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The Washington Research Council produces four podcasts: Policy Today (an in-depth look at one public policy issue), Common Ground (searching for bipartisan consensus & solutions in a politically polarized world), InFocus (covering a variety of issues) and 90 Seconds (a quick summary of one topic). The Washington Research Council is the state’s premier business-supported research organization. We provide timely, credible economic research and policy analysis supporting economic vitality and p ...
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Buying an affordable home is a serious challenge for people throughout the Puget Sound region. Joining us to discuss the impediments to increasing the housing supply is Nick Harper, Senior Director of Strategy & Policy for the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. Here's a statistic from Nick that really highlights the problem…
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In this episode we're joined by Dr. Rick Evans of the University of Chicago, an expert on open source macroeconomics, which aims to use the power of computational modeling to enhance economic research and public policy analysis. It's a fascinating discussion on a groundbreaking new field.To learn more about Dr. Evans, visit his website here: https:…
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Today we're talking with the Manufacturing Industrial Council's Executive Director, Dave Gering, about the manufacturing industry - and manufacturing jobs - in Seattle. Dave talks about the 106,000 industrial jobs in the city, and what the industry is doing to educate students with the skills they need to find employment. With many open positions a…
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Today's episode covers the new tax revenues in the recently passed K-12 education funding law, which the State of Washington hopes will fulfill its obligations in the Supreme Court's McCleary ruling.You can read our Special Report on the McCleary legislation here: https://researchcouncil.org/2017/08/17/new-special-report-has-the-state-finally-close…
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Today we're discussing the K-12 education funding bill passed by the state Legislature, in response to the state Supreme Court's McCleary ruling on basic education. In this episode we cover funding and policy changes; in the next episode we'll cover tax revenues.To read our Special Report on the McCleary bill, click here: https://researchcouncil.or…
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Today we're discussing the manufacturing tax relief bill recently vetoed by Gov. Inslee.You can read our Seattle Times op-ed on the manufacturing tax here: http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/lower-taxes-to-boost-manufacturing-jobs/Di Washington Research Council
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In today's podcast we talk about state revenue forecasts and how they affect the state budget.Di Washington Research Council
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The only constant in politics and economics today is change. From establishment-busting elections to upheaval in the workforce, the world is a much different place than it was just a few decades ago. Today's guest, Ian Toner, analyzes these changes for a living. Mr. Toner serves as Chief Investment Officer at Verus Investments, which offers researc…
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With proposals for implementing a state capital gains tax making the rounds in the Legislature, we discuss what a capital gains tax is, what the proposals are, and how they would affect Washington state.Click here for our recent analysis of the capital gains tax proposals: http://researchcouncil.org/2017/03/31/new-special-report-proposals-for-a-sta…
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Today we're discussing the differences between the state House and state Senate budget plans in the Washington Legislature. We've got a handy new Policy Brief with a bar graph and chart comparing the two. With a scheduled April 23 adjournment date looming, and the House proposing $1.5 Billion more in tax revenues than the Senate, it seems unlikely …
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When then-President Obama signed the bipartisan "Every Student Succeeds Act" into law in late 2015, it marked a significant change in federal education policy. The previous law, President George W. Bush's "No Child Left Behind," had grown increasingly controversial for what critics on both the left and right called excessive federal overreach into …
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In today's episode we discuss Washington state's less-than-stellar system for tax appeals, and how it could be improved. We recently wrote a report on making the state tax-appeals process more fair -- which could include the creation of a state tax court. Bipartisan legislation to do just that has been introduced in the state Legislature this year.…
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We're delighted to welcome state Rep. Drew Stokesbary (R-Auburn) to the podcast. As soon as we saw all the "Arrested Development" gifs populating his Twitter feed we knew he'd be the perfect guest. We sat down at the state Capitol in Olympia to chat about him being a younger member of the Legislature, how he got into politics and government and his…
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In this episode we discuss our recent Special Report, "Using Tax Policy to Promote Economic Vitality." Too often, adjustments to our state tax system are portrayed simply as "breaks" that give certain industries and/or companies special treatment. But as our report shows, these adjustments play a crucial role in keeping Washington competitive with …
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We're pleased to welcome state Rep. Brian Blake (D-Aberdeen), who took time out of his busy schedule during the legislative session to join our podcast. Rep. Blake represents the 19th Legislative District on Washington's southwest coast, a district whose counties have traditionally voted Democratic in presidential elections but last year largely we…
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In this episode we offer a brief overview of the four-year balanced budget requirement passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor in 2012.To read our Policy Brief on the requirement (from May 2012), click here: https://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2013/08/2012balancedbudget.pdfTo read our blog post (from April 2016) defending the four-y…
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The biggest job for the Washington state Legislature this year is public school funding for grades K through 12. Right now there are four major plans before lawmakers, all responding to the state Supreme Court's McCleary ruling, which found that the state is not fully funding basic education. We discuss all four plans in this episode.To read our Po…
