What’s at Stake

Every parent of school-age kids knows a simple fact: the fewer the kids in a classroom, the better. This New York Times story about the trends of growing class sizes states: “Since the 1980s, teachers and many other educators have embraced research finding that smaller classes foster higher achievement.” But the Great Recession has sent states scrambling for money, and stuffed classrooms to the gills. This is bad news for K-12 parents, but it doesn’t get better for families sending a kid to college. With double-digit tuition increases on the horizon, it looks like education is being sacrificed on the alter of an all-cuts budget. Just another example of the middle class getting squeezed.

(Also posted on Families for a Fair Economy)

Nurses Care About Our Communities

Later today in Yakima, nurses, healthcare workers and community advocates will appeal directly to bank officials in Yakima to return the multi-million dollar tax breaks they receive under an outdated tax loophole, while patients and families lose access to healthcare. “More cuts to Basic Health and the Disability Lifeline will mean more people who can’t get the help they need. If state leaders succeed in closing Yakima Valley School, that’s going to cost our community 300 jobs as well as services that we badly need. Tax breaks for banks and big business are money on the table that could be used to help patients. The banks should share in the sacrifice that so many of us are being asked to make,” said Sandra Quick, an RN at Yakima Valley School.

“We’re essentially giving revenue away, but we don’t know where our patients, families or neighbors will go for healthcare,” Sandy continued. “It doesn’t make sense, and it’s not right.”

(Also posted to Families for a Fair Economy.)

Time to Put On the Green Eye Shades

It’s crunch time with the state budget, and every penny counts. But why doesn’t government start acting like a business? That’s the question posed by state Rep. Andy Billig from Spokane in this thought-provoking editorial. It’s so obvious. Discounts mean less money coming in. When a business is having a tough time, it re-examines the discounts it offers. But the state has put corporate tax loopholes off limits. And that’s just a recipe for bad management.