June 1st, 2026
In this issue:
- Lu Hill: What’s in it for us? Digging into the millionaires tax and what it means for 99% of us
- It’s hard to imagine great wealth. But Seattle’s ‘Wealth Walk’ makes you feel it
- Report: WA is among the most expensive states for infant childcare center spots
- Washington State’s budget has been shrinking, not growing, despite statements to the contrary by former elected officials
- The Case for California’s Wealth Tax
- Ferguson vows to veto any expansion of WA ‘mill ionaires tax’
Plenty has been written about the mega-millionaires and billionaires who will pay the Millionaires Tax. We’re taking big steps toward fixing our tax code and asking the super rich to pay what they owe, but the payers of this tax are less than 0.5% of the story…
The other 99.5% of the story is how this tax affects everyday Washingtonians. Whether you’re a small business owner seeking a boost from B&O tax cuts, a parent struggling to find child care, or just someone who could use extra cash, the new Millionaires Tax will probably help you.
So what could the Millionaires Tax mean for you personally?. That’s where our quiz comes in.
Let us know in quiz comments what you think. As Lu Hill wrote in the Spokesman-Review, “When everyone pays what they truly owe – including millionaires – our neighbors can access the services and programs they need to build a good life.”
The Millionaires Tax is a step toward a Washington where everyone has that chance. Including you.
In solidarity,
Ben, Invest in WA Now
WHAT’S IN IT FOR US? DIGGING INTO THE MILLIONAIRES TAX AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR 99% OF US.
What’s harder to measure than all of these benefits is something that’s just as important: the millionaires tax means a state tax code that is more just and equitable and that better funds our state budget. Our state budget is a moral document. It reflects the values of the people who live here.
More – Lu Hill, The Spokesman-Review
IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE GREAT WEALTH, BUT SEATTLE’S ‘WEALTH WALK’ MAKES YOU FEEL IT
After walking a mile, we are billionaires, but we’re nowhere near Gates and his neighbors. To become richer than Elon Musk, richest man in the world, by my count we’d need to walk clear across the lake, over the mountains, past Montana’s border.
At the end, Purcell reminds me about that dollar he gave me. He tells me to keep it.
“A dollar is no longer a useful unit of measurement when we think about the super wealthy,” Purcell said. “ But every dollar has the same amount of power as every other dollar, and what we choose to do with that money shapes our neighborhoods, shapes our cities, shapes our world.”
REPORT: WA IS AMONG THE MOST EXPENSIVE STATES FOR INFANT CHILDCARE CENTER SPOTS
Heidi Bugbee, executive director of Generations Early Learning & Family Center in Bellingham, said she’s noticed families will sacrifice a consistent care schedule due to a lack of affordability. Some might ask the grandparents or their neighbors to babysit on certain weekdays because they can’t cover the expense of enrolling their kid five days a week. She encourages people to advocate for Washington to expand the number of families who qualify for subsidies. Some may decide that staying home with their kids makes more fiscal sense than going to work, which affects the broader economy, she said.
More – Simone Carter, The Olympian
WASHINGTON STATE’S BUDGET HAS BEEN SHRINKING, NOT GROWING, DESPITE STATEMENTS TO THE CONTRARY BY FORMER ELECTED OFFICIALS
There have been times when we increased state expenditures, and those were followed by times when we cut them. For example, after revenue fell in the late aughts, during the Great Recession, the Legislature and Governor Gregoire used severe austerity measures to balance the budget. They did not raise taxes on the wealthy, as their successors have done. Consequently, the state limped along with fewer dollars from a tax code that remained antiquated, regressive, and behind the growth of the economy.
Their decisions left us in a hole and we’re still digging out of it.
More – Andrew Villeneuve, The Cascadia Advocate
THE CASE FOR CALIFORNIA’S WEALTH TAX
This arrangement violates basic principles of fairness, deprives the government of revenue it needs for public services and fuels wealth concentration. Overwhelming wealth becomes power — power to influence the direction of corporate behemoths, power to sway society through donations and media ownership, power to steer politics through unlimited campaign contributions to super PACs. Elon Musk’s recent adventures in the executive branch, after spending hundreds of millions of dollars to help elect Donald Trump, demonstrate how quickly concentrated wealth can transmute into political control.
More – Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, The New York Times
FERGUSON VOWS TO VETO ANY EXPANSION OF WA ‘MILLIONAIRES TAX’
“One more thing voters should know: so long as I am Governor I will veto ANY attempt to lower the threshold or raise the rate of this tax — we are asking those who make the most to pay a little more, and providing relief to workers and small businesses. Let’s keep it that way,” Ferguson wrote.
More – Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times
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