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Today's guest is Saumil Pandya, Senior Director of Policy & Research at PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. We discuss the lengthy process of getting a drug to market; comparing the high prices of some drugs (such as those used to cure Hepatitis C) with the even higher prices of treatment, hospitalization and surgery; h…
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In this episode we briefly discuss basic education, which is at the heart of the state Supreme Court's McCleary ruling. In that ruling the court said the state is not fulfilling its constitutional "paramount duty" to fully provide for basic education in public schools.Di Washington Research Council
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In this 90 Seconds episode we briefly discuss the return of Initiative 1351, the voter-approved measure to reduce class sizes in grades K through 12. So far lawmakers have only funded K-3 class-size reductions, citing both budget concerns and research showing smaller class sizes have the most impact in grades K through 3.…
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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…
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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.pdfDi Washington Research Council
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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.Di Washington Research Council
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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 …
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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.pdfVisit our website here: …
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Common Ground: David Postman, Gov. Inslee's Chief of Staff
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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.…
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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 …
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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 analysi…
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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 …
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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 parti…
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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 …
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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…
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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 tra…
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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://researchcounc…
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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…
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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…
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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 candidate…
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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 imp…
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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…
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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.…
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As chair of the House Public Safety Committee, state Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland), has taken a collaborative approach to lawmaking, bringing everyone to the table to write legislation on a variety of issues including impaired driving and domestic violence. In this episode we explore his process which emphasizes problem-solving over partisanship.…
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State Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-Mercer Island) was one of the key players in getting the 2015 transportation revenue package across the finish line. It was a long, contentious process, but in this week's episode she explains how persistence paid off.Di Washington Research Council
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We're thrilled to be talking with legendary journalist, columnist and commentator Mort Kondracke about this truly bizarre presidential election cycle. Mr. Kondracke is offering a preview of his upcoming speech at the Washington Research Council's 84th Annual Dinner May 19 in Bellevue.Di Washington Research Council
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With the 2016 legislative session behind us, we're looking ahead to what's sure to be an intense session next year. At the top of the list is full state funding of K-12 basic education, per the state Supreme Court's McCleary ruling. We talk this and other big issues coming up in 2017.Di Washington Research Council
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The state legislature adjourned March 29 after lawmakers agreed on a compromise supplemental operating budget. We discuss what's in the budget, plus the ever-present issue of K-12 education funding and the McCleary case.Di Washington Research Council
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Today we're looking at the two supplemental budget proposals in the state Legislature, from the Democratic-controlled House and the Republican-controlled Senate.Di Washington Research Council
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Today we cover the state's preliminary economic forecast for February, as well as an interesting state Supreme Court ruling on a "community bill of rights" initiative in Spokane.Di Washington Research Council
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Democratic state Rep. Marcus Riccelli and Republican Rep. Hans Zeiger, members of the under-40 caucus in the Legislature, join us for a discussion on bipartisanship in Olympia.Di Washington Research Council
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In this episode we delve into Washington state's teacher shortage, as well as Gov. Jay Inslee's proposal to raise teacher and administrative and classified staff salaries and funding for new teacher mentoring.Di Washington Research Council
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InFocus: Minimum wage appeal, McCleary update, and the impact of rising hip & knee replacements
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In this episode we discuss minimum wage - as The Seattle Times reports, "[t]he International Franchise Association has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in its continuing fight against a part of Seattle’s $15 minimum-wage law the association says discriminates against franchise owners." Also the latest on McCleary, with legislation setting a timel…
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