Our country may be struggling to compete economically with China, India and other rapidly-developing nations, but when disaster strikes, America still leads the world in caring.
Lawmakers gathered in Olympia for the 2010 legislative session can either set our state up for long-term prosperity or put off the tough budget decisions until 2011 when it will be even more difficult to solve our financial problems.
Some state lawmakers plan to hit petroleum producers with more than $1.2 billion in new costs over the next decade to pay for new water pollution programs. If refiners are forced to absorb those extra costs, they will become job killers right in the middle of a recession.
Taxes are powerful tools that change behavior. Low taxes encourage, high taxes discourage.
For example, charities and nonprofit groups are alarmed by President Obama’s proposal to reduce tax deductions for charitable contributions by the wealthy. The charities say they could lose billions in donations.
As part of its health-reform package, the U.S. Senate wants to expand access to the nearly bankrupt Medicare program. Currently limited to seniors over 65, the proposal would allow people 55-64 to purchase Medicare coverage.
In our state, the governor must submit a balanced budget to the Legislature. That means government spending must equal tax collections. Unlike Congress, we cannot borrow or print money.
As the debate rages over the causes and consequences of global warming, one impact is certain: Global warming is about to create an avalanche of lawsuits against the federal government and private industry.
It is a classic case of “good news, bad news.”
The good news is that, as Thanksgiving approaches, there are hopeful signs that our economy, investments and 401k retirement funds are starting to rebound. Heading into a day when we traditionally give thanks for our blessings, people do not appear in as much of a panic over job losses as they did a year ago.
Now that voters have rejected I-1033, the spending limit initiative, the talk in Olympia has turned to raising taxes.
Two studies recently confirmed what most people in Washington already know: Our state is a hotbed for green energy innovation, conservation and job creation.
Two studies recently confirmed what most people in Washington already know: Our state is a hotbed for green energy innovation,…
As federal lawmakers scramble to create jobs in the face of record unemployment, Washington may have a hometown advantage: our high tech sector, specifically information technology or IT. That includes computers, software design and development, as well as the myriad manufacturing and service industries that support the IT sector.
Some prominent economists tell us we are starting to come out of the worst recession since the Great Depression, but many worry the uptick won’t last.
If all goes as planned, Vancouver teacher-astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger will be on board Space Shuttle Discovery when it lifts off next March 10. It may be the last time she flies in space because the current shuttle flights end in 2010. The replacement orbiter, the Constellation, may not fly until 2014 at the earliest.
Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has proposed an average 7.6 percent increase in workers’ compensation premiums for 2010. The insurance, funded mostly by employers, pays for medical care, pensions and lost wages for injured workers.
Even though the plan to manage the Columbia and Snake rivers continues in flux, things are improving for the fish and people who depend on the two waterways.
On the fish side, salmon and steelhead are returning to the two rivers in record numbers.
When President Obama addressed Congress and the nation on the need for health-care reform, he brushed off medical malpractice lawsuit abuse with a cursory acknowledgment of the problem.
People have a lot of questions about the proposed federal health care reforms. But the most important question we should ask – perhaps the only one – is will “ObamaCare” work?
When Congress reconvenes next month, lawmakers will consider costly climate change legislation that includes a massive tree planting program. The plan, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, calls for reforesting 18 million acres of farmland, an area about the size of West Virginia.
California was once the land of opportunity. Since 1848 when John Marshall discovered gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills, people have flocked to the Golden State for jobs, sunshine and opportunity.
