WSLC Reports Today -- July 31, 2009

July 31, 2009

July 30: WA's workers' comp advantage

July 29: How to avoid heat-related illness

July 28: Call Congress on health care

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Friday, July 31, 2009

Report: Higher education system underfunded
A new report issued by the Seattle-based Economic Opportunity Institute says Washington State is falling behind in the effort to build a world- class education system. Continued cuts in state funding and corresponding tuition hikes mean fewer, more expensive slots at Washington’s public universities and colleges; “sticker shock” is likely to drive down applications from low-income and minority students despite increased financial aid; and middle-income graduates are taking on more debt to pay for school. Read more.

Our workers' comp advantage

One of the most persistent myths about Washington's business climate is that our workers' compensation costs are higher than in most other states. The gap between the truth and the negative rhetoric on this issue is shocking. Not only do we have comparatively low premiums, by the national measure most often cited, the workers' compensation costs to employers in Washington state are the fifth lowest of any state in the nation. Read more.

► At HeraldNet.com -- Labor report: WA workers' comp costs among nation's lowest -- If you read the data and do the math, Washington is not really one of the worst places in America for businesses when it comes to workers compensation costs. It is actually one of the better places sitting as the state with the fifth lowest cost to companies, according to a new WSLC report.

► At Horses Ass -- No Good Business-Climate News Goes Unchallenged™ -- The state labor council has the second in its series “Outside the Echo Chamber” posted here. It’s part of labor’s new and vigorous effort to combat the endless wankery in this state about how we supposedly suck so bad in terms of business climate (thus the sardonic “trademark” bit.)

Health care news:

► In today's Washington Post -- Health care industry generous to Blue Dog Democrats -- The roiling debate about health-care reform has been a boon to the political fortunes of Ross and 51 other members of the Blue Dog Coalition, who have become key brokers in shaping legislation in the House. Objections from the group resulted in a compromise bill announced this week that includes higher payments for rural providers and softens a public insurance option that industry groups object to. The deal also would allow states to set up nonprofit cooperatives to offer coverage, a Republican-generated idea that insurers favor as an alternative to a public insurance option. At the same time, the group has set a record pace for fundraising this year through its political action committee, surpassing other congressional leadership PACs in collecting more than $1.1 million through June. More than half the money came from the health-care, insurance and financial services industries, marking a notable surge in donations from those sectors compared with earlier years, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity.

► At TheNewsTribune.com -- Rep. Adam Smith: Don't expand health coverage with blank check -- Smith isn’t opposed to a so-called public option for health insurance, but he said if it were modeled on Medicare, it would "merely expand the inefficiencies of the current system." Contact Smith (or your U.S. Representative).

► In today's NY Times -- GOP criticizes health plan as panel votes for public plan -- The House Energy and Commerce Committee resumes work on major health care legislation, voting to establish a government-run health insurance plan, as top Republicans stepped up their criticism. By a vote of 35 to 24, Democrats defeated a Republican effort to eliminate a section of the bill that would create the public health insurance option.

► In today's Wall St. Journal -- Senate Finance Committee won't vote until fall -- Sen. Max Baucus ends any hope the influential committee will take up bipartisan health legislation this summer, kicking the issue to the fall amid lingering divisions over a bill intended to provide insurance coverage to tens of millions of Americans.

► Today from AP -- House Democrats patch up health care differences -- Democrats on a key House committee said Friday they have patched up their differences on a health care overhaul, and went back to work confident they can advance the complex legislation.

► At AFL-CIO Now -- Health care reform will benefit small business, produce big savings -- Two studies by the Economic Policy Institute find that the House health care reform bill (H.R. 3200) would pay dividends for small businesses and other groups, and costs incurred by the federal government would help reduce total health spending over time.

► In today's Bellingham Herald -- Local League of Women Voters says health care reform imperative (op-ed) -- More than 70% of United States citizens are in favor of reforming our health care system. And no wonder. The League just spent six months studying health plans around the world. It was shocking to learn that although we spend more per capita then any of the other countries -- $6,102 per capita compared to France, for instance, which spends $3,159 per capita -- the U.S. rates dead last when it comes to life expectancy and infant mortality.

► In today's NY Times -- Health care realities (Paul Krugman column) -- Many Americans don’t understand that getting the government involved in health care wouldn’t be radical: the government is already deeply involved, even in private insurance.

Boeing news:

► At SPEEA.org -- SPEEA testing drinking water after Boeing refuses -- Responding to member concerns about dirty drinking water at Boeing’s Puget Sound IDS sites, SPEEA is having water samples tested by an independent laboratory. Results are expected in one to two weeks. The action comes as Boeing, this week, is eliminating bottled water at IDS facilities.

► In today's News Tribune -- Boeing debuts war plane -- A militarized version of the 737-800, the P-8A Poseidon is designed for maritime patrol and surveillance, but can also deploy weaponry from its retrofitted bomb bay to destroy enemy submarines at sea.

Local news:

► In today's Tri-City Herald -- Senate approves 2010 budget increase for Hanford -- The U.S. Senate has passed a Hanford budget that adds $144 million to spending for fiscal 2010, thanks to the work of Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). The Obama administration's proposed budget for Hanford would have increased spending by $24 million from the current budget, and Murray succeeded in getting $120 million added. That brings the total to about $2.1 billion.

► At TheOlympian.com -- R-71 has fewer signatures than reported; formal checks to begin -- The signature total is only 14% more than the 120,577 valid needed to qualify for the Nov. 3 ballot. That is far below the average 18% invalidation rate, raising questions about R-71's viability.

