Thursday, September 22, 2016

ELECTION 2016

► From CrossCut — Carbon tax would hit working people hard (by Lee Newgent) — I-732 is just a new, regressive tax on the very people the labor and social justice movements have pledged to defend. That’s why the Washington State Labor Council, The Sierra Club, The Building Trades, Puget Sound SAGE, and dozens of other social justice advocates do not support I-732… We can’t rely on a regressive energy tax and expect people to drive less or not turn on the heat. They have to do those things to live. People need options before we can increase costs on them — options like those offered by Sound Transit 3 that gives people a real way to leave their cars at home.

ALSO at The Stand — Why voters should reject I-732 carbon tax

► From The Stranger — Voting ‘Yes’ on Prop 1 is the only way to get light rail faster (by Seattle Subway) — ST3 (Proposition 1) allows Sound Transit to build an alternative to traffic as fast as state-approved revenue collection allows. Just one year after light rail to Bellevue launches in 2023, the first Proposition 1 lines would open to Redmond and Federal Way. Then new lines would open every few years to West Seattle, Tacoma, Ballard, Everett and Issaquah.

► From AFL-CIO Now — New poll: Trump’s support among union members is dropping fast — One of our latest internal polls shows Trump has plummeted 12 points among union members in Ohio. From June to early September, he is now down from 44 to 32%. How bad is that? Trump is performing five points worse than Mitt Romney did in the 2012 presidential election when he received 37 percent of the union vote in Ohio.

► From The Hill — Trump’s tax plan would add $5.3 trillion to debt: analysis — Clinton’s tax plan would reportedly add just $200 billion in debt over the next decade.

► In the NY Times — My plan for helping America’s poor (by Hillary Clinton) — As president, I will continue my life’s work focused on creating opportunities for children and fairness for families. We need to expand access to high-quality child care and guarantee paid leave so parents at all income levels can balance their jobs and lives. And we will work to double investments in Early Head Start and make preschool available to every 4-year-old because our children deserve the best possible start in life.

► And then there’s this… — Zack: “Are you down with TPP?” Hillary: “I’m not down with TPP.” Zack: “No. You’re supposed to say, ‘Yeah, you know me’.”

TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

► From The Hill — Biden: ‘Less than even’ chance Congress approves TPP — “It’s going to be hard,” the vice president said of trying to get the TPP approved during the lame-duck session. “I think it’s less than an even chance, but there is a genuine chance. It’s possible we can get it passed.” While Biden did not rule out the possibility Congress approves TPP, his comments are a candid admission that the politics surrounding the trade deal are shrinking the chances that it takes effect.

BOEING

► In the P.S. Business Journal — Boeing distributes $6 million in education grants, says it will be in Washington for decades — Boeing showered $6 million in grants on more than 50 educational institutions and nonprofits, seeking to dispel fears that it plans to shift jobs overseas. “Boeing will be a significant jobs provider in Washington for decades to come,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner said. “Our hope and goal is that those future jobs will continue to be filled by kids who grow up right here in the state.”

EDITOR’S NOTE — This is all great, but a little perspective… Boeing saved $305 million in state taxes last year, thanks to the generous aerospace tax incentives granted by lawmakers to keep the company here. They’re still here, but they’ve shed thousands of Washington jobs, many of them shifted to other states, including some that require Boeing to meet targets for job creation/maintenance to receive tax breaks. (Washington has no such requirements.) And speaking of giant WTO-sized tax subsidies…

► From AP — U.S.: ‘Sweeping victory’ in dispute over Airbus subsidies — The Obama administration announced Thursday it has won an important victory in a WTO dispute with the European Union over subsidies to airplane manufacturer Airbus. A WTO compliance panel has found the EU has continued to provide billions of dollars in subsidies, causing lost sales worth tens of billions of dollars for Boeing.

► In the PSBJ — Boeing’s blockbuster deal with Iran includes 34 wide-bodies — and good news for Washington

LOCAL

► In today’s News Tribune — Will secure scheduling be the next labor movement to make its way to Tacoma? (by Matt Driscoll) — It happened with paid sick leave. And with the minimum wage. Now, with the Seattle City Council unanimously passing what’s known as a “secure scheduling” law Monday, could a movement to ensure employees in the fast food and retail industries have more predictable schedules be the next labor battle to hit Tacoma?

► In the Seattle Times — Sawant, UW researchers clash over impact of $15 minimum-wage law — Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant is raising concerns about city-commissioned research into Seattle’s landmark minimum-wage law and about public comments by one of the University of Washington professors leading the effort.

► In today’s Spokesman-Review — Firing of Spokane Valley firefighter upheld by Court of Appeals — The firing of a Spokane Valley Fire Department captain for repeatedly using the department email system for personal use has been upheld by the state Court of Appeals.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

► From KUOW — Farmworker group seeks ban on pesticide — Farmworker advocacy groups are pushing for a ban on a pesticide known to damage the nervous system, which they say poses an unacceptable risk to farmworkers and their families. Twelve different organizations submitted a petition Wednesday calling for the EPA to suspend the use of chlorpyrifos, a widely used insect killer.

► In today’s Tri-City Herald — FAA may soon provide paid sick leave to newly-hired disabled vets — The House voted Tuesday to approve a bill, under a bill sponsored by Rep. Rick Larsen (D-2nd), aimed at closing a loophole in the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015 that prevents those veterans from getting additional benefits.

► From Politico — Democratic liberals, moderates feud over public option — A liberal attempt to revive the so-called public option — a government-run insurance plan to shore up gaps in the Affordable Care Act — is opening old wounds between the Democratic Party’s liberal and moderate wings.

NATIONAL

► From the Charlotte Observer — Governor calls out National Guard as Charlotte police shooting protests continue — Protests turned violent for a second night in Charlotte after Tuesday’s fatal police shooting of a black man. Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency for the city and deployed the National Guard and State Highway Patrol troopers to assist local police.

► In today’s NY Times — Immigrants aren’t taking Americans’ jobs, new study finds — Do immigrants take jobs from Americans and lower their wages by working for less? The answer, according to a report published on Wednesday by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, is no, immigrants do not take American jobs — but with some caveats.

► In today’s Washington Post — Lawmakers slam Mylan CEO’s $18 million salary amid questions about EpiPen profits — At a contentious congressional hearing, Heather Bresch evaded questions about how much profit the company made off the lifesaving allergy drug.

► In today’s NY Times — The EpiPen outrage continues (editorial) — It’s time for Congress to stop letting pharmaceutical companies get away with price gouging on lifesaving drugs.

The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.