wealth gap Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Tax A Billionaire, Raise Some Cash? It’s An Idea Washington State Democrats Are Floating

By Austin Jenkins February 2, 2021

Forbes tracks the world's billionaires in almost real time. Now, a group of Washington House Democrats want to impose a wealth tax on Washington's billionaires.

Washington billionaires would pay a “wealth tax” under a proposal in the state House that will get a public hearing on Tuesday. The bill is sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Noel Frame, who chairs the House Finance Committee, and would impose a one percent tax on intangible financial property, such as stocks and bonds, futures contracts and publicly traded options. A Read More

Free Play Space In Yakima Helps Families In Crisis Relax, Settle, Smile

By Max Wasserman May 1, 2019

Maria Vasquez stands in the free child care space she oversees in a Department of Social and Health Services office in Yakima. The room has transformed over the past two years into a place where families waiting for state services can take a breather. CREDIT: MAX WASSERMAN/N3

The only thing unique about this twice-weekly child play space, buried deep in a state Department of Social and Health Services office in Yakima, are its customers: families in crisis. "When they come into this room and are here for a while you see the shoulders drop," Maria Vasquez said. "They relax. They settle. They smile."Read More

Investigation: Federal Disaster Aid Disproportionately Goes To White Communities, Despite Need

By NPR News March 5, 2019

A home in the Lost Valley area of Manville, N.J. The numbers spray-painted on the front of the house indicate that it was bought as part of a federal disaster program. Claire Harbage/NPR

NPR analyzed records from a Federal Emergency Management Agency database of more than 40,000 buyouts and found that most went disproportionately to whiter communities.Read More