Regulations are like bricks. One brick doesn’t weigh that much, but as you add more bricks, the load gets heavier and heavier until eventually it becomes a crushing burden that slows progress to a crawl.
The powers in the other Washington appear to be aligning to reform our country’s immigration laws. It has taken awhile, but it is now time to make the necessary changes.
In 1993, Gov. Mike Lowry (D) wanted to help small employers offer health insurance. Too many could not afford coverage for their employees and their families.
His idea — which was a template for President and Mrs. Clinton’s national health reforms — was a government mandate requiring all employers to offer a plan with the same benefits for all workers. It didn’t work for three fundamental reasons.
When Grand Coulee Dam was completed in 1942, it was called the “Eighth Wonder of the Modern World.”
When we moved from Montana to Olympia 35 years ago, we saw enticing television and magazine ads for our neighboring states, but none for Washington. Fast forward to 2013 and nothing has changed. It was puzzling then, but even more perplexing today, considering the money and jobs at stake.
The famous baseball pitcher Satchel Paige used to say, “Don’t look back — something might be gaining on you.” With all due respect to Satchel, Washington should glance over its shoulder because something is gaining on us. Competing states are coming after Washington’s economic powerhouse: aerospace.
California and Texas are like the two biggest kids on the block going toe-to-toe for bragging rights. Who’s the biggest? Who’s the best?
Bravado aside, comparing the business climate in these two states reveals why one state is lagging while the other is thriving.
In the midst of seemingly endless partisan arguments in our nation’s capital about how to reduce unemployment, Wal-Mart, America’s largest retailer, announced its own plan to deal with the problem.
When I grew up, kids in neighborhoods gathered in a vacant lot or backyard to play “kick the can.” It was a combination of hide-n-seek, tag and capture the flag — and it was fun.
As we look ahead in 2013, the cost and availability of electricity will become more important to our families, farmers, merchants and factories.
With all the class warfare these days, “rich” has become a four-letter word. To hear some tell it, high-income earners are greedy misers who don’t pay their “fair share.”
With all the class warfare these days, “rich” has become a four-letter word. To hear some tell it, high-income earners are greedy misers who don’t pay their “fair share.”
Everyone is talking about the “fiscal cliff” deadline looming on Dec. 31, when automatic tax increases and spending cuts take effect unless Congress reaches a compromise. Both political camps are in full campaign mode, blaming the other for the lack of progress.
