Washington Research Council

In this 90 Seconds episode we briefly cover our recent report on Washington businesses' tax contributions to state and local governments, and our state's high rankings for the tax burdens it places on business. You can read the full report here: http://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2017/01/cost-tf_2017.pdf

In this 90 Seconds episode we give a quick summary of one of our recent reports, "The Economic Contribution of Washington State's Petroleum Refining Industry in 2015." You can read the report here: http://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2017/01/2016_refinery_report_010417.pdf

In this 90 Seconds episode we give you a quick update on where things stand on the McCleary decision, which requires the state to fully fund basic education, including highlights of proposals currently being considered by state lawmakers.

On today's InFocus podcast we're covering the latest news, including our new Policy Brief on business taxation in Washington state. Washington businesses pay 58 percent of state and local taxes, and have some of the highest tax burdens in the country. We also talk about the latest state budget outlook, and problems many school districts are facing with Washington's land-use law, the Growth Management Act. (Note: after we recorded this podcast, state Senate Republicans released their proposal for funding K-12 education. Here is The Seattle Times' article on it: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/state-senate-gop-releases-sweeping-schools-funding-plan/ And here is an article from The News Tribune of Tacoma: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/politics-government/article129141854.html)

On tap today is our new Special Report on Gov. Jay Inslee's proposed state budget for 2017-19. We go in depth on the governor's proposals for more than $4.7 billion in new spending and more than $4.3 billion in new and increased taxes. To read the report, click here: http://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2017/01/govop1719.pdf Visit our website here: http://researchcouncil.org/

Our last podcast of the year is in a pub, with special guest David Postman, Gov. Jay Inslee's chief of staff. We sit down over beers (and a Coke for Postman, who's on cold meds) at the delightful Hopvine Pub in Seattle to chat about Postman's career in journalism and now government, as well as what's in store for the upcoming legislative session.

Today's topic is the expanded state environmental regulations that, due to their arbitrary and excessive nature, threaten to send good-paying jobs - many of them union jobs - out of Washington state. We briefly discuss our recent Special Report on this topic ("The Expanded SEPA Has Reduced Regulatory Certainty in Washington"), then talk with Larry Brown, Legislative & Political Director of Aerospace Machinists Union District Lodge 751, about how the state's actions are negatively affecting union jobs. For more on our report, click here: http://researchcouncil.org/2016/10/24/special-report-expanded-state-environmental-regulations-have-negative-impacts-for-washington

This week Gov. Jay Inslee proposed a state operating budget for 2017-19. It would increase spending by $8.2 billion over the previous biennium - including $3.9 billion more for K-12 education - and raise taxes by $4.4 billion. His tax proposal includes a new capital gains tax. We delve into the details in this podcast. You can read our quick analysis of his budget proposal here: http://researchcouncil.org/2016/12/14/gov-inslee%E2%80%99s-proposed-budget-would-increase-spending-by-82-billion Our quick analysis of his education funding proposal is here: http://researchcouncil.org/2016/12/13/gov-inslee%E2%80%99s-education-proposal-would-increase-spending-by-39-billion-and-add-44-billion-in-new-taxes Our February 2015 Policy Brief on Gov. Inslee's previous capital gains tax proposal is here: https://researchcouncil.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/insleecapitalgainstaxfinal.pdf

New state revenue numbers are out, with good news for the state budget. However, there's still a big budget hole to fill in order to comply with the McCleary ruling, which requires full state funding of basic K-12 education by 2018. We also discuss new employment numbers, as well as the Obama administration overtime rule that's been suspended by a court order, and the latest on the City of Seattle's moves toward more restrictive regulations on employers. Here's a link to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics release on national employment numbers: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm Here's a link to Washington state's Monthly Employment Report from the state Employment Security Department: https://fortress.wa.gov/esd/employmentdata/docs/economic-reports/current-monthly-employment-report Here's the most recent Economic & Revenue Update from the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council: http://www.erfc.wa.gov/publications/documents/nov16.pdf Here's our blog post, Labor policy reprieve

Today's guest is Robert Merry, former CEO and editor-in-chief of Congressional Quarterly, and current contributing editor at The National Interest. Two years ago Robert wrote that Hillary Clinton "isn’t likely ever to become president of the United States." He didn't see a Trump presidency coming, but he has warned for years about the growing partisan deadlock and polarization in Washington, D.C., and believes Trump's election is a sign that voters have rejected the old political order. Robert offers some truly thoughtful insights into the current state of our political system, based on his many years as a journalist and editor covering Congress. Enjoy! (Also, apologies for the poor sound quality of this episode - our regular microphone gave out on us!) To read Robert Merry's prescient July 2014 op-ed, click here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jul/18/merry-handicaps-in/ To read his articles in The National Interest, click here: http://nationalinterest.org/archives/by/2246 To read about his life

It's finally here, people: Election Day 2016. We've got Seattle Times political reporter Jim Brunner (follow him on Twitter @Jim_Brunner) joining us at the top of the podcast to talk Washington state campaigns, as well as his recent interview with independent Republican presidential candidate Evan McMullin. Next, we ruminate on the campaign season that was, guess who's going to win (we both pick Hillary), and speculate how the new president - and Democrats and Republicans in Congress - will react. To listen to The Seattle Times' new podcast, The Overcast, click here: http://www.seattletimes.com/tag/the-overcast-politics-podcast/ Jim Brunner's story on Evan McMullin is here: http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/trump-alternative-mcmullin-says-longshot-campaign-helps-stoke-new-conservative-fire/

