Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke offered a blunt assessment of state spending during a brief interview with The Center Square Washington at Thursday’s Economic Future Solutions Summit, hosted by the Association of Washington Business and Washington Roundtable. “There’s no budget discipline,” Locke said. The former Democratic governor was equally direct about the results: “I think...
Starbucks founder Howard Schultz is warning that Washington risks sacrificing future growth by becoming increasingly hostile to businesses and entrepreneurs. In a new Wall Street Journal op-ed, Schultz argues that rising taxes, runaway state spending and anti-business leadership threaten the economic foundation that helped make Washington prosperous. Washington used to be a favored destination for...
TELL MAYOR KATIE WILSON THAT HER PROPOSAL TO DOUBLE-DIP ON PROPERTY TAXES FOR SEATTLE FIRE SERVICES IS UNACCEPTABLE In an attempt to address the City of Seattle’s projected $175 million budget shortfall, Mayor Katie Wilson has proposed the creation of a new fire district to be overseen by the City Council. But the City of Seattle currently...
Let’s Go Washington just turned in 511,408 signatures for its initiative to repeal Washington’s new state income tax. That is not just enough to clear the legal requirement. It is more than 200,000 signatures above the minimum required and more than 120,000 above the Secretary of State’s recommended cushion for qualification. The signatures still need...
Two hundred fifty years ago, America wasn’t built by celebrities. It was built by ordinary people. Farmers who showed up to town meetings. Shopkeepers who debated taxes. Parents who worried about the future their children would inherit. Neighbors who understood that self-government only works when citizens actually participate. The founders certainly mattered. But the American...
Washington’s new income tax may have been signed into law, but the constitutional challenge is just getting started. Citizen Action Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s new 9.9% tax on income above $1 million that is led by former Attorney General Rob McKenna and retired Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge. Their case...
For years, Washington’s budget debates have followed a familiar script. Democrat legislative leaders and the last two governors identify a projected shortfall, advocates call for new revenue, and taxpayers are told that higher taxes are necessary to preserve essential services. The conversation almost always begins with the assumption that government needs more money. But recently,...
Governor Bob Ferguson recently warned state agencies to prepare for difficult budget decisions in the years ahead. In guidance sent to agency leaders, the administration pointed to familiar pressures: inflation has driven up costs, Washington’s population has grown significantly over the past decade, and maintaining public services is becoming more expensive. Those factors are real....
Howard Schultz, former CEO and chairman emeritus of Starbucks, discusses the reason behind the company’s move from Seattle to Nashville: Washington’s economic story over the past half century is extraordinary. Microsoft, Amazon, Costco and a host of other new companies transformed the state into a global center of technology, innovation and logistics. Entrepreneurs exported ideas worldwide. Capital flowed. Wages...
FUTURE 42 is releasing our second annual comprehensive scorecard highlighting key votes taken by all 147 legislators during the 2026 legislative session. This information is critical in order to ensure that Washingtonians are informed on bills which were passed, how those bills will impact their lives, and how their elected state legislators voted on those...
Clark County’s Charter Review Commission is considering a proposal tonight/Wednesday that would require a supermajority vote of the County Council to raise taxes — a critical reform to rein in routine tax hikes and give taxpayers a stronger voice. If this proposed amendment passes out of Study Committee with eight votes this evening, the Commission will then...
There’s a difference between making a legal argument and putting the real strategy in writing. Some legislative leaders and the Attorney General’s office may have just done the latter, and now the Washington Supreme Court has to decide whether it matters. This week, the State Supreme Court will hear arguments from Let’s Go Washington over...
A bombshell set of internal emails confirms what many Washingtonians have suspected all along: the so-called “millionaires tax” was never just about the wealthy. Instead, it was designed from the start as the opening move in a much broader push for a statewide income tax—paired with a coordinated legal strategy to make it possible. According...
Today is Tax Day—and with Washington’s new income tax making headlines, there are a lot of questions. Here are straightforward answers to some of the most common ones we’re hearing. Also, over the next several months, many lawmakers will be holding town halls and community events, giving constituents a chance to ask them directly about...