Done by Weekend?

Comparisons of the 1977 Seattle electorate with today’s electorate offer other reasons why the ground game is out of favor in Seattle’s municipal elections. The electoral pickings at the door in 1977 were much greater than they are today.

On Wednesday the Employment Security Department announced that Washington’s average annual wage was $51,595 in 2012. That’s up from $49,894 in 2011. Both unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation benefits are calculated using the average annual wage.

The following open letter to the State Legislature opposing SB 5127, the Republican-controlled Senate bill that would expand lump-sum settlements in Washington’s workers’ compensation system, was co-signed by dozens of labor organizations, community groups and individual advocates for injured workers and their families.

Importantly, the Senate invests $322 million less than the House, but both budgets lack the necessary revenue to give Washington’s economy, children, families, and businesses the opportunities they need to thrive.

The House version would spend $322.2 million more than the Senate in terms of near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways.

Surprisingly, refiners in high-tax California fare better than their Washington counterparts. In fact, the Washington Research Council found that the tax burden in Washington is more than four times the burden in California.

In the short-run, some of the Senate’s proposed tax breaks may or may not encourage economic activity. But it’s important to remember that low taxation in itself doesn’t fuel economic growth. A favorable business climate requires more, including an educated workforce, critical infrastructure, and a healthy populous.

We need Social Security more than ever today. Half of private sector workers work for employers who don’t have any retirement plans. Only three percent of workers in the private sector have a defined benefit pension. A typical worker between the ages of 55 and 64 with a deferred contribution account has $40,000 in that account. That’s good for a monthly payment of about $280!

The House Democrats’ have released a new proposal, which Rep. Pat Sullivan called a “substantial compromise.” The proposal would increase near general fund-state plus opportunity pathways spending by $2.453 billion over 2011-13 and leave $606 million in reserves.

Today’s proposal is a sharp departure from the budget that was originally proposed by the House. The new proposal invests over $800 million less in public priorities, falling far short of what Washingtonians truly need to prosper. The proposal fails to extend a 0.3 percentage-point B&O surcharge applied to business services ($534 million) and fails to extend a surcharge on breweries and other beer distributors ($58 million).

The Association of Washington Business has always said that tax incentives should be periodically reviewed to see what works, and our state has established a process to do just that. However, blindly targeting business tax incentives just to get some quick cash is irresponsible and shortsighted. Bottom line: This is not the time to eliminate tax exemptions and make it more expensive to do business in Washington.

Legislators were unable to come to agreement on a state budget, which resulted in Governor Inslee calling a “special” session that will stretch into mid-June. The Sierra Club has been hard at work throughout, defending against a number of bills which would have dismantled state water laws as well as promoting legislation to reduce climate impacts. Here is a brief overview of our work thus far.

Right now, two out of every five workers in Tacoma lack the ability to take time off work to care for their own or their families’ health needs or to get a protection order if they are in a domestic violence situation. The Healthy Tacoma Coalition is holding its kick-off event Thursday, May 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the main hall of the IBEW Local 76 building, 3049 S. 36th St. in Tacoma.