Retirement in Washington? Only if you count working part-time at Costco until your last breath.

Work ‘Til You Drop – Thanks, Democrats

A new WalletHub survey shows the American Dream of retirement is quickly becoming the American Fantasy, with 43% of Americans expecting to work until they die. Half of respondents don’t even think it’s realistic for the average person to retire comfortably—thanks in no small part to the inflationary, tax-heavy policies pushed by Democrats.

The state of Washington is a shining example of failure. Despite having no income tax, Seattle (141), Vancouver (155), Spokane (164), and Tacoma (170) all ranked near the bottom for retiree-friendliness. Why? Crushing taxes on property purchases, retirement income, and estates, plus a cost of living that makes Florida look like a bargain bin.

Orlando, FL—where there’s no income, inheritance, or estate tax—topped the list of retirement havens, while Washington limps in at 47th out of 50 states. Once a magnet for new residents, Seattle has devolved into a high-cost, low-quality-of-life cautionary tale under decades of Democrat rule.

Bottom line: Democrats’ “tax-and-spend” governance has turned what should be golden years into a bleak sentence of debt, anxiety, and late-night shifts for seniors who should be enjoying retirement. Read more at Center Square.

Evergreen Schools on Strike… Again

Evergreen Public Schools in Southwest Washington should have started class Aug. 26. Instead, kids are stuck at home while classified employees—including paraeducators, bus drivers, and mechanics—walk the picket lines. The kicker? Public employee strikes are illegal in Washington. But when has that ever stopped a union emboldened by Democrat policies?

The district already offered raises and 35 tentative agreements, all while staring down a $26 million budget shortfall. That wasn’t enough for SEIU Local 1948, so they decided to hold families hostage. Meanwhile, teachers get an extended summer break, parents scramble for childcare, and kids lose more learning time.

And here’s the insult to injury: striking workers won’t even lose pay. Thanks to state rules, most will still collect their 180 days of salary—just on a delayed schedule. Next year, thanks to a Democrat-passed law, they’ll even be able to tap unemployment benefits while breaking the law. Translation: taxpayers get to fund the strike and the strike fund.

If Evergreen employees don’t like their jobs, they should find new ones instead of hijacking the school calendar. Washington families deserve stability, not endless union theatrics enabled by Democrats who care more about appeasing labor bosses than educating kids. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Seattle Schools: Woke and Broke

Seattle Public Schools is staring down a jaw-dropping $104 million budget shortfall for 2025-26, all while enrollment plunges below 50,000—down 3,000 students in just five years, with another 10,000 projected to vanish by 2033.

The district blames demographics and COVID hangovers, but the truth is glaring: SPS has poured time and money into DEI bureaucracies and woke experiments instead of focusing on actual education. Families are voting with their feet, and the district’s finances are circling the drain.

For now, officials are shuffling staff to avoid big program cuts, but the writing’s on the wall. When a school system spends more energy on indoctrination than instruction, budget chaos and mass student flight aren’t “unforeseen challenges”—they’re the inevitable result of failed Democrat priorities. Read more at Seattle Red.

Seattle’s Sidewalk Shuffle – $1.55 Billion and a Few Cracks Filled

Seattle’s latest transportation levy—an eye-watering $1.55 billion over eight years—was supposed to modernize the city’s streets and sidewalks. Voters were promised 34,000 sidewalk spot repairs. Less than a year in, city officials are bragging about doing just 11,543, which they spin as 34% of the promise. Translation: after spending millions, the city has barely scratched the surface.

So far, $176.8 million is being doled out in 2025, with $43 million earmarked for street maintenance alone. For sidewalks, the city is hyping up its “Neighborhood Walkshops”—ten taxpayer-funded strolls with clipboards to “plan” projects. In reality, residents get broken promises while City Hall holds meetings.

At this pace, by the time all those “walkshops” wrap up, seniors trying to shuffle down the block will have tripped and sued the city into oblivion. Meanwhile, the backlog of repairs would cost $1.3 billion—nearly as much as the levy itself.

Democrats love talking about “progress,” but here’s the truth: Seattle’s sidewalks are still crumbling, and the only thing moving forward at full speed is the city’s tax bill. Read more at Center Square.

Bob Ferguson’s War on Newborns

Washington’s Department of Children, Youth & Families admitted it had no idea how many beds were available for newborns suffering from drug withdrawal. And yet, the state still shut down the internationally recognized Pediatric Interim Care Center in Kent—the one facility that specialized in helping these vulnerable babies.

Even Democrat Rep. Mari Leavitt blasted Governor Bob Ferguson’s administration, saying the closure was a choice, not a necessity. Ferguson’s DCYF claimed it was about “best practices” and Medicaid paperwork, but let’s be honest: that’s just bureaucratic smoke while babies suffer.

The truth? Washington has just 31 specialized beds across the entire state. That’s it. And the very agency tasked with protecting children doesn’t even track hospital availability. Meanwhile, Democrats push policies that keep kids with drug-addicted parents—a “compassionate” approach that has fueled record overdose deaths among children.

This isn’t budget trimming. It’s negligence wrapped in political cowardice. Ferguson had the power to save PICC but refused. Now, the smallest and most fragile Washingtonians are paying the price for his disastrous priorities. Read more at Seattle Red.

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