Olympia Weekly

Inslee's latest restrictions will kill more jobs and small businesses during holiday season (Newsweek)  

Jay Inslee announced another round of harsh restrictions amid a “third wave” of COVID-19 cases in Washington State.

Once again, Inslee has shut down restaurants and bars, only allowing take-out and outdoor seating – in the dead of winter. Businesses from gyms to movie theaters are all shut down.

Inslee’s restrictions are not based on all the available science and data. For example, less than one percent of COVID-19 cases were traced to restaurants in Pierce, Walla Walla, and Clark Counties.

The president of the Washington Hospitality Association warned that the latest restrictions would kill 100,000 jobs statewide.

Indeed, the shutdowns will crush businesses just as many began to recover following the previous shutdown – and, no less, during the holiday season.

We need to protect the most vulnerable. We need to use all available science and data. We need to use targeted and uniformly applied restrictions. And we need to enlist people to help us and put our trust in them to do so.

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WA Democrats push income tax as "employer compensation tax"  (Washington Policy Center)

Democrats are circulating drafts for an “employer compensation tax” imposed on “employers engaging in business.” The draft currently exempts small businesses from the tax – but defines small businesses as “any business that reports annual compensation expense of no more than seven million dollars in the immediately preceding tax year.”

Behold the incrementalism.... They start at 7 million.  Next year it will be six million, and then five.... How soon will they apply the income tax toall of us?

The draft also states that the “employer may not make any deductions from the employees’ compensation to pay for this tax.” As the Washington Policy Center’s Jason Mercier points out, by placing the tax burden on businesses and banning deductions, the proposal “attempts to thread the needle to avoid imposing a constitutionally prohibited graduated income tax.”

Indeed, given the proposal also targets self-employed individuals along with all business types, the proposal looks like an income tax.

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Inslee shortlisted as Biden's climate advisor  (E&E News)

Jay Inslee is named among the candidates for Joe Biden’s domestic climate adviser. Only two other candidates are considered top prospects, including former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and Ali Zaidi, New York’s deputy secretary for energy and environment. Other candidates include John Podesta, a former White House chief of staff, and former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

While running for a third term, Inslee promised he would not leave his position as governor for a place in a Biden administration. Of course, in order to get elected, Inslee also promised never to raise taxes --- we know how that worked out.

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State officials release COVID-19 vaccine plans (My Northwest)

Washington state officials have provided plans on how the COVID-19 vaccine will be distributed.

• The first round of vaccines – Phase 1A – will be given to “high risk workers in health care settings and high risk first responders.”
• The next round of vaccines – Phase 1B – will be handed out to “all people over 65 years of age, and people with underlying conditions that put them at ‘significantly higher risk.'”
• Phase 1C will include “critical workers at high exposure, including those working in K-12 child care, critical infrastructure, law enforcement, and agriculture.”
• Phase 2 will include “critical workers at a lower risk of exposure, non-essential workers at a high risk of exposure, people living in group homes and congregate facilities, and those with disabilities.”
• Phase 3 – the final phase – will “include young adults, children, and non-essential workers at low risk.”

There is no timeline established for each phase.