President-elect Barack Obama and the new Congress appear headed toward an economic stimulus package for states and workers. Some 387 economists, including several Nobel laureates, back that effort.
Today, governors met with Obama in Philadelphia to discuss help to financially strapped states.
Gov. Chris Gregoire pressed the new president for an economic stimulus package.
“Today, I asked President-elect Obama to propose a stimulus package that would provide Americans a steady paycheck, not a one time ‘bonus’ check,” she announced after meeting the president-elect.
AFSCME is urging increased federal funds for state Medicaid programs to stabilize state budgets and to help jumpstart the economy.
AFSCME is also calling for “counter-cyclical flexible grants.” These block grants would enable state and local governments to continue to provide public services.
In a related development, the governor has appointed Federation Executive Director Greg Devereux to a special task force on Washington’s fiscal crisis. That special panel meets for the first time Thursday (Dec. 4).
Also expect some budget news to come out of this week’s pre-session legislative hearings in Olympia.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment Policy
We appreciate our readers and thank you for adding to the discussion. The following guidelines are established to ensure respectful tone in the comments of readers so we can all enjoy the site.
• Keep comments on topic - any comment that appears to be off-topic will be edited or deleted.
• Profanity - we’re PG13 here. Moderate language is allowed, but we reserve the right to edit out anything offensive.
• Personal attacks - personal attacks on the authors or other commentators will result in an immediate ban.
• Editor’s right - While we encourage comments that challenge or offer constructed criticism, we reserve the right to edit or remove any post, and to ban a user.*
• External linking - external links are ok, if they are relevant to the original post and your comment. Simply linking to your own site will be frowned upon.
Final Words
You, and only you, are responsible for your words. Once your comment is submitted, that’s it — you’re immortalized. Think before you submit.
*WFSE members are protected under the following Communications Ethics policy:
Under the provisions of the AFSCME “Bill of Rights for Union Members” regarding communications, “Members shall suffer no impairment of freedom of speech concerning the operations of this union. Active discussion of union affairs shall be encouraged and protected within this organization.”
If you believe your comments were removed unfairly, you may protest the removal of your post to the Communications Committee. Leave your protest at Contact Us on WFSE.org