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Articles by Don Brunell
Tourism too important to let wither due to budget cuts | Don Brunell
Tourism too important to let wither due to...
By Don Brunell • February 22, 2011 8:08 pm

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. That’s particularly true in these tough economic times, as “business and usual” no longer works.
As governors and state lawmakers across our nation deal with record budget deficits, tourism promotion is being slashed. Many in the travel industry realize that if colorful travel brochures and television commercials are to continue, they will have to be privately funded.

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Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business.
Private sector stepping up for tourism | Don...
By Don Brunell • February 13, 2011 6:50 pm

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. That’s particularly true in these tough economic times, as “business and usual” no longer works.

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Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business.
Time to think about renewable energy policy |...
By Don Brunell • February 8, 2011 9:12 pm

In his state of the union address, President Barack Obama stated he wants 80 percent of our electricity to come from “clean sources” by 2035.

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Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business.
Fixing Washington’s pension problems | Don Brunell
By Don Brunell • January 30, 2011 12:21 pm

You see a lot in the news these days about public employee pension costs pushing cities and states to the brink of bankruptcy.
Private sector employers confronted the same crisis years ago and are still struggling with it today.

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Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business.
Paychecks beat unemployment checks | Don Brunell
By Don Brunell • January 23, 2011 9:55 pm

The hardest thing an employer has to do is to call someone into the office and tell them the business isn’t making enough money to keep them on.

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Legislature must reform workers’ compensation system | Don Brunell
Legislature must reform workers’ compensation system | Don...
By Don Brunell • January 16, 2011 9:47 pm

State Auditor Brian Sonntag reports that our workers’ compensation system is unsustainable ― that huge premium increases are needed to keep the program solvent. But those increases, which must be paid mainly by employers, will cripple our ability to recover from the recession.

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Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business.
California is bleeding manufacturing jobs and Washington may...
By Don Brunell • January 9, 2011 10:39 pm

State lawmakers convening in Olympia are looking under every pebble for new money. They must write a budget with as much as 20 percent less tax revenue.

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Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business.
Global competition the new certainty | Don Brunell
By Don Brunell • January 2, 2011 8:29 pm

Remember the old saying: The only things certain in life are death and taxes? You need to add global competition to that list.

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Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business.
U.S. innovation the answer to safer oil production...
By Don Brunell • December 19, 2010 1:32 am

President Obama’s most recent drilling moratorium along the East Coast and in parts of the Gulf of Mexico may have…

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Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business.
A bitter pill to swallow is only cure...
By Don Brunell • December 14, 2010 9:13 pm

Both Washingtons are in a financial bind. In our nation’s capital, President Obama and Congress are running trillion-dollar budget deficits and our national debt will soon exceed $14 trillion.
How much is that? To pay back $14 trillion, you’d have to spend $1 each second for the next 448,000 years.

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The pros and cons of electric cars | Don Brunell
The pros and cons of electric cars |...
By Don Brunell • December 7, 2010 10:13 pm

Electric cars are the new wave in automobile technology. Many see them as the way to cut greenhouse gas emissions…

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Washington’s workers’ compensation at a crossroads | Don Brunell
Washington’s workers’ compensation at a crossroads | Don...
By Don Brunell • November 29, 2010 6:28 pm

Even though voters rejected Initiative 1082, which would have allowed private insurers to write workers’ compensation insurance in our state, the need to reform the system has become even greater. It has become too costly for employers and too cumbersome for injured workers, and in 2011, rates will increase an average of 12 percent.

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Neighbor helping neighbor is the spirit we need today | Don Brunell
Neighbor helping neighbor is the spirit we need...
By Don Brunell • November 26, 2010 11:20 pm

For too many Americans, the last three Thanksgivings have been pretty lean. Our nation is suffering from the longest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Particularly

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Return of the sockeye and the legacy of Lonesome Larry | Don Brunell
Return of the sockeye and the legacy of...
By Don Brunell • November 16, 2010 9:22 pm

In 1992, a single male sockeye salmon managed to swim 900 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River to Redfish Lake in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, the end of his migratory journey. Biologists dubbed him “Lonesome Larry.”

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A loud and clear message sent on Election Day | Don Brunell
A loud and clear message sent on Election...
By Don Brunell • November 7, 2010 3:28 pm

Over the last month, France has been wracked by a series of protests and strikes that threaten the nation’s economy. Angry mobs set fires and battled with police as strikes shut down the country’s rail system, buses, oil refineries, ports and garbage collection.

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State income tax never a good idea | Don Brunell
State income tax never a good idea |...
By Don Brunell • October 26, 2010 1:53 pm

The question Washington voters should ask themselves before voting on a state income tax this fall is, “Will we be better off with an income tax?” Judging from experience, the answer is, “No.”
Initiative 1098 would impose a 5 percent income tax on individual income over $200,000 and $400,000 for a couple. In addition, the measure would reduce some business-and-occupation taxes for small businesses and reduce property taxes by about 4 percent.
That might sound reasonable to some, but experience tells us that a state income tax is a bad idea.
First, economists agree that it’s never a good idea to raise taxes in a recession. Increasing the tax burden on small employers – many of whom file taxes as individuals – makes it harder for them to add or retain employees.

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Still time to avoid a national health-care train wreck | Don Brunell
Still time to avoid a national health-care train...
By Don Brunell • October 21, 2010 10:11 pm

Portions of the new national health-reform law are just now going into effect, but the impact is already being felt. Insurers are warning of higher premiums and some companies say the law will force them to eliminate employee health insurance coverage.

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Next election to decide government by the people or government by regulation | Don Brunell
Next election to decide government by the people...
By Don Brunell • October 5, 2010 10:38 pm

Our founding fathers envisioned a government by the people. In fact, in his Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln concluded with the words, “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
In the last few years, we’ve forgotten Lincoln’s words. We now have government by regulation and it is paralyzing our nation.

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America should take a cue from Cuba  | Dn Brunell
America should take a cue from Cuba |...
By Don Brunell • September 30, 2010 4:24 pm

In the classic children’s story, “Alice in Wonderland,” a little girl falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a strange world where everything is upside down, where all the rules have changed and peculiar people do inexplicable things.

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Hidden taxes are killing us | Don Brunell
Hidden taxes are killing us | Don Brunell
By Don Brunell • September 28, 2010 7:20 pm

President Obama and congressional candidates are tripping over themselves trying to convince voters that they will have a tax plan to soak the rich, help the middle class and jump-start small business.
They want to entice people to spend what money they have and sway wary investors to shake loose with the $13 trillion currently tucked away waiting for more certain economic and political times.

Read Story

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  • What fighting for access to reproductive healthcare looks like in 2023
  • Man with IEDs said neighbors tried to ‘microwave’ him | Podcast
  • Magic at the Washington State Supreme Court | Cartoon by Frank Shiers
  • Mariners unveil new ballpark eats for 2023 season
  • Skilled worker shortage could derail electrification goals | Brunell

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