Washington Policy Blog

If you want evidence that climate policy puts environmental orthodoxy ahead of environmental benefit, the Governor's preliminary climate proposal provides a clear example.

The 14-page PowerPoint released this week puts strict limits on investments in carbon-reducing projects known as “offsets.” Why? The environmental community appears to feel that forcing lifestyle change is more important than actually helping the environment. The symbolism of sacrifice trumps sound science and policy.

New information from Island Transit shows a series of poor financial decisions made by local managers are the source of the district’s trouble, not lack of state money. Island Transit provides bus service and vanpools throughout Whidbey and Camano Islands, with routes connecting Skagit and Snohomish Counties. The agency is fully subsidized by taxpayers and doesn’t collect fares from passengers. Earlier this year, Island Transit officials announced plans to cut the Camano Island to Everett bus route, citing a lack of state tax money as the primary reason.

Seattle voters will have their say in November on another tax plan to “save” Metro bus service. Last week, the Seattle City Council voted to send the tax-increase plan to the November ballot with the following text:

The Seattle Transportation Benefit District’s Proposition 1 concerns funding for Metro Transit service.

On July 22^nd, the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit ruled in a 2 to 1 decision that the residents of any state that used the federal health insurance exchange could not legally receive taxpayer subsidies to help them purchase health insurance. (Here) The language in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, is very specific.

Advocates of a higher minimum wage have seized onto new data from the Department of Labor showing higher than average job growth in states that increased their minimum wage this year.   According to the DOL data, 12 of the 13 states that increased their minimum wages at the beginning of this year averaged slightly higher job growth (.85%) from January through June than the 37 states whose minimums did not increase (.61%).   Minimum wage supporters say this pro

Last Friday my colleague Liv Finne highlighted a disturbing case of the Centralia School District committing Medicaid fraud. Last night I received this statement from the Attorney General's Office concerning the $372,000 settlement agreement with the school district:

Yesterday, the AP announced that Superintendent Dorn’s latest effort to avoid the consequences of losing Washington’s waiver from the federal education law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), has failed.