At a time when job creation and retention is critically important for every Washingtonian, Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Department of Labor & Industries today called for an increase in the state minimum wage -- potentially costing the state more jobs. This decision will only further stifle our state's already flailing economy.

Washington state already has the highest minimum wage in the nation. Yet the governor and L&I have chosen to read Initiative 688, which places the state minimum wage on an automatic escalator tied to the urban consumer price index, in such a way that next year's wage will increase 12 cents per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2011. The new wage will be $8.67 per hour.

Recently, the attorney general issued an official opinion (at L&I's request) regarding the correct way to interpret the minimum wage calculation. Using that opinion, the minimum wage should not have risen at all.

Any wage increase further places our businesses at a competitive disadvantage -- meaning fewer jobs here in Washington.

This is another example of L&I engaging in election-year politics that will cost us jobs and harm our economic recovery.

This is why the 2010 elections are vitally important. Whether the issue is minimum wage, workers' comp, water right fees, or tax increases, we must change course!

Elections have consequences, and we need you to vote.

Here are links to the list of Farm Bureau-endorsed candidates and initiatives. We believe these candidates and ballot measures can help lead us out of this fiscal crisis and reignite our economy.

A new Rasmussen poll was released today, and the results are telling. Both Clint Didier and Dino Rossi, two of the leading GOP challengers, were pitted against incumbent Patty Murray and both obtained 48% of the vote, while Murray was at 45% in both matchups.  This is significant because Murray and Rossi have been virtually tied in most of the polls this year, and Didier has been trailing Murray in previous polls. While this is good news for whoever Murray’s opponent is in November, it is notably bad news for her. These are her lowest poll numbers of the year. Murray’s seat is one of at least nine Senate seats that is considered a “toss-up” by Rasmussen. The full poll can be found here.

Regardless of who you support, now is the time to get involved in this year’s political races. Attend events and show support for your favorite candidates, and most importantly, study the candidates and be ready to vote in the primary this August.

Do you want to see what’s wrong with our current workers’ comp system? Check out this video from KING 5, which aired a story yesterday on workers’ comp problems.

KING 5 investigators found some of the same problems we have seen before: “… The number of accidents and fatalities on the job is dropping, yet more and more cases are taking longer and longer to resolve.” This means workplaces are becoming safer, yet small business owners are being are forced to pay higher premiums.

L&I says there isn’t a single, known reason for this phenomenon. Regardless of whether there are several reasons or only one, Initiative 1082 is the one answer this year that may help unravel that mystery.

Forcing L&I to compete alongside private insurers for the business of small employers will help incentivize the system to provide the correct benefits to truly injured workers at the correct rate of premium for employers.

What we know for sure is that our current system is ailing and in need of a remedy. I-1082 fills that prescription.

The Washington Farm Bureau PAC has released its list of endorsed candidates in the Primary Election. Check them out here. For more information about the endorsement process, visit our website.

For the past two sessions, we’ve heard majority lawmakers complain about state spending cuts. “We’ve cut to the bone” and “People will die” were common refrains to try to garner public sympathy.

But the public seems to know something that state budget writers skipped over – There’s still room to cut. Former Okanogan County Farm Bureau President and current state Rep. Joel Kretz hit that nail on the head in a recent op-ed in the Seattle Times.

Kretz highlighted the need for fiscal reform and scrutiny, and cited specific examples of state environmental agency overlap and duplication. “This has created a web of money funneling that cannot be tracked effectively,” Kretz said.

In fact, total state government spending for this year is actually higher than it was last year.

“Taxpayers deserve a government that is transparent, accountable and run by people who understand every dollar spent is first earned by a hardworking citizen,” Kretz concluded.

Bottom line: This election cycle, we need to elect people who will stop this excessive spending and restore accountability to our government.

Bravo to the editors of the Herald for “getting” it and for getting the word out to their readers about what really happens in Olympia.

There’s no need to say more,  when this editorial covers the issue of open government so thoroughly and succinctly.

On second thought, maybe there is.

If you are tired of these antics, make sure you say so through the candidates you support. To see how candidates voted on issues important to farmers, visit http://www.wsfb.com/issues/voterecord.

