Transparency and Why WA Unemployment Rate Jumps to 9.5 Percent
March 16, 2010
Universal criticism of the Washington State Legislature’s failure to be transparent is validated once again as the state’s unemployment rate continues to climb – now at 9.5 percent.
The increase stems from another 8,300 lost jobs, including 3,200 in construction and 2,100 in business services.
The timing couldn’t be more symbolic during this national Sunshine Week. The unemployment rate dovetails with the declining transparency at the Washington State Legislature. It’s in a special session to finalize the state budget with seemingly countless tax increases following years of over-spending.
If it weren’t for the watchdog efforts of people like Jason Mercier, Washingtonians would be in the dark regarding the chicanery of the Legislature. Lawmakers have refused to implement efficiencies at the expense of a suffering electorate and business community. They’ve passed ghost tax bills and made many decisions in private, but have not accomplished anything to improve the state’s economy. Mr. Mercier, who is the director of the Center for Government Reform for the Washington Policy Center, has issued countless updates from Olympia.
As a result of the secrecy in passing numerous unnecessary tax increases and other dubious legislation, newspapers across the state are clamoring for good, open government in Washington state.
Here’s a sample:
A bad example of legislative ‘transparency’, Olympian
“In the waning days of the regular legislative session, Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, a Democrat from Spokane, claimed the Legislature is much more transparent than it was when she entered the Legislature. Brown is wrong . . .”
Sunshine and Clouds in Olympia, Kitsap Sun
“The bad news is that public access to information and hearings about legislation has been … challenging. There’s been a flurry of ‘title-only’ bills introduced and set for hearings, sometimes on short notice, and with no timely public information on their content. Members of the public deserve better than that — and if they want to get it, they’d better say so this fall to those who seek to represent them in the Legislature.”
It’s National Sunshine Week, but state’s transparency forecast remains cloudy, Longview Daily News
“Shutting down the Sunshine Committee less than three years after it was formed is as difficult to justify as that legislative exemption from public disclosure. It proved too much for legislators to pull off in the light of day. The Sunshine Committee was taken off the bill’s termination list — less than a week ago. Sadly, that remains this legislative session’s single accomplishment on behalf of government transparency.“
State government clings to double standard, News Tribune
“Is it any wonder that city and county officials clamor for relief from open meetings and records laws when they see their counterparts in state government behave as they do? State officials profess a belief in public disclosure. They’re just not sure it always applies to them. Lawmakers in particular hold themselves apart from the state’s sunshine laws. They caucus in secret for any reason and insist that their correspondence is somehow constitutionally protected from public dissemination. They also apparently reserve the right to skip public process in the interests of expediency.”
Public input? Who cares?, Everett Herald
“With increasing audacity, key state legislators are taking control from the people and seizing it for themselves. Amid the difficult process of closing a $2.8 billion budget shortfall, they’ve skirted, waived or ignored the public’s right to know what they’re up to and comment on it.”
And there others we can cite.
Meantime, Mr. Mercier offers some excellent solutions for transparency and the Legislature’s practice of passing ghost tax bills.
“Add the preamble of the state’s public records act to Article 1,” he writes. This would help re-enforce this transparency intent for any wayward court.” (See the preamble about the voters’ sovereignty.)
“Add a new section to Article 2 which would require 72-hour public notification before any bill could receive a public hearing, he adds. “While the requirement currently exists in legislative rules, it is often waived.”
Amend Article 2, Section 19 to prohibit title only bills. No public hearing or vote should occur on a “ghost bill.”
Amend Article 2, Section 22 to prohibit votes on final passage until the final version of the bill to be approved has been publicly available for 24-hours.”
He points out it would not be a stretch for the Legislature to be transparent and give the voters adequate notice before passing bills that affect their livelihoods.
“Florida’s Constitution (Article 3, Section 19) requires a 72-hour public review period for appropriations bills before they can be voted on,” Mr. Mercier explains. “Hawaii’s Constitution (Article 3, Section 15) requires a 48-hour review period before any bill can be voted on for final passage.”
Is transparency too much to ask? No. So, why don’t we tell lawmakers how we feel? Otherwise, the unemployment rate and the economic climate will remain unnecessarily unacceptable. Not to mention the theft of Washingtonians’ economic and political freedoms.
