Pressure on the state budget seems to be coming from every direction. The Washington State Supreme Court has ordered Washington to fully fund K-12 education, a total that is estimated to cost at least $2 billion per two-year budget cycle.…
Pressure on the state budget seems to be coming from every direction. The Washington State Supreme Court has ordered Washington to fully fund K-12 education, a total that is estimated to cost at least $2 billion per two-year budget cycle.…
Now that the Legislature is back at work, they have to find the revenues for K-12 education, for higher education, for foster kids, for the mentally ill, for the state patrol, for home care workers and early childhood teachers and…
Last week, while most of us were madly preparing for the holidays, Governor Inslee proposed a Washington state budget for the next two years. Adopting a budget will be the main task of our legislature when it convenes the second…
In a controversial deal to keep aerospace jobs in Washington State, The Boeing Company was awarded the largest corporate tax break in the history of the United States. The law, signed last year, extends a B&O tax cut for the…
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…
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…
Even during economic upswings, the number of Washingtonians without health insurance just keeps climbing as businesses reduce coverage. In 2002, three out of four Washington employers offered health coverage to full-time employees; as of 2010, only just over half were…
From the Everett Herald | By John Burbank There’s no other way to say it: Health coverage for new employees is dismal in Washington. Barely half of Washington employers actually offer health coverage to full-time employees. Then there is the…
02/14/12 4:10 p.m. This post edited to clarify the distinction between the state “general fund” and “operating budget”. Policy issues like marriage equality, paid sick days and the minimum wage have dominated the news from Olympia so far – but…
Excerpted from Washington State Budget 101: Most states have an income tax that makes their tax system more equitable across all incomes and better ensures public revenues keep up with population and economic growth. That means other states have been…