Next, take the time to vote yes on Initiative 1053. Along with preserving the two-thirds voting requirement for the Legislature to raise taxes, I-1053 promotes transparency by allowing us to see who votes for potential tax increases. If you haven’t yet signed a petition, do so NOW to ensure I-1053 gets on the ballot before voters this fall.

For almost 20 years we have tracked a practice we call “Becoming a member to resign in outrage.”  It is always someone with liberal-left leanings and distressed about a stand taken by Farm Bureau members. Recently such a member objected to my use of the phrase "…the tax-and-spend, high unemployment party of socialized medicine..."  No party was mentioned.   

This “member” also objects to a clip we posted from Glenn Beck’s show where Beck holds up 8 or so pages listing all of the new government programs created by Obamacare. We thought it was a good illustration of government insertion into American lives.

The sign up to resign tactic might make some groups have second thoughts about something they said, but we are confident that we mirror the farm and ranch families we represent. Afterall, real farmers set the policies that drive this organization.

One wonders why someone would object to the terms tax-and-spend, high unemployment and socialized medicine to describe the leanings of many in Congress, unless they are squeamish about the truth. We think they are pretty good descriptors.

For the first time in the history of the Farm Bureau PAC, 100% of the county Farm Bureaus have named PAC committees to make recommendations on which candidates to support. I’d say someone who supports tax-and-spend policies, high unemployment, and socialized medicine is not likely to get a PAC endorsement. And, in our PAC, no endorsement means no contribution.

We encourage all of our members to identify a candidate they support and work for them and make a contribution to their candidate. We feel confident in saying this because we know where our members stand. 

Not that long ago the Washington Farm Bureau PAC endorsed Dino Rossi in his run for governor. He had the lead when the polls closed, but as time passed ballots for his opponent seemed to magically appear.

Now Rossi is only two points behind Sen. Patty Murray and he hasn’t announced if he will run. If he does, his could be the race that determines if the tax-and-spend, high unemployment party of socialized medicine runs the Senate.

Read the full story here.

Our purpose for this blog is two-fold. One is to inform and the other is to agitate. Most of the time we try to do both as we are today.

After every legislative session the Washington Farm Bureau government relations team compiles a list of issues important to farm and ranch families. Our experience is these issues are also important to families everywhere.

Then, without regard to person or party, we compile how the members of the Legislature voted on those issues. From that we calculate a percentage to score how well each legislator supported farm families.

There are several Legislators who have 100% vote records with us. I do not recall that any member of the legislature had a zero percentage but there are some who come darn close – too close to think they care about rural issues and what it takes to run a profitable family farm.

Click here to see the issue of Legisletter that lists the issues, the voting records, and score for every member of the Legislature for this past session. We don’t let the governor off the hook either because we report what action the governor took.

The endorsement of political candidates is another process, although the vote record is certainly a key part of that process for incumbents. The endorsement process begins at the county Farm Bureau level and the state PAC trustees accept the county recommendations except in very narrow circumstances. So, if a candidate fails to be endorsed, it is likely because he or she has problems with folks in the district. If they call us to complain we to tell them to talk with the county Farm Bureau. But beware because farmers are not bashful about explaining why the county took their action.

In our view the economy, taxes, spending, nationalized health care and, unemployment are the key issues in this campaign. Unemployment is growing as a key issue with voters. It is, of course, a sub-part of the economy but doesn’t it seem callous to talk about a jobless recovery when unemployment is 10% and higher in some areas? Click here for more information about joblessness.

Armed with this information, it is appropriate for you to write letters to the local newspaper editor and support or disagree with a candidate; ask questions at town hall meetings; and, decide which candidates you will support with your personal contributions and by volunteering to help in the campaign. A key measurement is to remember which candidates are tax and spenders and those who believe in smaller government and lower taxes.

When President Obama sold his healthcare reform bill to the American people, he claimed it would reduce healthcare costs and protect citizens’ pocketbooks. With the passage of time, we have learned that the American people were rightly skeptical about the bill.

President Obama recently received word from the Medicare’s Office of the Actuary that Obamacare does not cut costs and isn’t even neutral. It drives up costs!

In a new report released this week the Congressional Budget Office says Obamacare would push the government’s 10 year costs to more than $1 trillion. As the bill was debated and passed the Administration limited the information that was passed along to the Congressional budget office in order to low ball the estimates.

Read more …