From the Coach’s Corner, here’s a link from Enterprise Washington to find your legislators’ phone number and email address.
The Link – Local TV Journalism, Bad Government Policy and Poor Economy
Updated Dec. 18, 2011
Do you ever wonder why the economic climate is unhealthy? Why the unemployment rate is so high? Or why government policies aren’t conducive to economic growth and the creation of jobs?
In essence, the culprits are government, business greed and inadequate coverage from local broadcast journalism.
Government is culpable because of its political theatrics – failure to set realistic priorities and implementation of unnecessary programs – an immature approach to budgeting.
Business greed led to the financial-sector collapse. That includes the behavior of Wall Street, disingenuous mortgage underwriting, the abrupt terminations of credit lines to businesses, and the predatory practices of credit card companies charging huge interest rates and fees for to small businesses and consumers for bogus reasons.
The federal government has ostensibly tried to correct the problems, but failed. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has fought risky derivative trading and lending money to small businesses. The GOP claims to want to do something for small business. The credit card legislation hasn’t corrected all the injustices nor has it helped the majority of small businesses and consumers suffering from tepid or low credit scores as a result of the predatory practices.
The tax incentives to create jobs aren’t working because an economic engine, small business, isn’t in a position to do so. Either the businesses still have poor credit or they can’t afford to risk hiring workers. The incentives are just a pittance compared to the costs of a yearly salary, benefits and the risks of having to layoff newly hired workers. Unemployment insurance is too high for them, as it is.
And small business loans aren’t available to credit-challenged businesses. Even if they could get loans, it would only exacerbate the situation because the businesses aren’t making enough money to pay the loans back. They have too few customers. Consumers can’t afford to buy nor do they have the credit to do so.
Healthcare is a related issue. Polls show Americans opposed the efforts of President Obama and the Democrats. But the public officials didn’t listen.
Even Steve Jobs agreed before his passing, according to his biography: Will President Obama listen to Steve Jobs on the economy?
So where does that leave us regarding my premise about the connection – local TV news coverage, dysfunctional government and the economic downturn? Can we agree about the harmful effects of the Great Recession? Great.
How about the power of television? A little later I’ll point out how the power of TV is not being used and why is isn’t relevant.
That leaves the other two – news coverage and more analysis of government policy.
First, let’s consider governments’ refusals to implement best-practices in management and to adhere to transparency standards. These are huge problems and not just at the federal government level.
The state governments of California and Washington are typical examples:
California. Thanks to The Sacramento Bee, we wouldn’t learn “California agencies’ pay cuts hit departments unevenly,” or why. It’s rare for a local TV station to be as enterprising.
In a related matter, California state employees are given wide latitudes for leaves (see personnel policies). But only a third of the state agencies reportedly send certain payroll records to Sacramento. This means records are more costly to maintain, audit and verify such scattered cost centers, vis-à-vis a centralized location.
One also has to wonder about accountability. California state workers already enjoy comparatively high wages and benefits. The accrued vacation time is subject to abuse, especially when an outside watchdog is not allowed access to the records.
Typically, many government managers are afraid of their unions and employees. Last year’s furlough issue typifies the litigious atmosphere and lack of empathy for taxpayers. Government employees are notorious for gaming the system to disingenuously jack up their pensions. Pensions are calculated based on the workers’ level pay before retirement. Plus, California has a $48 billion unfunded pension liability, according to a Pew Study: “California Faces Challenges in Managing Bills Coming.”
So, it’s necessary to centralize the recordkeeping, and it would make it easier to check such records. When Californians are struggling in an era of high unemployment in an economic downturn, such state behavior is eye-opening. And given that California is mired in red ink, it’s important for state government to conform to best-practices.
Why else have a state controller?
Washington. With the exception of one statewide elected official who is retiring, it’s also important to question the Washington State Legislature’s and bureaucrats’ elitist handling of taxpayer assets and disrespect of transparency standards. Just a few years ago, I devoted multiple columns about their shell game to furtively circumvent the state’s legal spending limit after incriminating e-mails were discovered. It resulted in a case before the Washington Supreme Court.
But nothing changed and the chicanery continues.
Four times voters approved taxpayers’ protections. But lawmakers keep circumventing the wishes of voters. Despite multi-billion dollar shortfalls, the spending keeps increasing; while the private sector has cut back significantly and has lost about 200,000 jobs in the past few years.
