Roundup for the Week of Sept. 20

Sep 25, 2026

Olympia’s Income Tax is a Tax on Teachers

Vote Yes Repeal the Income Tax released a new ad this week featuring a retired Washington public school teacher whose pension is now exposed to Olympia’s new income tax. Buried in just one sentence of the bill, lawmakers quietly stripped decades-old tax protections from public pensions, no notice, no debate.

Watch the ad here.

Washington’s Housing Market Is Flashing Warning Signs

New data shows Washington’s for-sale housing inventory just broke 29,000 listings in August 2026, up 128% in three years and the highest level since 2017. Homeowners are leaving the state in growing numbers and layoffs are surging. Washington is now ranked the nation’s biggest “downward forecast” state for 2027.

This is a warning sign worth watching as Olympia’s tax and spending decisions continue to diminish the state’s competitiveness.

Track the data for your ZIP code.

Even the Facts Are in Dispute

Washington’s public-sector union bosses have poured $7.8 million into defending the state’s new income tax. Yet some of the people most likely to lose out are the very members these unions represent: the teachers, firefighters, and state employees whose pensions the law quietly stripped of protection. This isn’t a tax on the wealthy. It’s a retirement tax.

Read the full story.