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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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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?

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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.


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