Sorted by date Results 1 - 7 of 7
Let’s Go Washington is taking aim at the WA Cares Fund and a payroll tax that workers started paying this month with an initiative campaign. Initiative 2124, an Initiative to the Legislature, would make participation in WA Cares optional instead of mandatory and allow workers a way out of the state-imposed, insurance-like program at any time. That would be welcome news to many people who have other life needs that demand the attention of their monthly incomes. This should be interesting. I like the idea of giving lawmakers an...
The legislative session is in full swing, which means a lot of lawmakers are interested in picking winners and losers. Instead of creating equal opportunities, an equality of outcome is being sought. The Washington Future Fund, proposed in Senate Bill 5125 and House Bill 1094, is being heard this morning and later this week. Senate Democrats write that the bill “seeks to break the cycle of generational poverty by making a one-time deposit of $4,000 into an account for each baby in Washington born into poverty.” Over the yea...
A window to apply for an exemption from a payroll tax that begins in July 2023 is still open, but it will only be open for about two more months. It closes Dec. 31. If you’re one of the people who has private long-term-care insurance (LTCI), purchased before Nov. 1, 2021, you’ll want to jump through the exemption hoops available on the “Exemptions” page of the WA Cares website. WA Cares is a mandatory social program created by the Legislature in 2019 to benefit some Washingtonians who have long-term-care needs and their c...
There wasn’t much notice for August’s webinar hosted by the WA Cares Fund. It was titled, “Long-Term Care Planning for Near-Retirees.” I finally went back for a watch. In addition to presentations from government employees about changes that were made for near-retirees in the last legislative session when it comes to WA Cares — the new social program supporters and public agency heads are trying to pass off as an insurance policy for workers, even calling a new payroll tax a “premium” — there also were helpful presentations f...
The Washington State Board of Health unanimously passed a motion to accept the recommendation from a technical advisory group (TAG) against a COVID-19 immunization requirement for school entry. Board members did reiterate support for the COVID-19 vaccines and hoped for voluntary vaccination of school children. The vote against a vaccine mandate for school children came after an hour-and-a-half of public comment and thousands of emails over the past months opposing such a requirement. (My public comment is included below.) I...
As predicted, there was a whirlwind of activity in the first few weeks of the legislative session related to the WA Cares Fund. That’s the name of a new social program the state’s legislative majority created in 2019 — and that voters said “no” to in an advisory vote. It will soon bring workers in our state a new payroll tax of 58 cents for every $100 of wages. A delay of the long-term-care law that mandates the program and its tax was secured in the passage of House Bill 1732. Gov. Jay Inslee and other Democratic leaders r...
At a recent press conference, Gov. Jay Inslee was asked several questions about the state’s nursing shortage, a problem that existed long before the COVID-19 era. Reporters were stabbing around at various solutions being proposed in the Legislature. Should we regulate hospital working arrangements? Should we limit what contract nurses are paid? How does the government protect nurses from burnout? Gov. Inslee summed up the concerns well: “The best solution is to produce more nurses that are available for our hospitals.” He’s...
