Tax hikes marketed as temporary often never expire. Local officials are now doubling a transportation sales tax, extending it for another decade to fund city bus operations. Know where your money is actually going. #waleg #taxes #seattle

The Paid Family and Medical Leave will rise to 1.2% of gross wages in 2027. This is triple the program's starting rate from 2019, and a 6.2% increase from last year. It is now at the statutory cap - one that lawmakers say they want to bust. washingtonpolicy.org/publica…

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced a new strategy regarding homelessness. WPC's Director of Public Safety Solutions Eric Zimmerman addressed the plan: "The mayor's plan invokes Houston and Denver, places where outdoor camping is banned. Possession of hard drugs is a felony in Texas and Colorado has a felony track for repeat possession. Without enforced separation from drug-use and prohibition of the encampments where drug-dealing and drug deaths often occur, Seattle's new strategy will cost lives, whether in a tent or in a LEAD apartment. I picture the parents worried for their slow-dying child, hearing yet another empty Seattle announcement with heartbreak." wilson.seattle.gov/2026/10/2…

Whether Washington should have a state income tax is ultimately a decision for voters, but regardless of how anyone plans to vote, these claims deserve an immediate reality check. washingtonpolicy.org/publica…

Even if Washington state’s income tax never expands to lower incomes (breaking all historic precedent of income taxes in the country), new analysis warns of costs for workers as the law exists today: fewer jobs, less investment and fewer new employers. washingtonpolicy.org/publica…

Since Washington's spending limit went away, legislators have blown state spending well beyond tax, population, and inflation growth. In fact, Washington's spending has increased more than 140 percent over the last 12 years. Help us send a message to your legislators and the governor that Olympia needs budget discipline, and the only way this will reasonably occur is through a spending limit. Click the link to directly contact your representatives: washingtonpolicy.org/takeact…

It is ironic to hear leaders complain about budget shortfalls while their policies actively drive jobs and investment out of the state. If revenue is the priority, why use tax dollars to promote growth while simultaneously stifling it? #waleg #wataxes #washingtontax

Travis Reep provides an example of how a union’s endorsement can differ from the views of its own members. Reep is a fifth-grade teacher in Thurston County. He is a father of four, an elected local union representative and a WEA member. He is speaking out in support of I-001, despite WEA’s opposition. Union political advocacy can draw on dues and include communications urging members to support particular positions. For this reason, and many others, it’s important that public employees understand that union membership is voluntary. No one should be forced to support politicking with which he or she disagrees. washingtonpolicy.org/publica…

The November ballot will give Seattle the opportunity to vote on a proposal to double the city’s existing .15% sales tax for Metro to .3%. That tax is on top of the .9% sales tax Metro already collects county-wide. If approved, the higher tax will be in effect for ten years and generate about $138 million per year. Before casting a vote, residents would be well advised to consider facts that weren’t discussed by the City Council as they were putting the proposal together. washingtonpolicy.org/publica…

Tough questions and an honest discussion. Watch our interview with Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Ben Shuldiner! youtube.com/watch?v=iUbS9kgI…

The remarkable function of price signals is that they capture complexity that is difficult to understand from the outside. The problem with that opacity is that it allows politicians to fill the gap of information with demagoguery. Still, we can see that the CO2 prices have driven up the cost of gas directly in Washington by comparing our prices with neighboring states. washingtonpolicy.org/publica…

Our state's revenue has increased every year. Our spending has outpaced that. And yet, neither has produced better results. #waleg #washington #incometax #washingtonincometax

Tonight! Hear debates on the initiatives appearing on your ballots. WPC's Dr. Vicki Murray will be a participant. Registration is available at eventbrite.com/e/a-time-for-…

They wasted your taxes, cut Medicaid, and now want more of your money. #waleg #washington #incometax #waincometax