skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Tax Breaks: The Leaks in Washington's State Budget?

play audio
Play

Monday, December 18, 2006   

Seattle, WA - From soft drink to software companies and farmers to filmmakers, the Washington legislature has passed half a billion dollars worth of tax breaks for various industries in the last three years. The governor's new "rainy day savings fund" and a small treasury surplus could prompt even more businesses to ask for favors in the coming legislative session. Governor Chris Gregoire will make her wishes known when she proposes her new budget tomorrow. According to Marilyn Watkins of the Economic Opportunity Institute, tax breaks aren't necessarily bad, but they can be short-sighted.

"The problem is they're passed without looking at all of the priorities we have for spending money, and without enough accountability."

She says tax breaks work best when they fit into the state's larger economic picture.

"We don't want to think of it as somebody in a parade, tossing out candy into the crowd. We want to think about careful investments; how can we best invest in public goods that are going to help all of the people and all of the businesses of Washington?"

Proponents say business tax breaks create jobs and attract new industry, but Watkins notes that better education and transportation can also boost economic development, while helping all businesses instead of a select few.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021