New WRC Policy Brief: A Small Step for Public Pension Reform
During the budget negotiations, reforms to public employee pensions was a sticking point. In the end, the legislature adopted changes to the assumed rate of return on pension investments and reduced subsidized early retirement for new employees (hired on or after May 1, 2013).
Current employees may retire early (before age 65), but their pensions are reduced to reflect the fact that they will receive benefits for more years. There are two subsidized early retirement options that reduce benefits by less than under the basic early retirement option.
Under the new reform, if a new employee opts to retire early, he would still get subsidized early retirement; it's just less rich than the previous subsidized options. A
new brief (PDF) from the Washington Research Council looks at the changes in more detail.
Washington Roundtable releases updated 'Benchmarks for a Better Washington' rankings
The Washington Roundtable has released updated 'Benchmarks for a Better Washington' rankings, assessing the state’s economic vitality across 12 categories. Curious how Washington compares on things like high school graduation rate and average commute time? Check out the Benchmarks web site to learn exactly how our state stacks up.
What does the data show?
The 2012 data highlight some bright spots for innovation, but underscore the need to improve on quality of life and cost indicators.
• WA is showing signs of recovery. Washington ranks 8th among the states in the percentage of private sector job growth, year-over-year.
• WA is a home to innovation. The state continues to be a leader in patent generation, ranking 5th.
• WA has challenges in higher education. Despite having one of the most innovation-dependent economies in the nation, Washington ranks 38th in bachelor’s degrees awarded per capita.
• Even more challenges in K-12. The state ranks 37th in high school graduation rates, 21st in student achievement in science and 12th in student achievement in math.
• WA has significant ground to make up on transportation. The state ranks 16th for road conditions and 42nd for bridge conditions. It did improve in average commute times, moving to 37th.
• WA is a costly state for business. The state continues to enjoy the benefits of hydroelectric resources, ranking 1st with the lowest electricity rates. However, Washington is 36th for business tax burden and continues to rank among the 10 most expensive states for unemployment insurance (UI) tax rates and workers’ compensation benefits paid.
New WRC Policy Brief: Repealing I-728, Grading Teachers, and Other 2012 Reforms
The legislature passed several education reform bills this year, which the Washington Research Council considers in this policy brief. Significantly, as part of the budget compromise, legislators finally repealed I-728. By doing so, they helped clear the way for basic education funding needs. They also improved the 2013-15 fiscal situation by removing I-728 from the maintenance level. In The Drag of Unfunded Commitments, the Research Council wrote about I-728 in detail. (Note that the governor has not yet signed the bill repealing I-728.)
A bill that strengthens teacher evaluations was enacted during the regular session. Some teachers and principals will begin to be evaluated under the new system by the 2013-14 school year; by 2015-16, they must all be under the new system. The other enacted policy changes concern the Washington kindergarten inventory of developing skills, collaborative schools for innovation and success pilot projects, efficiencies in higher education, and creation of the Student Achievement Council.
Rockefeller Institute reports state collections recover nationally, not yet here
The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government reports that two successive years of growth have pushed states' revenues abover the pre-recession peak.
States' tax collections grew for the eighth straight quarter at the end of 2011, for the first time topping peak revenue levels seen at the beginning of the Great Recession, according to Rockefeller Institute research and Census Bureau data.
So far, Washington has yet to cross the line.
In Washington, tax collections from October through December were about 7 percent less than in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to state officials.
The full study is available here.
Economy Recovering Slowly -- Very Slowly
Washington state's unemployment rate for March remained flat at 8.3 percent, but the state added more than 3,000 jobs last month, marking the third consecutive month of job growth--very slow growth. The new rate for March was 8.3 percent, which matched the upwardly revised rate for February, the state's Employment Security Department said. The state's jobless rate is slightly higher than the national rate of 8.2 percent.
[...]
An estimated 289,400 people (seasonally adjusted) in Washington were unemployed and looking for work in March, down from a peak of more than 365,000 in February 2010. Employment Security paid unemployment benefits to 189,467 people last month, down from a peak of more than 350,000 in January 2010. As of April 7, 77,512 workers in Washington had run out of all unemployment benefits. About 12,500 people will lose benefits at the end of this week, mostly due to the required shutoff of extended benefits. Another 11,000 people will likely run out of benefits by mid-June.
The point is economic and corresponding jobs are not growing at a pace to insure long-term prosperity. The economy is fragile and the competition for facility investments and job-producing industries is worldwide and fierce.
@WAProsperity
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