by Carolyn Bick
Starting at noon today, the City of Seattle will accept a new round of applicants for small business stabilization grants, meant to assist small Seattle businesses and economic opportunity nonprofits that have suffered financially as a consequence of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading City Announces $4 Million Available in Another Round of Small Business Relief Grantsby Emily Vyhnanek and Margaret Babayan
(This piece was originally published on the Washington State Budget & Policy Center blog.)
COVID-19 has exposed just how many people across the state were one paycheck away from being unable to meet their basic needs. People who were experiencing economic hardship before this crisis are falling further behind. Federal action to expand unemployment protections and provide stimulus payments were important first steps, but too many people — especially undocumented workers — were excluded, and much more needs to be done to ensure everyone can meet their needs while staying safe.
Continue reading OPINION: Lawmakers Must Invest in a Cash Stimulus for the People Who Drive Our Economyby Sarah Stuteville
I’ve only ever taken one economics course, back in undergrad. I got a D. After 15 years, I found myself ruminating on that class, and an argument I had with the economics professor who taught it, while distress-drinking on a recent Friday.
Continue reading Disaster Progressivism: Having the Guts to Imagine Moreby Jennifer Tran and Misha Werschkul, Washington State Budget & Policy Center
(This piece was originally published in longer form on the Washington State Budget & Policy Center blog.)
Since the first U.S. COVID-19 case was confirmed in Washington State in January, the public health crisis has rapidly evolved into an economic crisis. In recent weeks, we have spoken with many nonprofit and community leaders in our region to find out more about the specific economic needs emerging from this crisis. And we’ve heard the same sentiment over and over: We can’t make the same mistakes of the Great Recession. At that time, lawmakers made deep cuts to public services and community investments, and they increased our state’s reliance on regressive sources of tax revenue. This created continued hardship and growing inequalities for countless people in our communities.
Continue reading OPINION: Lawmakers Must Focus on Building a Just and Inclusive Economy for Our Stateby Jessie McKenna and Marti McKenna
This year for Shop Small Saturday, Seattle’s Office of Economic Development (OED) embarked on a month-long campaign to promote small business in Seattle, with a particular focus on PoC-, immigrant-, family-, LGBTQI+-, and women-owned businesses—and businesses owned by folx at various intersections therein.
Continue reading Ditch Amazon, Shop South End “Gems” This Holiday Season
by Carolyn Bick
Anand Giridharadas is a former New York Times foreign correspondent, but his newest book, Winners Take All, isn’t based on what he witnessed in other countries. It’s based on what he’s seen right here in the United States. The book examines our current understanding of philanthropy, in which the nation’s wealthiest give money to mitigate the problems they help to create.
