Are Washington State economic politics liberal?

[hopper]

Are Washington State economics liberal? I know Washington State s liberal on Social Issues but is it liberal on economic issues as well?

[Seattle]

Yes, historically unions have been quite strong throughout Western Washington. Eastern Washington is a different story, but since the majority of the population lives across the mountains, I'm not really paying attention to them.

The city of Seattle and most of its close (older) suburbs are extremely economically liberal. Once you start going out further, this decreases. Still, overall, the state has a pretty high union rate. I'm not sure what other metrics one can measure economic liberalness.

[There Are Some Remedies Worse Than The Disease]

Washington has one of the most regressive tax structures in the country.

[Senator Napoleon]

Over all I say yes. It's one of the major reasons Democrats have ran the state for so long. They have a modern economy, though, so they don't have the same priorities as,  say PA or OH Democrats.

[Progressive Realist]

I would think every American state is "economically liberal".

[Senator Napoleon]

Washington has one of the most regressive tax structures in the country.

Massachusetts has a flat tax.

[CultureKing]

Washington has one of the most regressive tax structures in the country.

Massachusetts has a flat tax.

Yes but we rely on sales taxes (no income tax), that's even more regressive than a flat tax.

[Senator Napoleon]

Washington has one of the most regressive tax structures in the country.

Massachusetts has a flat tax.

Yes but we rely on sales taxes (no income tax), that's even more regressive than a flat tax.

Yeah but still has nothing to do with the question? MA is still a liberal state too.

[So rightwing that I broke the Political Compass!]

Washington has one of the most regressive tax structures in the country.

Massachusetts has a flat tax.

Yes but we rely on sales taxes (no income tax), that's even more regressive than a flat tax.

How? The gap between the wealthy and poor in terms of income is smaller then the gap between them in terms of purchasing power(due to investments, inheritance etc.)

[Senator Sbane]

I think a progressive consumption tax might be a good way to raise revenues. Minimal to no tax on food and clothing under a certain amount (complicated admittedly). A higher tax on other everyday goods and maybe a luxury tax on top of that for expensive cars, houses (determined by each state so places like California or New York would have a higher cutoff point) and other luxury items.

[greenforest32]

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/02/soaking-poor-state-state

http://scorecard.assetsandopportunity.org/2012/measure/tax-burden-by-income?state=wa

http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Washington_Income_Tax,_Initiative_1098_%282010%29

The Washington Income Tax, Initiative 1098 appeared on the November 2, 2010 ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the People where it was defeated.[1][2]

According to the state's ballot summary, the measure would have established a tax on "adjusted gross income" above $200,000 for individuals and $400,000 for married couples or domestic partners filing jointly. Additionally, the measure would have reduced the limit on statewide property taxes by 20% and increased the business and occupation (B&O) tax credit to $4,800.[3]

The revenue generated from the income tax would have gone to a dedicated trust fund for education and health services.[3][4] It was estimated that the proposed initiative would have generated $2 billion per year, according to the Office of Financial Management.[5][6]

Results:
No - 1,616,273 (64.15%)
Yes - 903,319 (35.85%)

[bgwah]

Initial polls showed I-1098 leading. Republicans successfully convinced everyone it would be an income tax on everyone and it failed.

[muon2]

As the chart shows the problem is not as much about the amount the rich pay, but instead it is how much the poor pay. At 17.3% of income it is way ahead of second highest FL at 13.5% and out of whack with the US median of about 10%. The initiative would not have done a lot to address this unless WA has a substantial number of property owners among the poor paying at a high property tax rate.