{"id":877517,"date":"2025-10-14T01:17:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T06:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/14\/opinion-wa-cares-needs-all-the-help-it-can-get\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T01:17:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T06:17:24","slug":"opinion-wa-cares-needs-all-the-help-it-can-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/14\/opinion-wa-cares-needs-all-the-help-it-can-get\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: WA Cares needs all the help it can get"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bitcoins <\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"bitcoins
Elizabeth New (Hovde) argues that SJR 8201 offers the WA Cares Fund a chance at stability by allowing diversified investments, helping protect taxpayers from future payroll tax increases. Photo \u00a9 Stefan Botezatu via Canva.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Bitcoins Elizabeth New (Hovde) says that help includes an assist from SJR 8201 on Nov. ballot<\/h2>\n

Elizabeth New (Hovde)<\/strong>
Washington Policy Center<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Senate Joint Resolution 8201<\/a> is related to the misguided WA Cares Fund<\/a>, but it has nothing to do with whether or not you like the fund. It\u2019s a question asking voters whether the state should be allowed to invest WA Cares dollars in more ways than it can now, with hopes of stronger fund growth.<\/p>\n

\n
\"bitcoins
Elizabeth New (Hovde), Washington Policy Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

WA Cares comes with a payroll tax of 58 cents on every $100 that W-2 workers earn in their working years \u2014 for a benefit many of them will never see. The Washington state tax is mandatory, and it has staying power, especially after voters last year failed to pass an initiative<\/a> that would have made the long-term care program optional. SJR 8201 doesn\u2019t change any of that, unfortunately. Instead, the question before voters in November is purely financial: Should the state continue limiting WA Cares dollars to ultra-safe, low-return government bonds and certificates of deposit, or should it allow those funds to be invested in diversified portfolios that see better growth?<\/p>\n

Right now, the state constitution bars most public money from being invested in the stock of private companies. It\u2019s a century-old restriction from the horse-and-buggy era of finance \u2014 long before diversified portfolios, index funds or even the Federal Reserve existed. The rule has been lifted for the state\u2019s pension and industrial insurance funds, which are well managed by the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) \u2014 one of the most respected fiduciary<\/a> institutions in the nation.<\/p>\n

The change proposed by SJR 8201 would simply add the WA Cares Fund to that list. The idea passed the Legislature<\/a> with strong bipartisan support \u2014 42\u20137 in the Senate and 86\u20139 in the House. Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson and Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, agree on the issue. They say in the official voters\u2019 pamphlet<\/a> that this is a common-sense measure that costs taxpayers nothing (unlike WA Cares itself) and that SJR 8201 ensures tax dollars go further.<\/p>\n

Not everyone agrees the government should be putting taxpayer money in private stocks and corporations. In the statement against SJR 8201, some lawmakers point out that the market is more volatile than they are comfortable with. I get that concern. But this isn\u2019t about a casino bet with taxpayer dollars. It\u2019s about letting the same professional board that invests teacher and firefighter pensions \u2014 at an average 8% annual return over 25 years<\/a> \u2014 manage a $2 billion WA Cares fund that currently has a projected 4% return over the next 30 years under current restrictions. WSIB also must follow state law<\/a> \u201cto maximize return at a prudent level of risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

As former WSIB chief investment officer Gary Bruebaker and public finance veteran Steven Hill say in an opinion in The News Tribune<\/a>, \u201cWe can say with confidence that a diversified portfolio is far more advantageous than relying on low-return government bonds and treasury bills \u2014 from both a risk and return perspective.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their experience backs the numbers: An additional one or two percentage points of annual return could mean an extra $67 billion to $113 billion for the fund over 50 years \u2014 money that could help protect taxpayers from future payroll-tax hikes and sustain overpromised benefits, which have been said to be unsustainable at different times since 2019.<\/p>\n

WA Cares will need every bit of that help. The program\u2019s design struggles not only with fairness but with solvency. And like the state\u2019s Paid Family and Medical Leave program, which saw its payroll tax more than double in five years, WA Cares could easily see its 0.58% rate balloon if investment returns lag or claims rise faster than expected. Between the two programs, full-time workers in Washington state pay hundreds and thousands in payroll deductions for benefits that not everyone will receive and that will sometimes flow to those who don\u2019t need taxpayer-funded support. (See your annual wages sent to WA Cares and PFML each year here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Allowing the WSIB to manage the WA Cares fund doesn\u2019t fix those structural problems, but it gives the program a fighting chance to pay benefits earned without constantly dipping deeper into workers\u2019 paychecks. It lets WSIB professionals do their job of investing prudently for sustainable growth, just as they do for other long-term trusts in the state.<\/p>\n

So, whether you think WA Cares is visionary or a mistake (I vote \u201cunfair mistake\u201d), SJR 8201 is worthy of consideration. The ballot measure is not about politics, it\u2019s about stewardship and making sure money taken from workers\u2019 paychecks works as hard as they do.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth New (Hovde) is a policy analyst and the director of the Centers for Health Care and Worker Rights at the Washington Policy Center. She is a Clark County resident.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Bitcoins Also read:<\/h2>\n
\n