Labour and LGBTQ organiser Joan Jones highlights the essential role played by key workers during the pandemic in 2020, and considers innovative ways to make taxation fairer, boost the economy and help working people in her home state of Washington in the months to come.
As we enter the New Year, footage of COVID-19 vaccines coming into hospitals across Washington State gives me hope that the horrors of COVID-19 will be behind us soon. What is less clear is when the economic devastation will be resolved. During our new legislative session, our state leaders face a significant choice.
They can make cuts, as they did in 2008, to the programmes that essential workers and their families depend on the most, or they can find new revenue by taxing corporations and the uber-wealthy that have continued making record profits throughout 2020.
Essential workers are the MVPs of 2020
As a Black and Latinx person born and raised in Washington State, I know something about the workers in this state. I have lived on both sides of the mountains. I have family who have continued to work in warehouses to supply everyday things to people throughout the pandemic. I have worked with nurses who were the first to treat people as the pandemic materialised in Washington State.
Because of this, to me it is clear that it was not the billionaires or the corporations who saved us in 2020. Instead, it was everyday people — the grocery store clerks, delivery drivers, caregivers, healthcare providers — who became the most valuable players in Washington State by doing their part as essential workers.
That is why, when politicians posture and threaten to make cuts to the programmes that essential workers need most, I have to ask myself what sort of system would further punish everyday people when there are people and corporations who have made record profits and have not yet paid their fair share?
Essential workers pay three to five times more in taxes than millionaires
The facts are that Washington State has the most regressive tax structure in the United States. That means if you are low-income, you are taxed at close to 20% of your income. In contrast, middle-class workers pay about 10% of their income, and the wealthiest in our state pay only about 3% of their income in tax. Does this seems upside down to you? That’s because it is; it’s because that our tax code is upside down. During the pandemic, when the lowest-income people in our state have literally risked their lives to keep our economy working, it is not a system I have been proud to be a part of.
Invest in Washington’s economy, not the mega-rich
In 2008, Washington chose to cut over $20 billion in spending while California, when faced with the same options, chose to tax the wealthy instead. The result made all the difference. Afterward, California experienced annual economic growth of 2.5%, while Washington and other states that chose to cut spending saw their economy shrink by 2.5% per year.
In 2021, we have the same choice facing us. This time, I hope we will have learned from our past so that we can make a better future for our state's residents.
Introducing Invest in Washington Now
All of this is why earlier this year I became a founding board member of Invest in Washington Now. Invest in Washington Now is a 501c4 social welfare organisation focused on changing the way our communities think about progressive revenue today, so we can get the relief that communities need tomorrow,
The core of what groups like Invest in Washington Now want is progressive revenue. Changing our tax system so that those who have the most, help the most, is the central idea behind progressive revenue.
What is progressive revenue?
Progressive revenue is a values-first-based tax system that is grounded in taxpayers’ ability to pitch in. It ensures that our state produces the monies we need to continue serving our communities, while also allowing everyone in the state the ability to have what they need to not just survive in a pandemic, but to thrive. Progressive revenue is what we need to help us flip our tax code right side up so the economy in Washington State can work for all of us.
However, the question looming in 2021 is: will our politicians hear us? Recently, Jay Inslee, Washington’s governor, released his budget and it included a modest capital gains tax on stock sales and other progressive revenue options. It’s a great start, and there are many other examples of progressive revenue that are worth looking into and have helped other states survive, and thrive, during past recessions. A few examples include imposing estate taxes on huge inheritances, increasing tax rates on luxury real estate deals, instituting payroll taxes on multi-million-dollar salaries and bonuses, and taxing multimillion-dollar rental income. None of these options harm our essential workforce and can give us the revenue we need for every community in Washington State to thrive.
If 2020 was our boiling point, 2021 can be our turning point, but only if enough people take action to make sure our legislative branch also hears us.
It’s up to Washingtonians to make a difference
I’m calling on the people of Washington State to take their first action by signing this petition addressed to our state lawmakers, so they can understand how much we care about this issue. If you do, you will join nearly 10,000 others who agree.
Invest in WA Now will alert you when it’s time to support key legislation for progressive revenue. Be ready to call your representatives in Olympia in order to make change happen this year — even from the safety of our own homes.
Our healthcare professionals, education workers, and all other essential workers have done enough this year to make this economy run. It’s time for the uber-wealthy and corporations who have made record profits during the pandemic to do their fair share so we all keep our communities afloat.
To the rest of the country, Washington State is a proud beacon for progressive values and doing the right thing. But to continue making our state great, we must invest in our community. Join me. It is time to Invest in Washington Now.
This article was originally published on the website of Invest in Washington Now.
The views expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme, the International Inequalities Institute, or the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Joan Jones
Executive Director, Service Employees International Union - Washington State Council
Joan Jones is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity and a campaigner, advocate, and labour organiser focused on leading progressive change in the United States Workers Rights Movement. They currently serves as the Executive Director of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Washington State Council spearheading their joint external relations, political, and policy work.
Banner Image: Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash