Listening to how we can provide strong early education for our state’s children is good. Finding the funding for it is better

Jobs, Journalism, Justice

Guest Writer

John Burbank is the founder and retired executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute in Seattle.

Articles by John Burbank

Our state is getting played by Boeing, which gets tax breaks and exports jobs

By John Burbank | March 1, 2017

Here’s a headline that should make us happy: “Trump, Battered in Washington, Is Buoyed at Boeing Rally.” That was from The New York Times, Feb. 17. But the funny thing is, there was no Boeing rally in our state, where the vast majority of Boeing workers live and work, making the vast majority of Boeing’s airplanes. And it wasn’t “fake news.” Trump just decamped to Charleston, South Carolina, to have a love fest with Boeing management. ...

Our state is getting played by Boeing, which gets tax breaks and exports jobs

By John Burbank | March 1, 2017

Public officials need to draw a line between personal and public interest; Sen. Ericksen isn’t

By John Burbank | February 22, 2017

Economist Adam Smith’s idea is a powerful one: Individuals acting in their own interest to maximize personal profit will create economic benefits for all. But left unregulated and unrestrained, self-interest inevitably leads to the exact opposite. ...

A statewide minimum wage hike and guaranteed sick leave offer life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

By John Burbank | October 26, 2016

The campaign for president of the United States is getting most of the media attention this year, but we have other important decisions to make as voters this November. Among the initiatives on the ballot is Initiative 1433, also known as RaiseUp Washington. This initiative will create minimum standards for paid sick days across the state and increase the minimum wage. It is about giving workers — especially low-wage workers — respect, dignity and a fair chance. It brings our minimum wage and workplace standards into the 21st century. ...

Workers have borne the brunt of wage stagnation for four decades, but today is their day

By John Burbank | June 8, 2016

President Barack Obama made up for four decades of neglect of middle-wage workers by both Republican and Democratic administrations. That’s thanks to a new federal rule on how and how much employers pay workers. This new rule will result in workers gaining literally thousands of dollars more each in earned income in our state.

So what happens now? The Obama administration is raising the threshold to be a salaried employee from $23,360 to $47,500. ...

As ever, our presidential candidates use race, power and privilege to divide us

By John Burbank | March 30, 2016

During this strange presidential campaign, several candidates are spouting wishful thinking about what our nation’s founders believed. Consider this from Republican candidate Ted Cruz’s website: “Ted Cruz has spent a lifetime fighting to defend the Constitution. Our nation’s founding document and the supreme law of the land was crafted by our founding fathers to act as chains to bind the mischief of government and to protect the liberties endowed to us by our Creator.”
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When it comes to health care, we’re surrounded by a world wide web of people and organizations to make it all work

By John Burbank | March 23, 2016

Mention “the Web” and many people will think you’re talking about the Internet. But when you’re having a serious medical problem, you see an entirely different network in action. ...

Legislators would rather give childcare workers a song than diamonds or gold

By John Burbank | January 21, 2016

You may remember the Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson hit from the mid-’70s that started, “Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.” There’s probably less chance to become a cowboy these days — but if you change the line to “Mammas, don’t let your babies grow up to be childcare teachers,” it would hold up!
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Olympia can rectify Tim Eyman’s more recent initiative by invoking two simple words: income tax

By John Burbank | December 2, 2015

The polls may tell us we’re divided, but in our hearts I think we all want similar things: to ensure kids can get a strong start in life, to put a college degree or a professional trade within everyone’s reach, to have clean and safe places to play and to live in safe and vibrant neighborhoods. A good public budget plans for today’s priorities, for future needs and for the unexpected, and taxes allow a community to pay for the public goods and services for which it has planned.
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