Conservative billionaire Pete Peterson, a major financier in the effort to dismantle Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, just got some egg on his face courtesy of the Social Security Works – Washington coalition, the Economic Opportunity Institute and PSARA. The winning video in the Pete Peterson Foundation’s video contest – which had the goal of “compiling…
Another loophole for the wealthy? If not fixed by the legislature, this technical glitch will siphon $160 million out of Washington’s Education Legacy Trust Fund. It funds tuition assistance, higher education, and public schools. Washington’s estate tax, which applies to the sons and daughters of wealthy estate owners, provides dedicated funding for public schools and public higher…
Sitka News reports Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) is prepared to introduce legislation to protect and preserve Social Security benefits for future generations, while shoring up the system’s long-term solvency. Senator Begich introduced his plan in response to President Obama’s proposal to switch to the Chained CPI, which would cut annual cost-of-living increases for seniors and veterans on Social…
Walt Disney World and Darden Restaurants (which owns restaurant chains like Olive Garden and Red Lobster) both have happy-looking public faces regarding the health of the people they employ. But behind the scenes, they’re doing everything they can to deny people working in Florida the right to earn basic benefits like paid sick days on…
It hasn’t been a good week for working families in the Washington State Legislature. On Monday, the Senate passed an amended version of SB 5903, which will repeal the Family Leave Insurance system if a funding mechanism is not identified in 2014. The bill will create a taskforce of eight legislators to fund the system. If no…
If you follow this blog, you already know the Chained CPI – a proposed change to Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) – is really just backdoor attempt to cut Social Security benefits. A retiree who lived to age 85 would see a cumulative benefit cut of nearly $14,000. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that…
In 2011, the Washington State Legislature approved a bill that paved the way for public colleges and universities to start charging differential tuition: college degrees that cost more to confer, like engineering and business, would be subject to higher tuition than lower-cost degrees like history or English. Rep. Larry Seaqust, Chair of the House Higher Education Committee and sponsor of…
I like to consider myself a sensible guy – someone who can set aside my own self-interest to recognize other people’s need, concerns and desires – particularly when it comes to politics and public policy. But in this case, I’m really struggling to identify with America’s leading CEOs. The Business Roundtable represents 200 of our…
The Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) has published a brief on one of the proposed changes to Social Security under the “fiscal cliff†deal – this one known as the “Chained CPI.†The Chained CPI is a bit complex, but here’s the bottom line: it would cut benefits for Social Security recipients by shrinking…
The title of recent article in Bloomberg Businessweek says it all: Top 1% Got 93% of Income Growth as Rich-Poor Gap Widened. Much of this imbalance in income growth can be explained by looking at where the growth has happened. Big gains in the stock market have buoyed most indexes close to pre-recession levels, but…