What does it take for a family to make ends meet in Washington state today?

The “poverty level”, as most people know it, is the income line below which a person or family is living in serious economic deprivation. But recognizing is what does a family need to live a modest, secure life – and how does that vary by where you live? Listen to the discussion on KUOW’s Weekday…

New interactive state budget tool a boon for Washington’s citizens, journalists, students

With state legislators still at an impasse over Washington’s budget, we’re unveiling a new interactive research tool that allows citizens, journalists, and students to easily examine how public dollars are being spent, and assess the impact of this year’s budget proposals on public schools and universities, hospitals, prisons, courts, health care, and other critical state…

10 companies in the Fortune 500 with lower income tax rates than the average American family

A new report from Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) illustrates how profitable Fortune 500 companies in a range of sectors of the U.S. economy have been remarkably successful in manipulating the tax system to avoid paying even a dime of tax on billions of dollars in profits. As a group, the ten companies paid no…

Governor’s budget proposal is a step in the right direction – but does not go far enough

by Marilyn Watkins Our state budget is one of the main ways elected leaders make decisions on our behalf about the future our children and our state will have. Will we continue to underfund education and overcrowd classrooms, or provide adequate resources so kids in every zip code have access to high quality schools? Well,…

Bad math: Corporate lobbyists, conservative think tanks hawk snake-oil economics for WA

Economist Arthur Laffer is touted as a go-to source of wisdom by conservative think tanks and corporate lobby groups in Washington state like the Washington Policy Center, Evergreen Freedom Foundation, National Federation of Independent Businesses, and Association of Washington Business. But a recent report shows Laffer’s economic prescriptions are more likely to hurt than heal…

Bad math: Corporate lobbyists, conservative think tanks hawk snake-oil economics for WA

Economist Arthur Laffer is touted as a go-to source of wisdom by conservative think tanks and corporate lobby groups in Washington state like the Washington Policy Center, Evergreen Freedom Foundation, National Federation of Independent Businesses, and Association of Washington Business. But a recent report shows Laffer’s economic prescriptions are more likely to hurt than heal…

WA Senate conservatives attack working families, vote to weaken Seattle’s sick days law

The attack on Washington’s families and middle class by Senate Republicans and “Road-Kill” Democrats continued in full force yesterday. Conservative senators passed SB 5726, which waters down Seattle’s sick and safe leave ordinance and restricts similar laws that might be passed by other Washington cities in the future. Who would lose the right to earn…

$1 Billion in Progressive Annual Revenue: Take Back the Giveaways

The purpose of the above document is to outline a series of revenue proposals worth half of the $2 billion legislators will seek to save/raise/cut in the upcoming special session.  As you can see, the proposals include both tax increases on the well-to-do, and elimination of tax exemptions that, again, favor the well-to-do. EOI doesn’t…