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Analysis: Income Tax Initiative Will Transform 2010 Midterm Election, Hurt Republicans
Just as health care reform will dominate the 2010 national mid-term elections, the income tax will dominate Washington state’s election this year. All other issues will be sideshows. The culture wars no longer dominate American politics. Neither Christian conservatives nor multicultural liberals can win elections merely with their stands on issues
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Op-Ed: States Need to Drop the Budget Ax
By Karen Kraut In the most shocking cut yet seen in the nationwide state budget cutting frenzy, 38,000 poor children in Arizona no longer have health insurance. Arizona policymakers eliminated the State Children’s Health Insurance Program–a first for any state–as a budget gap closing measure. Like
Op-Ed: What Right-Wing Backlash?
Are Washington Democrats facing a voter backlash this November? If all you consider is the conventional wisdom emerging from Olympia in recent weeks, the answer is “yes.” The argument goes like this: by repealing I-960, which required a 2/3 vote of both houses of the Legislature to approve
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Op-Ed: Are State Democrats Pre-Empting a Backlash in 2010 by Self-Destructing Instead?
Does the Democratic Party in Washington state have a death-wish? Would it rather self-destruct now than stand up to a Republican challenge later? Otherwise, I can’t make sense of what is going on in Olympia right now. Handed a super-majority in the state’s House and Senate by voters in 2008,
Analysis: Health Care Reform is Key to Preserving 2008 Democrat Coalition
The biggest news about Washington state’s budget isn’t happening in Olympia this session. It’s happening in Washington, D.C.. The passage of the U.S. Senate’s health care reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday, March, 21, 2010 may not solve the budget crisis in Washington
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Analysis: How Soft Drink Lobby’s Victory in WA Matters to National Soda Tax Debate
[Editor's Note: Since this news analysis piece was written, the Washington state legislature adopted a 2 cent per 12oz tax on sugar sweetened beverages that will last from 2010-12 unless repealed. The tax was inserted without a hearing during the legislature's special session in April, 2010 and signed
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Op-Ed: Senate Bill Would Likely Harm, Not Help, Campaign for Income Tax in Washington
The state Senate’s bill to put an income tax on the ballot in 2010, SB 6250, is ill-conceived and badly timed, and would struggle at the polls because of its less than immaculate conception. It would be far better to let income tax
Op-Ed: Legislature Should Debate Education Funding, Avoid Race to Top Pressure to Revisit Charter Schools
Although Washington State voters have rejected charter schools on three different occasions, the issue will return to the state’s political agenda anyway, thanks to the budget crisis and the policies of the US Department of Education. As Margie Slovan reported
Myths and Facts About An Income Tax in Washington State
Pro vs. anti-tax hysteria has poisoned the debate over an income tax. Here is a list of the most common myths about the income tax in Washington state, debunked for those who feel like having a real argument instead of a shouting match. Myth: The income tax is illegal In Washington state Fact: There
Op-Ed: Time to Adopt Better System for Funding Higher Education
by Teresa Totorica, Research Assistant at Washington Policy Center A few weeks ago, nearly 400 students rallied at the state capital to support Washington’s higher education institutions. With a passionate campaign to end any further budget cuts and