We're delighted to have as our guest Joel Connelly, longtime scribe for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (seattlepi.com). Joel regales us with tales from his career in journalism covering politics and environmental issues, plus his earlier days as a volunteer for Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential campaign and staffer for George McGovern in '72. Politics has certainly changed over the years: Joel notes that campaign fundraisers not only used to be open to the press, but they were bipartisan! This episode is longer than usual because there were just too many fascinating topics for us to cover. Enjoy! You can read Joel here: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/connelly/

Washington's apple industry alone accounts for 40,000 jobs in this state. Add to apples our state's other tree fruit crops - cherries, pears, peaches and the like - and you've got a major economic driver. In this episode we talk with the president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, Jon DeVaney, about the importance of international trade agreements to keeping the sector healthy and competitive. As Jon points out, trade agreements lead to predictable, consistent trade rules for Washington apples, one-third of which are exported overseas. For more information on the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, visit their website here: http://wstfa.org/

Today we're catching up on the McCleary court case and state efforts to fully fund public schools. We give an update on the latest filings with the state Supreme Court, as well as the actions of the Legislature's Education Funding Task Force. Here's a link to our blog post on the Attorney General's response to the Supreme Court: http://researchcouncil.org/2016/08/23/new-in-the-mccleary-case-the-ag-answers-the-supreme-courts-questions Here's a presentation by the superintendent of the Davenport School District on the funding challenges faced by small and rural school districts: https://app.leg.wa.gov/CMD/Handler.ashx?MethodName=getdocumentcontent&documentId=TFOVeYn4lWw&att=false Here are links to videos of past Education Funding Task Force meetings (the next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 6): April: http://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2016041037 May: http://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2016051027 June: http://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=2016061106 July: http://www.tvw.org/watch/?eventID=20160

This November Washington voters will decide the fate of Initiative 1433, which would raise the minimum wage to $13.50/hour statewide and mandate paid sick leave for all employees regardless of the employer's size. There are no exemptions for parts of the state that are less economically robust than the Puget Sound region. We discuss our new Special Report on I-1433, and the potential fallout if the initiative passes. To read the full report, click here: http://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2016/08/i1433.pdf

Our super-special guest this week is former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, who was kind enough to sit down with us and talk extensively about the 2016 presidential campaign and the state of American politics. Slade, who in June penned an op-ed for the Seattle Times ("Pray for a third-party candidate") blasting both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, covers a wide range of topics, including: the failure of the two parties in nominating "two of the least acceptable candidates in history;" increased partisanship in Congress to the point where neither party seems to represent the middle; why, and how, Republican debates should be reformed; his (dwindling) hope for a third-party candidate and why he'll vote Libertarian if no such candidate appears; and his suggestion to his former colleagues in the U.S. Senate to get rid of the filibuster rule for the sake of better government and collaboration. This episode is longer than usual because we just couldn't bring ourselves to cut short such a fascinating conversation. Enjoy!

Today's guest is Eric Schinfeld, president of the Washington Council on International Trade (WCIT). He joins us to talk about the importance of trade, and international trade agreements, to Washington state. It's an especially timely topic given the newly controversial role trade is playing in the current presidential election: Both major candidates oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (also known as TPP), a pending trade deal between the United States and 11 other nations. WCIT has joined up with the Association of Washington Business, our state's chamber of commerce, on a new study outlining the many and significant ways TPP would benefit Washington state. To read the study, click here: http://wcit.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/FINALTPPStudy2016.pdf For more info from WCIT on TPP, click here: http://wcit.org/tpp/

In this episode we discuss our new Special Report on the Growth Management Act (GMA), Washington state's comprehensive land-use law, which was fully enacted 25 years ago. Our report covers the GMA's history and chief components, focuses specifically on how the GMA has worked in two counties, Snohomish and Spokane, and offers recommendations for improving the act. In addition to our usual thorough research, we interviewed a variety of people who've had, and continue to have, experience with GMA - those who largely support the act, and those who are critical of it. Here's a link to our blog post on the report: http://researchcouncil.org/2016/07/06/new-special-report-the-growth-management-act-at-25-years And here's a link to the report itself: http://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2016/07/wrc_gma_report_july_6_2016_final_for_web.pdf

Today we're discussing a joint report recently published by the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution on poverty. Titled "Opportunity, Responsibility and Security: A Consensus Plan for Reducing Poverty and Restoring the American Dream," it seeks bipartisan policy solutions on the problem of poverty in the U.S. You can find the report here: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2015/12/aei-brookings-poverty-report/full-report.pdf You can watch a video of a panel discussion on the report here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bShYvQhlbQM

The Washington Research Council is out with a comprehensive report on K-12 education funding in Washington and the state Supreme Court's McCleary ruling, which mandates full state funding of basic education by 2018. In this episode we discuss the report, what the Legislature's done so far and what it still has left to do.