An independent economic group says the proposed House-Senate jobs plan (House Bill 2793) would jump-start the economy in Washington state.
Here’s part of what the Economic Opportunity Institute said:
“Passing the Jobs Bonds package should be a top priority for Washington’s Legislature during the special session. Rebuilding school facilities, retrofitting for energy efficiency, improving water quality, and cleaning up the environment will immediately create badly needed jobs across the state – and build the foundation for a healthier, more sustainable economy in the future.”
You can read the entire report by clicking here with your mouse.
Because the charts they use are interesting, we’re showing two of them.
As you can see from the first chart, Washington state’s economy hit bottom during the Great Recession and is now recovering.
However, the construction industry got hit hardest of all, and the recovery hasn’t happened for them yet. Take a look at the second chart.
To put folks in hard hats back to work, the Economic Opportunity Institute suggests that lawmakers pass the jobs bill:
Tackling additional infrastructure improvements now will put people back to work not only in construction, but across sectors in all parts of the state. Workers newly employed on funded projects will turn around and spend more – on car repair, eating out, health care, home improvement, and other services.
A coalition of labor and business is supporting the jobs bill, which has also received recent support from newspapers around the state, including The Everett Herald (which said it was a “smart plan for now and the future”), The Spokesman-Review (it “should be a high priority”) and The Tacoma News Tribune (“ingenuous job creation in hard times”).
While the exact legislation may change depending on final budget negotiations, you can read more about the idea in an op-ed by Reps. Hans Dunshee and Mike Sells published in The Everett Herald: Jobs today, jobs tomorrow.
To read this post in Spanish, click here.
To read this post in Spanish, click here.