Washington has an outstanding state auditor who has repeatedly demonstrated the need for transparency and conducts performance audits. But not enough people in state government want transparency and good performance.
TV News
My sense is that a TV steady coverage of important issues would help put a stop to the government dysfunction.
For example, the average half hour of TV newscasts in Los Angeles has a whopping 22 seconds devoted to reports about local government, according to research by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
The study, reported by Variety, indicates the 22 seconds is comprised of “…budgets, law enforcement, education, new ordinances, voting procedures, city and government actions and more…”
Local business and the economy got a sum total of 29 seconds per half hour.
To what did the stations allocate their news coverage?
- Crime – two minutes, 50 seconds
- Sports and weather – 3 minutes, 36 seconds
- “Fluff” – two minutes, 26 seconds
- Promotional teases – two minutes, 10 seconds
“KCAL ran the most news about local government, economy and business,” Variety reported. “As for the L.A. Times, the paper devoted 10 percent of its front-page space to local government and 6 percent to L.A. business and economy.”
Any you know what? This is typical of most local TV coverage throughout California, Washington and the rest of the nation.
Not to be gauche, but generally the closest the stations come to reporting on the economy and the impacts of business events and trends are ostentatious consumer investigations – but little about business, the big economic picture or public policy. The rest of the time they’re either rewriting Associate Press stories or rushing out to do live shots of traffic accidents. It’s tragic.
When I was a full-time broadcast journalist in the 1970s and 1980s, I learned the public does care about the impacts of government behavior and business on the economy. When we covered a story about state government, it was remarkable to see the abrupt change in bureaucrats’ behavior and ratings improved.
When was the last time you saw a business journalist on your local TV newscast? Or, for that matter, when did you last see an editorial?
Newspapers do a much better job in both areas. But even print business-journalist jobs have been disappearing.
It’s time for reflection and change in the Fourth Estate. It’s a question of pride in doing the right thing for the community. Otherwise, many Americans will continue to feel their economic and political freedoms are at-risk.
From the Coach’s Corner, here are more public policy columns.
“Domestic policy can only defeat us; foreign policy can kill us.”
-John F. Kennedy
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Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complementary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?
Idaho Governor Recruits Washington and Oregon Companies – Thanks to Legislatures
March 9, 2010
Call it brazen. Call it economic development. Whatever your preference, Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter is an opportunist.
In the wake of out-of-control policies and behavior by public officials in Washington and Oregon, he’s issued a press release to recruit companies to his business friendly Idaho.
That’s right, dated Monday, March 8, 2010, the headline reads:
“LOVE LETTER TO OUR NEIGHBORS: IDAHO IS OPEN FOR YOUR BUSINESS.”
No joke. In capital letters complete with the word “YOUR” in italics, I’ve cut and pasted the headline verbatim.
Here’s an excerpt from his combination “love letter” and news release:
“We now are reaching out to hundreds of Oregon businesses, and will do the same with those in Washington if the legislature there follows Oregon’s lead. We aren’t offering many bells and whistles, but what we can offer is a business-friendly State government, a highly qualified and motivated work force, and communities where people understand that while government cannot be the solution to their problems it can and must be a champion for their own solutions.”
Here’s his salient comment about the Washington State Legislature:
“Legislators in the state of Washington are talking about even bigger tax increases to tackle a budget deficit that figures to be as big as Idaho’s entire State budget. Businesses in both states are like those in Idaho; they are facing the most challenging times in decades, and even incremental cost increases can mean the difference between surviving and closing up.”
About Oregon, he writes:
“The problem in Oregon is that folks were convinced that state government was what needed to be shored up rather than the jobs- and revenue-producing private sector for which state government is supposed to work. As a result, they’re chasing some of their cash cows to the border. And I welcome those businesses with open arms.”
People have stopped asking me why I write about public policy so much or why I’ve created an Op-Ed category on this Web site. They know significant action is needed for a strong economic climate and the creation of jobs.
The record is clear. At all levels, government is hindering economic growth and job creation with unproductive policies and behavior.
My hope for Washington state is that voters wake up and smell the coffee for a revolution in this November’s elections and successfully demand government reform – reminiscent of 1994 after the Washington State Legislature imposed huge tax increases on business in 1993. You might recall countless politicians were swept out of office.
Even the Washington State Association of County Assessors took note of the voters’ angst. In Nov. 1994, the association invited me to advise them on media strategies to lower property taxes. Only then-interim King County Assessor Scott Noble opposed me. As a result in the ensuing legislative session, lawmakers lowered property taxes by 4.7 percent. (Mr. Noble later became the permanent assessor but was driven from office in 2009 after his drunk-driving accident injured two female motorists.)
The 2010 legislative session has grossly increased taxes and destroyed standards of government transparency instead of implementing efficiencies. As a management consultant who performed services at two state agencies, I’ve witnessed the state of Washington is sorely lacking in best-practices management and performance. And as I’ve often warned, this is resulting in more theft of our economic and political freedoms.
From the Coach’s Corner, see for yourself. Here’s the link to Gov. Otter’s invitation.
My thanks and appreciation go to Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center for distributing it.
Washington State Spending, Taxes – ‘Katy Bar the Door’
Updated March 7, 2010
Watch out. A desperate situation is at hand. The 19th century phrase, “Kay Bar the Door,” is applicable to the 2010 Washington legislative session. The Legislature is creating tax bills and is spending at a dizzying pace.
You mean it isn’t helping to create a strong, state economy and environment for job-creation while facing a $2.8 billion shortfall? No efficiencies anywhere? What about the reports of mismanagement, poor results revealed in performance audits, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in state-employee bonuses?
Well, let’s consider:
- At least one formal hearing has been scheduled sans a 24-hour notice.
- Sen. Rosa Franklin, D-Tacoma, introduced an income tax bill, SB 6250.
- A ghost tax bill was introduced (that’s right, no text – it was blank).
- The Senate wants to raise $918 million with a sales tax increase of three-tenths of a cent to 6.8 percent.
- Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown’s income-tax proposal on the fall ballot and would reduce the proposed new sales tax by one cent. It would put an income tax of 4.5 percent on many job-creators – individuals earning $200,000; heads of households making $300,000; married couples would face a new tax if they earn $400,000.
- Imposing a sales tax on out-of-state businesses and consumers who buy Washington products.
- Imposing a surcharge on auto insurance.
- Hitting out-of-state financial institutions with a business and occupation (B&O) tax.
But that’s not all – not by a long shot.
Of course, you know Gov. Gregoire signed into law the bill that “temporarily” repealed The Taxpayer Protection Act, Initiative 960. That’s a clear rejection of voters’ wishes. Three times voters have formally stated their wish for tax protections. But again, the Legislature does not have to pass tax bills by a two-thirds margin. It also removes transparency for voters about taxes they’re forced to pay.
Personally, I don’t mind taxing out-of-state credit card companies with a history predatory interest rates and fees for bogus reasons. They’re domiciled in states permitting predatory behavior that was not retroactively rectified in a credit-card protection bill passed by Congress. The predatory practices are a major reason small businesses have poor credit.
However, it appears an income tax that only hits the wealthy is unconstitutional. It would require approval by voters and a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate. But a Seattle Times report indicates Senate Democratic leaders are hoping to bypass the required two-thirds vote in the Legislature because they know they can’t overcome the Republican opposition. If they’re successful in another end-run around legal checks-and-balances, of course, lawyers will get involved.
The Democrats’ idea is patterned after a 2010 voter-approved measure in Oregon, which hiked income taxes on individuals earning $125,000, households making $250,000, and on businesses.
However, unlike Washington, Oregon does not have a sales tax.
Lawmakers lax on major revenue source
Considering Washington relies heavily on sales taxes from vehicles, the Legislature is incredibly uninformed.
For example, a sales tax on Oregon and Alaska businesses and consumers will discourage commerce in Washington and threaten the livelihood of the state’s businesses and will worsen the state’s already-weak jobs situation.
Secondly, when buyers stop shopping in Washington, state businesses will pay reduced B&O taxes to the state.
A new tax will especially impact the sale of big-ticket items. Ask any Washington commercial-truck dealer if they have out-of-state customers. Their answer will be yes.
They’re already concerned their sales are down. What’s worse, relatively few have the cash flow to advertise now – ask any media advertising salesperson. During good times, the auto sector is the No.1 advertiser on radio and television. Even Honda dealers have had to lay off employees. (Disclosure: I’m very familiar with the auto sector. My firm formerly had auto dealer clients who advertised on radio and television. A regional truck dealer has an ad on this site.)
