DAILY NEWS
Boeing’s 3 C’s, silly Shea, Paris pullout, Dems’ disgust
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
BOEING: CUT, COLLECT, CASH OUT
► In yesterday’s (Everett) Herald — Boeing’s Washington tax-break savings in 2016: $242 million — “We continue to be extremely concerned about these tax breaks and the fact that the company employment is going down. That’s not what the taxpayers of Washington expected,” said SPEEA spokesman Bill Dugovich.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Local reporters who cover Boeing need to dive a bit deeper rather than simply accepting the “need to stay competitive” talking points of Boeing executives. Buried toward the end of a story in The (Everett) Herald last month is this nugget:
“Boeing executives have promised to keep sending more cash to shareholders and to boost profits to about 15 percent of revenue, more than 50 percent above the company’s performance last year. They also pledged to continue spending billions of dollars to buy back issued shares, driving up the value of outstanding shares.“
The truth is, Boeing is conducting massive job cuts and layoffs that rival the post-9/11 downturn largely because they want to boost the stock price via buybacks. Learn more here.
THIS WASHINGTON
EDITOR’S NOTE — The M.L. King County Labor Council is hosting a mayoral candidate forum entitled “Who Will Work for Workers?” this Thursday, June 1 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 1st Ave. Get details here and please RSVP to office@mlkclc.org if you plan to attend.
► From the Public News Service — Small businesses cheer House plan to change B&O taxes — As budget negotiations continue in Olympia, small business owners are supporting House Democrats’ plan to restructure the business and occupation tax. The House has proposed raising rates 20 percent for businesses making more than $250,000 in gross revenue and exempting any business smaller than that.
LOCAL
► In today’s (Everett) Herald — Sale of BPA lines would bring higher power bills (editorial) — There’s nothing to be gained for Washington state and Northwest residents by selling off the BPA’s power lines. In return for a brief infusion of cash to pay for Trump’s tax cuts, we all get higher electric bills.
ALSO at The Stand — America for sale — cheap! (Needs work.)
► In today’s Spokesman-Review — County plans lawsuit over Spokane Tribe’s casino in Airway Heights — Spokane County leaders plan to sue the federal government over its role in approving the Spokane Tribe’s long-planned $400 million gaming and retail development on the West Plains.
TRUMPCARE
► In today’s Washington Post — Why Republicans won’t go nuclear even for Obamacare repeal (by )– Why is McConnell dead-set against widening his own party’s unilateral ability to pass legislation? Because he knows it would hurt Republicans in the long-term. And it wouldn’t help them that much in passing a health-care bill now.
ALSO at The Stand — Unions to McMorris Rodgers: Shame on you — Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the six-term Republican representing Spokane and surrounding counties in Eastern Washington’s 5th Congressional District, was the only member of Washington’s delegation who voted “yes” on the American Health Care Act, which narrowly passed 217-213 on May 4.
► In the Spokesman-Review — Congress ignoring Medicaid’s vital role (editorial) — The bill’s total changes to Medicaid would cut $834 billion in federal Medicaid spending between 2017 and 2026, according to the Congressional Budget Office. An estimated 14 million Americans would be removed from Medicaid rolls. Like it or not, Medicaid is a critical component of the health care equation. Cutting it would cause real suffering and merely shifts costs elsewhere.
► From The Hill — Poll: Most disapprove of ObamaCare repeal efforts — A new poll finds that 55 percent of the public has an unfavorable view of the House-passed AHCA, known as Trumpcare.
THAT WASHINGTON
► In today’s NY Times — Trump poised to pull U.S. from Paris climate accord — President Trump is expected to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, making good on a campaign pledge but severely weakening the landmark 2015 climate change accord that committed nearly every nation to take action to curb the warming of the planet.
EDITOR’S NOTE — If Trump pulls out of the Paris Climate Accord, the only nations not participating will be Nicaragua, Syria and the United States.
► From Politico — Poll: Support for Trump impeachment rises — Forty-three percent of voters want Congress to begin impeachment proceedings, up from 38 percent last week.
► From AP — Labor activists probing Ivanka Trump brand in China arrested, missing — The arrest and disappearance of three labor activists investigating a Chinese company that produces Ivanka Trump-branded shoes in China prompted a call for her brand to cease working with the supplier and raised questions about whether the first family’s commercial interests would muddy U.S. leadership on human rights.
NATIONAL
► In the WSJ — New York fast-food, retail workers get more scheduling, pay protections — Fast-food and retail employers in New York City will soon be required to offer more predictable work schedules and other protections for employees, under legislation signed into law Tuesday by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
TODAY’S MUST-READ
The Stand posts links to Washington state and national news of interest every weekday morning by 10 a.m.