Economic Opportunity Institute

Publications

• How Can We Close The Retirement Savings Gap? Lessons from Oregon as Washington’s leaders consider next steps

  • October 3, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Aaron Keating
  Budges and Taxes

• Taxing the Wealthy is Good for Tech Workers: If you’re worried about paying the wealth tax, don’t be

  • September 3, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  Budges and Taxes Income Inequality

• How Washington’s Paid Leave Benefits Queer and BIPOC Families

  • June 5, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave Worker, Racial, and Gender Justice

• Report: First Findings from the Legislature’s Wealth Tax Study

  • May 24, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Carolyn Brotherton
  Budges and Taxes

• I-2111: The Income Tax Ban Is A Spectacle, but One We Can’t Ignore

  • March 20, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  Budges and Taxes

• Washington’s Women Are More Protected This Equal Pay Day

  • March 12, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Gabriel Quintana
  Worker, Racial, and Gender Justice

• What is REET and Why Do We Need to Reform It?

  • February 2, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  Housing

• Report: Washington no longer has the most regressive tax structure in the nation

  • January 23, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  Budges and Taxes Income Inequality

• Which Costs More: Shoplifting or Wage Theft? The Answer Might Surprise You

  • January 17, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Emnet Getahun
  Wage Theft Wages, Labor Standards, and Job Quality

• Fact Sheet: Making Paid Sick Days Work For More Washington Families

  • January 8, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Gabriel Quintana
  Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave Worker, Racial, and Gender Justice

• 2024 Legislative Agenda

  • January 1, 2024
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  Budges and Taxes Jobs

• Family is Family, Chosen or Otherwise

  • November 21, 2023
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Gabriel Quintana
  Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave

• eff Bezos is Leaving Seattle – So What? What can we really learn about taxes, wealth, and policy from the behavior of one person?

  • November 9, 2023
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Carolyn Brotherton
  Budges and Taxes Income Inequality

• How Can We Close The Retirement Savings Gap?

  • October 31, 2023
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Aaron Keating
  Income Inequality

• LGBTQ+ History Month: Celebrating the Legacy of Queer Labor Organizing The queer community has always been an economic powerhouse – in unions, they found equity and recognition

  • October 26, 2023
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Hanna Brooks Olsen
  Unions and Worker Power Wages, Labor Standards, and Job Quality

• Who Benefits from a Wealth Tax? In Washington, it’s Everyone Many Washington counties don’t have a single resident who would pay a wealth tax – but they would benefit

  • October 20, 2023
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Carolyn Brotherton
  Budges and Taxes Income Inequality

• A Love Letter to My Country Roots – and Why We Need Urgent Solutions to Improve Rural Health Care

  • October 5, 2023
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Sam Hatzenbeler
  Healthcare

• This Washington Shows That Washington: Proposed Federal Overtime Protections Can Go Further

  • September 6, 2023
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  Overtime Wages

• Is the Wealth Tax Just a Washington Thing? Multiple states are also fighting to tax the ultra-wealthy. Why now?

  • August 24, 2023
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Carolyn Brotherton
  Budges and Taxes Income Inequality

• Why We Should Stop Worrying About Wealth Flight

  • July 5, 2023
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Carolyn Brotherton
  Budges and Taxes Income Inequality

• Time Is Money, Unless You’re Salaried

  • October 26, 2018
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Marilyn Watkins

  Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries has launched a long overdue process to establish an updated salary threshold and other rules that determine who is exempt from basic legal protections. […]

  Overtime Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave

• Growing Jobs, Stagnant Wages, Increasing Inequality and Rising Prices

  • October 24, 2018
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Aaron Keating

  By many measures, Washington’s economy has soared since the Great Recession. The state has added over 400,000 jobs since 2008 – more than making up for previous losses – and […]

  Economic Development Income Inequality State of Working X Wages

• Details Matter: Paid Family and Medical Leave that Works for Working Families

  • May 3, 2018
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Marilyn Watkins

  Paid family and medical leave has become a top-tier policy issue. Over the past several years, a number of high-profile corporations have announced new and expanded paid parental leave programs. […]

  Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave

• Seattle taxes ranked most unfair in Washington — a state among the harshest on the poor nationwide

  • April 13, 2018
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • The Seattle Times

  A new report finds that even in Washington — a state whose tax system has been called the nation’s most unfair to the poor — Seattle manages to stand out from […]

  Budges and Taxes Economic Development

• Who Really Pays: An analysis of the tax structures in 15 cities throughout Washington State

  • April 4, 2018
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Matthew Caruchet

  Many Washingtonians feel they are heavily taxed. They are – if they’re working class or middle class. Wealthy residents pay a tax rate many times lower than the rates other […]

  Budges and Taxes Economic Development Income Inequality Infrastructure

• Lawmakers Agree On Paid Family Leave, But Not The Details

  • February 28, 2018
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • National Public Radio

  “The only way to make these programs universal, the only way to be sure that the waitress or the retail clerk has access to these programs, that every child gets […]

  Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave

• The Road to Winning Paid Family and Medical Leave in Washington

  • November 30, 2017
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Marilyn Watkins

  In this era of hyper-partisanship, how did we pass a major new program through Washington State’s sharply divided Legislature? There was no secret formula: For nearly two decades, we prepared, […]

  Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave

• The Popular, Affordable Path for Paid Family and Medical Leave in Washington

  • November 23, 2016
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Marilyn Watkins

  A just-released study funded by a U.S. Department of Labor grant to the State of Washington shows strong public support for a paid family and medical leave program – and […]

  Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave

• Time for a Raise: Statewide economic growth and Washington’s minimum wage

  • October 20, 2016
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Marilyn Watkins

  Seattle’s job boom may be making headlines, but new data show the economy is growing across Washington state. Employment markets from Spokane to Longview have experienced several years of job […]

  Jobs

• Every Job a Path to Opportunity

  • August 3, 2016
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Marilyn Watkins

  Washington state has gained jobs at a faster rate than most other states since the Great Recession, but the majority of working families are not benefitting from the economic boom. […]

  Jobs

• Uneven Ground: How Race and Origin Impact Economic Opportunity in Washington

  • December 23, 2015
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Kelli Smith

  Founded as a nation of immigrants, the United States has remained so throughout its expansion and development, and today, immigration continues to shape and reshape the country and its states. […]

  Jobs Worker, Racial, and Gender Justice

• Employee Experience with Seattle Paid Sick and Safe Leave

  • September 2, 2015
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Marilyn Watkins

  In September 2012, Seattle became the third U.S. city to implement a paid sick leave ordinance. By early 2015, more than 20 cities and four states had paid sick leave […]

  Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave

• The State of Working Washington 2011

  • March 29, 2011
  • Economic Opportunity Institute
  • Marilyn Watkins

  The 2000 to 2010 decade was a hard one for America’s and Washington’s working families. While the top fifth gained wealth despite two recessions and sharp stock market swings, for […]

  Jobs State of Working X Unemployment Insurance