Out-of-state businesses come to Washington to buy fleets of trucks because the quantity and selection is superior. Privately, one dealer confides that some buyers travel 3,000 miles to Washington to buy commercial trucks. So they patiently wait for the economy to improve.
However, it’s also well-known that Washington state car buyers journey to Idaho for savings and to avoid paying high sales taxes by buying from Dave Smith Motors – a high-volume car dealer who advertises heavily in an in-your-face style on Seattle radio stations.
The dealer’s slogan: “Serving the Pacific Northwest and Beyond Since 1965,” and on its Web site it boldly states: “We cannot sell any NEW vehicle for Export or Resale.” The hint being that Washington car dealers could get a better deal in Idaho, too.
In fact, the dealer is the world’s largest Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep dealer, and is a leader in sales of General Motors cars and trucks.
The sales tax for the metropolitan King and Pierce counties is 9.6 percent. Idaho only charges a 6 percent sales tax, which is shared with cities’ coffers, and the state affords a lower cost of doing business.
Bad planning
Moreover, the budget ramifications for Washington state:
- No B&O taxes are collected
- Reduced sales taxes because after making a purchase, motorists drive over the state line to Washington where they can register their vehicles in less-populated counties to save 1 to 3 percent on their vehicle’s sales tax.
The Legislature is behaving unproductively in another matter. Adversely affecting dealers and consumers, alike, the Senate wants to halt another major car-buying incentive – the long-time tax deduction for used-car trade-ins. In other words, the Senate wants to tax motorists at both ends – when buying and when selling a vehicle.
Incredibly, lawmakers insist on staying in the liquor business – is liquor a core state service? The state employs 1500 liquor employees and taxpayers are saddled with their costly pensions.
At best, the surcharge on car insurance is disingenuous. “Perhaps if the Legislature hadn’t raided the account the funds would be available for the use intended – preventing auto theft,” says Jason Mercier of Washington Policy Center.
FYI, if it weren’t for the tireless efforts of Mr. Mercier, much of the Legislature’s chicanery would not come to light. It’s a full-time job making sure there’s transparency. Many lawmakers are doing their best to make certain Washington does not have an open government.
The Legislature also wants to heavily tax candy – in the aggregate, a big state employer. Simply consider just one heritage state company, Brown and Haley, an employer of 250 workers but is in the midst of financial woes even without a burdensome sales tax.
Other sin taxes include a 500 percent increase on cigars, but gives favored documented treatment to Tribal smoke shops.
Let’s not forget the stifling new tax on bottled water.
Some lawmakers want to double the death tax.
And others want to triple the tax on gasoline and diesel as hazardous or toxic but they won’t use the revenue for badly needed road repairs or construction. Meantime, Washingtonians will undoubtedly pay even more for fuel.
Meantime, nothing has been done about the state’s bloated payroll and associated costs. Ask any employer if they are able to pay 88 percent of health insurance, or if their retirement plans can compete with the state pension system. The answer will be no. Don’t forget the Legislature is tardy in plans to fund $7.9 billion in retiree health benefits.
That sums up the debacle pretty well – continued spending, boundless chicanery in violating transparency standards, unsatisfactory performance audits, mismanagement and stifling taxes. Nothing has been accomplished that will strengthen the state’s economy or create jobs. In fact, it can be easily concluded that the 2010 legislative session has resulted in a sharp decline of voters’ economic and political freedoms.
From the Coach’s Corner, to stay informed, here are other sites you’ll find helpful:
- Washington Policy Center, www.washingtonpolicy.org
- Enterprise Washington, www.enterprisewashington.org
- Association of Washington Business, www.awb.org
- Washington State Auditor’s Office, www.sao.wa.gov
- Washington Votes, www.washingtonvotes.org
Washington State’s Last Chance for Good Government
Feb. 18, 2010
Instead of focusing on economic growth and the creation of jobs, the 2010 Washington state legislative session has largely been a huge disappointment and insulting to business and consumers. That’s mainly because of the bills to increase taxes and violate standards of transparency as disingenuous ploys to balance the budget.
