It is easy to get discouraged by the actions of the US Supreme Court in their continued five-to-four assaults on women, immigrants, workers, and consumers. With the next Trumpian Supreme Court nominee, we can only expect that things will get worse.

But if we focus on DC, we miss the opportunities in our own backyard. While we are relatively helpless in influencing Supreme Court decisions, we can be quite powerful in building economic security for all in Washington State. Today our policy director, Marilyn Watkins, received the Seattle CityClub’s Civic Leadership Award to honor her leadership of EOI’s efforts for universal paid family and medical leave insurance in our state.

The Legislature passed this groundbreaking law in 2017. That followed up the citizens’ initiative in 2016 that put paid sick days in place across our state and raised the minimum wage. This year, the Washington Work and Family Coalition succeeded in prompting the Legislature to pass a law for gender wage equity. This went into force June 7.

Our work for progressive taxation marches forward along the legal pathway to the state Supreme Court, enabling that court the ability to review and reverse their perverse ruling on taxation from 1935.

So rather than watch CNN or MSNBC (or Fox!), perhaps it is better to turn those TVs off and focus on what is possible at the state and local level. Because no matter what hatred is propagated in DC, we can build a truly shared and good quality of life for all of us here in Washington State. Let’s do that.