In this episode, Lew Moore, Kriss Sjoblom, and Emily Makings talk about the recent revenue collections report, the December employment report, and the port slowdown.

Policy Today - Current Events 1/26/15

Policy Today - Capital Gains Tax 2/2/15

In Focus 2/2/15

In Focus 2/9/15

Policy Today - Minimum Wage 2/9/15

Policy Today - Transportation Package 2/16/15

In Focus - WRC Podast 2-16-15 from In Focus by Washington Research Council. Released: 2015. 

In Focus 2/16/15

Policy Today - Carbon Taxation 2/23/15

In Focus 3/4/15

Policy Today - Paid Sick Leave 3/2/15

In Focus 3/12/15 from In Focus by Washington Research Council. Released: 2015

In Focus - 3/12/15

Policy Today - Interview With Economist Rick Evans

Employment and tax collections are up; New worker’s comp rules?; Measuring income inequality

In Focus: Employment and tax collections; New worker’s comp rules?; Measuring income inequality

Employment numbers up
Unemployment claims down
Seattle franchisees lose minimum wage ruling
WRC Annual Dinner May 28th

 

In Focus this week: Employment, Franchisees, and WRC Annual Dinner

In Focus: Exchange enrollment, wage inequality, and tipping

Policy Today: House Appropriations Chair's 2015-17 Budget Proposal

PolicyToday: A look at the special session

Policy Today: Happiness and Incumbency

We're covering the recent NLRB ruling that modifies the definition of what an employer is, turmoil in the stock market, and The Tax Foundation and KPMG's comprehensive analysis of business costs in all 50 states.

InFocus: NLRB ruling, stock market, and state business tax rankings

A new Opportunity study - measuring how states perform on education, economic vitality and transportation - ranks Washington right in the middle. We've definitely got room for improvement. In this episode, we gather Kris Johnson of the Association of Washington Business, Steve Mullin of the Washington Roundtable, and our own Lew Moore of the Washington Research Council, to discuss the rankings and how to make Washington better.

PolicyToday: Where does Washington rank on education, economy and transportation?

In this episode we're discussing a charter-school contretemps in Los Angeles, the latest state revenue and employment reports, and the value of Washington agriculture.

InFocus: LA's experience with charter schools, revenue & employment reports, WA ag value

This week we're talking next steps after passage of Initiative 1366, the latest state revenue collections report, and Rob McKenna's defense of the Common Core education standards.

InFocus: Fallout from I-1366, state revenue collections, Common Core

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

Common Ground: A bipartisan approach to poverty

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


Policy Today: The Growth Management Act at 25 Years

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!

Here's the link to Slade's Seattle Times op-ed: http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/pray-for-a-third-party-candidate/

Common Ground: Slade Gorton on the Presidential Race & Failure of the Two Parties

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/

Policy Today: Trade agreements & Washington's tree fruit industry (including apples)

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; how the prescription drug industry interacts with Medicaid; and the price-reducing effects of drugs going off-patent and being available in generic form.

Here are links to some of the studies and reports mentioned in this podcast:

Washington Research Council report on "How Medicaid and Prescription Drug Spending Impact the State Budget:" http://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2016/11/hca2016.pdf

Tufts study on the average cost to develop and gain marketing approval for a new drug (summary): http://csdd.tufts.edu/news/complete_story/tufts_csdd_rd_cost_study_now_published

Berkeley Research Group study on "The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain:" http://www.thinkbrg.com/assets/htmldocuments/Vandervelde_PhRMA-January-2017_WEB-FINAL.pdf

Health Affairs Study, "Medication Adherence Leads To Lower Health Care Use And Costs Despite Increased Drug Spending:" http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/30/1/91.full.pdf+html

Policy Today: All About Prescription Drug Prices

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 lawmakers will complete their business in the regular session; a "special" session appears likely.

To read our policy brief comparing the House and Senate budget plans, click here: http://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2017/04/opsidebyside.pdf

Policy Today: Comparing the House & Senate budget plans

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-state-capital-gains-tax

Policy Today: A new capital gains tax for Washington state?

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 research-driven advice to its clients (who include  educational and charitable organizations, corporate, multi-employer and public defined benefit plans, hospitals and insurance providers) on more than $330 billion in assets. Mr. Toner, who will be the Guest Speaker at our upcoming Annual Dinner in Bellevue this May 23, gives his thoughts on the recent American and French elections, Brexit, the future of trade agreements, and more.

For more information on our Annual Dinner, where Mr. Toner will be Guest Speaker, click here: https://researchcouncil.org/2017/04/05/wrc-annual-dinner-may-23-in-bellevue

Policy Today: Making Sense of Political, Economic Upheaval

In today's podcast we talk about state revenue forecasts and how they affect the state budget.

Policy Today: State Revenue Forecasts & the State Budget

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/

Policy Today: Manufacturing Tax Policy

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.org/2017/08/17/new-special-report-has-the-state-finally-closed-the-book-on-mccleary

Policy Today: McCleary Part 1 - Policy and Funding

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-closed-the-book-on-mccleary

Policy Today: McCleary Part 2 - Tax Revenues

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 and employers having to import skilled workers from out of state, there are plenty of job opportunities in this robust sector of the local economy.

You can also read our Special Report on manufacturing, the first in a series, here: https://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2017/09/manufacturingjobspart1final.pdf

Policy Today: Seattle's surprisingly robust manufacturing industry

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://sites.google.com/site/rickecon/

For information about the University of Chicago's new Becker Friedman Institute Open Source Macroeconomics Laboratory, click here: http://bfi.uchicago.edu/osm

Policy Today: Dr. Rick Evans on using computer science to improve economics

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: Over the last five years on average, the city of Seattle has grown by 50 people a day, 35 jobs a day, but only 11 living units a day. And that imbalance can be extrapolated to the whole Puget Sound region.

You can read our Special Report on the state's Growth Management Act, which covers problems with housing affordability, here: https://researchcouncil.org/files/docs/2016/07/wrc_gma_report_july_6_2016_final_for_web.pdf

Policy Today: Housing affordability in the Puget Sound

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 private-sector job creation, and examine how public policy issues will affect business, government and the community. For more information go to researchcouncil.org.

Washington Research Council

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