May 30, 2025
In this issue:
- Lawmakers made our tax code more fair, but cuts will still hurt families
- The GOP’s latest reverse Robin Hood tax scheme will test its populist rhetoric
- WA state employees fought against furloughs. They count new WA budget a ‘win’
- How Trump’s megabill transfers wealth in the US
“One Big Beautiful Bill.” That’s the name of the disastrous tax policy lawmakers are considering in Washington D.C.. If passed, the damage it would do to our federal tax system is so egregious, the St Louis Post Dispatch called it “a classic reverse-Robin Hood scheme that would steal from the poor to give to the rich.”
This is not a policy we can afford.
Meanwhile in Washington State, advocacy from activists like you protected crucial funding for healthcare, education, and housing, but we are still going to feel the effects of some cuts. Taken in combination with what we’re expecting from the Trump Administration, the picture is clear: Now is the time for our movement to double down.
Join us by RSVP’ing to our June 3rd Activist Briefing where we’ll talk about how we can organize and act together to fix our upside-down taxcode.
See you there!
-Treasure
LAWMAKERS MADE OUR TAX CODE MORE FAIR, CUTS WILL STILL HURT FAMILIES
I’m proud that we united to call on the Legislature to pass revenue solutions that ask the wealthiest individuals and corporations to do their part. People from all corners of the state and all walks of life came together again, just like when we successfully defeated Initiative 2109 and protected the state’s capital gains tax. Our victory in passing the capital gains tax in 2021, despite fierce opposition from powerful, well-funded interests, has already generated over $1 billion to support early learning, child care and education.
We are closer than ever to creating a tax system that is truly fair, and I am more hopeful than ever that we will get there. This year, the results weren’t perfect, but we made real progress. Together, we continue to build a better, more just future for Washington.
More – Treasure Mackley, My Edmonds News
WA STATE EMPLOYEES FOUGHT AGAINST FURLOUGHS. THEY COUNT NEW WA BUDGET A ‘WIN’
Given the grim fiscal situation Washington faced, [Mike] Yestramski said he is pleased with the budget Ferguson signed. “I mean, there were some hard cuts still made,” he said. “There was going to be pain regardless. But I do think it was minimized to a certain extent.”
Other successes counted by WFSE include stopping “devastating” cuts to The Evergreen State College and securing increased safety and capacity in juvenile rehabilitation facilities, including a new 48-bed living unit at Stafford Creek and more security at Echo Glen. But WFSE says that there’s still work ahead. Yestramski said he’d like to have seen a more aggressive push for progressive revenue, such as with a so-called wealth tax.
More – Simone Carter, The Olympian
THE GOP’S LATEST REVERSE-ROBIN HOOD TAX SCHEME WILL TEST ITS POPULIST RHETORIC
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the plan, if passed as-is by the Senate and signed into law, would decrease resources for the nation’s lowest-earning households while steering benefits to the highest-income Americans.
And even with the reductions in funding for Medicaid and other services to the poor, the measure will add some $3.8 trillion to the deficit over the next decade.
The irresponsibility of it was driven home last week with the decision by Moody’s to downgrade the U.S. credit rating, a direct response to a national debt that already tops $36 trillion.
More – St Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board
HOW TRUMP’S MEGABILL TRANSFERS WEALTH IN THE US
Low-income Americans will feel the effect of changes to aid programs, while the wealthy will see most of the windfall from tax cuts, according to multiple assessments.
Democrats argue the trade-off is cruel, but Republicans say it’s necessary to deliver on Trump’s economic agenda and to root out waste and fraud, protecting the programs for those who need them.
More – Tami Luhby and Zacharay Wolf, CNN
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