One of the few bright spots: Rodney Tom, a Washington state senator (D-48, Bellevue) understands it’s possible to save money by eliminating an unwarranted state service and going green, too. He’s introduced a bill to eliminate the state printer.
Buried in his bill is this statement: “…printing is not a core state service and would be better handled within the private sector.”
There are other examples of non-core state services, such as the liquor-selling agency that employees nearly 1500 state workers.
Click here for other examples of a bloated state workforce and non-essential services. Per capita, Washington has more employees than California.
A $2.8 billion shortfall is a lot of red ink. The state spending in recent years greatly exceeded the potential revenue pie. There were red flags everywhere. Administrators and lawmakers ignored repeated valid suggestions in order to be good stewards of taxpayer assets. I’ve cited numerous solutions.
Washington’s unemployment rate of 9.5 percent should be a deterrent for tax increases. But it isn’t. Ask the Association of Washington Business (AWB), www.awb.org, about the impact of a proposal to hike unemployment insurance taxes.
Here’s more about the Washington State Legislature’s spending and taxes:
There was a Washington Supreme Court case in recent years over incriminating e-mails in the shell game to circumvent the state’s spending limit.
So, this year we’ve seen a blank, ghost tax bill. That’s right, no text.
We’ve been aghast at the elitist suspension of the transparency safeguards in the Taxpayer Protection Act, Initiative 960, which was passed by voters in 2007.
We’ve seen proposals for sin tax increases as high as 500 percent and a tax on candy, which adversely impacts a heritage employer, Brown and Haley, which has been struggling.
There’s a tax on oil companies that will hurt businesses and consumers. Supporters of the 300 percent increase are either naïve or disingenuous in their claims that oil companies will not pass the tax to purchases at the pump.
And Gov. Chris Gregoire promoted her $605 million in tax increases.
My apologies if there are any omissions. But you get the picture.
The bottom-line: The tax proposals are unwarranted and Gov. Gregoire has an opportunity to exercise a line-item veto of the legislature’s repeal of the two-thirds vote requirement for tax increases.
Language in I-960 includes:
“Our state constitution guarantees to the people the right of referendum. In recent years, however, the legislature has thwarted the people’s constitutional right to referendum by excessive use of the emergency clause . . . The people find that, if they are not allowed to vote on a tax increase, good public policy demands that at least the legislature should be aware of the voters’ view of individual tax increases. An advisory vote of the people at least gives the legislature the views of the voters and gives the voters information about the bill increasing taxes and provides the voters with legislators’ names and contact information and how they voted on the bill. The people have a right to know what’s happening in Olympia.”
In all candor, reporting on the legislature’s excesses is a full-time job – precious time I don’t have in writing business-coaching columns.
Fortunately, the Washington Policy Center (WPC), an authoritative and trusted non-partisan think tank does an excellent job of tracking bills and feeding valuable information to reporters and columnists like me.
“By repealing for two years the non-binding advisory votes, lawmakers that vote for a tax increase will be spared from having their names show up in the voter’s pamphlet next to a description of the tax increases they supported as required by RCW 29A.32.070,” says WPC’s director for government reform, Jason Mercier.
“Short of a change of heart in the Senate, the only thing that can ensure the non-binding tax advisory votes as intended by the voters remains in effect is the governor’s veto pen,” he adds. “The Constitution provides the governor line-item veto authority which means she could approve the two-year repeal of the two-third’s vote requirement while maintaining the non-binding tax advisory vote provision.”
Otherwise, businesses and taxpayers will only have one option – the November elections – which has a precedent in Washington state. That’s the massive voter rejection of incumbents in 1994.
Following widespread protests over massive business-tax increases in 1993, the Washington State Association of County Assessors invited me to advise the 60 assessors on how to get legislative approval to reduce property taxes. I conducted a special seminar for the assessors.
It was unprecedented and gratifying when assessors persuaded state lawmakers to reduce property taxes by 4.7 percent in the ensuing 1995 session.
Let’s hope, it won’t get to that point again. You can make a difference by contacting your lawmakers (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rosters/).
Economic and political freedoms are at-risk.
From the Coach’s Corner, a nonpartisan organization is working behind the scenes and doing something positive – very positive – to insure businesses have a voice:
Enterprise Washington, www.enterprisewashington.org.
I’ve met with the Enterprise Washington folks and I believe they’re nonpartisan, effective and passionate about their work.