► From AP -- Stimulus money bypasses many Washington bridges -- When assigning federal stimulus money for highways, state transportation officials say they looked for ready-to-go projects that would meet the government's goal of getting people quickly to work. And for the most part, they say, that excluded bridges. An AP analysis found many states are spending stimulus dollars on bridges already in good shape or on easier projects like repaving roads.

Port of Seattle news:

► At Horses Ass -- Seattle Times disses labor in Port endorsements -- The Seattle Times dismisses Port candidate Max Vekich's superior qualifications because "his close identification with organized labor makes him a risk for this post.” Huh? Vekich’s close identification with organized labor makes him a risk of what…? On the Waterfront style mob violence and corruption? If not for Vekich and his union connections, Terry Malloy coulda been a contender?

► At Publicola -- Port reform storm -- Political consultant Cathy Allen sent a fundraising pitch to supporters of her client, Port candidate Tom Albro. The pitch trashed the Teamsters for trying to push a slate of candidates -- Max Vekich (who’s running against Albro) and Rob Holland (who’s running against another Allen client, David Doud) -- for being pawns of labor unions who, Allen argues, are trying to dominate the Port. Albro himself boasts about being a Teamster.

National news:

► Today from AP -- Recession eases; GDP dip smaller than expected -- The economy sank at a pace of just 1 percent in the second quarter of the year, a new government report shows. It was a better-than-expected showing that provided the strongest signal yet that the longest recession since World War II is finally winding down.

► In today's NY Times -- Big banks paid billions in bonuses amid Wall Street crisis, bailout -- Even weaker banks like Citigroup and Bank of America gave million-dollar awards to hundreds.

► In today's NY Times -- UFW sues California agency over heat safety -- The United Farm Workers union sued California’s occupational health and safety agency on Thursday, accusing it of doing too little to prevent farm laborers’ deaths from heat illness.

FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2009
Report: WA higher education system underfunded

The following was released this week by the Seattle-based Economic Opportunity Institute:

As costs rise at Washington’s public universities, students and families are “Losing by Degrees”

SEATTLE, WA -- A new report issued by the Seattle-based Economic Opportunity Institute says Washington State is falling behind in the effort to build a world-class education system. Continued cuts in state funding and corresponding tuition hikes mean fewer, more expensive slots at Washington’s public universities and colleges; “sticker shock” is likely to drive down applications from low-income and minority students despite increased financial aid; and middle-income graduates are taking on more debt to pay for school.

With public funding for state higher education at a 30-year low, EOI’s report “Losing by Degrees” calls on state leaders to identify new sources of public revenue to increase public investment in higher education in order to build a more competitive economy, and warns of lost economic security and decreased business competitiveness if no action is taken. Key findings include:

Students and families are paying more than ever to attend public universities and colleges. The total cost (tuition, room, board, and expenses) of attending the University of Washington has grown from one-fourth to nearly a third of the median household income over the past 20 years -- faster than both inflation and per capita income. Tuition is set to rise even faster over the next two years, as tuition at Washington’s research universities will increase by 30%, and at community colleges by 15%.

The number of available slots is decreasing, even as our population grows. Despite tuition increases, the state’s public research universities will be able to enroll about 2,000 fewer students in 2009-10 than in 2008-09, and comprehensive universities will have space for 2,362 fewer. Meanwhile, the number of seniors enrolled in Washington public high schools has increased in each of the past four years, meaning more young people will be competing for fewer slots in school.

“Sticker shock” will likely lower applications from low-income and minority students, despite higher financial aid packages. Legislators and education administrators claim that higher income families can afford price hikes, and that lower income students will receive increased financial aid, both from the state and from new federal policies. But the experience of other public universities using this “high-tuition/high-aid” financing model, including the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Miami-Ohio, and University of Vermont, indicates applications from low-income and minority students are likely to decline.

At the University of Washington, data show a trend of decreasing economic diversity corresponding with rising tuition rates even before the major tuition hikes scheduled for the next two years. Between 1997 and 2007, the percentage of freshmen applying for aid consistently hovered at around 63% of the incoming class. Of those 63%, roughly one in 10 reported an annual family income of over $100,000 (adjusted to 2007 dollars) in 1997, yet by 2007 it was one out of every three students.

Middle-class families and students are shouldering higher costs as the majority of “aid” is coming from loans. In 1991-92, loans made up 36% of total aid packages, while grants were 61%. By 2007-08, however, loans had grown to comprise 49% of the packages, while grants fell to 45%. In 2008, the average student loan debt among borrowers at the University of Washington was $16,481 -- a number that will only grow with tuition increases. These debt payments erect real barriers to purchasing a home or car, or pursuing graduate education, and portend a life of indebtedness as home mortgages, child care costs, and heath care costs deepen the financial hole.

Washington needs new sources of public funding to increase state allocations for public higher education, now at a 30-year low. In 1980-81, undergraduate tuition accounted for 25% of the total costs of undergraduate instruction in research universities, while the state covered the remaining 75%. By the 2007-08 academic year, tuition covered 62% and the state only 38%. In community and technical colleges, the trend is in the same direction, with the state decreasing its share from 77% in 1980-81 to 58% in 2007-08. State need-based grants, and federal aid and tax breaks cover only a fraction of the total costs of higher education.

The current severe recession and consequent state budget crisis compound the problem, but the financing problem will remain even when the economy recovers. As long as Washington’s tax base shrinks relative to the whole economy and relies too heavily on contributions from low- and middle-income state residents -- while taxing the wealthy too lightly -- Washingtonians will not be able to raise sufficient public revenues to build a world-class education system.

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Losing by Degrees is available online at www.eoionline.org. The Economic Opportunity Institute, founded in 1998 and based in Seattle, WA, is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy center advancing new ideas to build an economy that works -- for everyone.