Guest_author

Seattle is often the incubator for bad business policy. Last year the city became one of the few in the nation to mandate paid sick leave for all workers.  Now the City Council is considering an ordinance that would make Seattle one of the few to limit employers’ ability to access public records and conduct background checks on potential employees. 

For centuries American citizens have reaped the benefits of their right to free speech and freedom of the press to express political opinions.  However, lawmakers in Olympia are considering legislation that could endanger our protections guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  Senate Bill 5912 proposes a taxpayer funded program for State Supreme Court candidates who obtain at least five hundred grassroots contributions.  Participating candidates who qualify would receive sufficient public funds to run a competitive campaign.

The intended Bill did not pass after a floor vote in the State Senate on February 16th due to a procedural challenge.  Republican Senator Don Benton of Vancouver halted proceedings with a point of order, arguing that the $3 surcharge on court fees  was actually a “tax” not a “fee” – therefore, the bill would need a 2/3 vote to pass rather than a majority.  There were 27 confirmed “yes” votes of the 49 members in the senate.  Thus, the bill was set aside as Benton closed his argument by affirming, “This bill would use fees citizens are required to pay to support judicial campaigns for the Washington State Supreme Court. I challenged the new surcharge because it is not connected to the purpose for which the fees were designed – to cover filing costs. Therefore, the surcharge qualified as a new tax under I-960.”

Does this now mean publicly funded judicial campaigns are out of the question in Washington?  The issue is still in limbo – ideas often times are revived after the cutoff and amended to other bills.  Campaign contributions and issue advocacy are forms of political speech and spending limitations violate First Amendment protections.  This idea could infringe upon the political expression of Washingtonians and inhibit the democratic process in our State.

-Teresa Totorica
Research Assistant, Washington Policy Center

"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

This is a helpful phrase to keep in mind when thinking about the pending health care reform proposals being considered in Congress. John Mackey, CEO and founder of Whole Foods Market, had a nice article in The Wall Street Journal on the reality of the financial conundrum we find ourselves in as a country as we consider a serious overhaul of our health care system. He offers up eight things we can do to improve health care in the U.S. without adding to the deficit in this August 11th article.

1. Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs)

2. Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits

3. Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines

4. Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover

5. Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year

6. Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost

7. Enact Medicare reform

8. Revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren't covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program

Since rising health care costs are the number one issue in the health care reform debate, it is essential that any reform addresses this problem. The Heritage Foundation published an interesting study that found administrative costs to be higher, not lower as frequently cited by proponents of a public plan, than private insurance.

"On a per-person basis Medicare's administrative costs are actually higher
than those of private insurance--this despite the fact that private
insurance companies do incur several categories of costs that do not
apply to Medicare."

You can read about it here , from June 25th.

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Thank you for your interest in this blog, Washington Policy Center, and our work to improve lives through market solutions. As a non-profit organization we rely on the support of individuals like you to produce our high-quality analysis of the important policy issues impacting out state.

And not only do we strive for quality and innovative ideas, we continually work to uphold and promote a few very basic principles that make our state a better place to live, work and raise a family. Transparent and accountable government, empowered people, and personal responsibility – as Jeb Bush recently summarized at our Annual Dinner – “These are the things that have historically defined the prosperity in our country and these are the core values of Washington Policy Center."

Throughout the year Washington Policy Center has vigorously promoted these principles in our state.

• We promoted a reasonable tax cut plan in light of the state’s $2 billion surplus and opened the Center for Government Reform. Our goal is to keep your money in your pocket rather than sending it to Olympia.
• Our analysis of the Puget Sound Region’s Proposition 1, credited with educating the public and the media, exposed the plan’s tremendous costs and its failure to reduce traffic congestion. The measure failed by a surprising margin.
• We are responding to the global warming debate with common sense science and responsible, market-driven solutions in the face of the crisis mentality that would spend huge amounts of your tax dollars and do significant damage to the economy for tiny gains.
• 12 of our policy recommendations were signed into law by the governor just this year. 

We appreciate your interest in our work and hope you enjoy our posts.  I hope you will join us as we move forward in 2008.

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Your tax-deductible contribution of $50, $100, $500 or more will support our activities as we continue to promote these important principles for the 2008 Legislative Session. As a supporter you will also receive all of our publications and invitations to events.

Along with our board and staff, I wish you a joyful holiday season.

Greg Porter
Chairman,
Washington Policy Center