year) – on the heels of an even-steeper 31% increase last year. Even [...]
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