Thank you for sharing Rep. My-Linh Thai’s Feb. 12 op-ed, “Why I’m supporting state-level cash stimulus.” Rep. Thai is an inspiration, and I want to urge the Examiner’s readers to continue to advocate for her bill as it moves forward in the legislature!
Around this time last year, my friends and I were preparing excitedly for our college graduation. A few weeks later, COVID had shut down our whole state. I was laid off from the three part-time jobs that I depended on for rent, and my roommates moved away, leaving my future housing in Seattle up in the air.
There are many people like me who graduated college in the middle of this economic crisis. For so many of my friends who love our state, every day is spent grappling with endless job applications, anxiety over student loans, and struggles to pay for rent and groceries in our expensive city. And there are many people in Washington who have it much worse than us.
We can do better by our working communities. Our lawmakers can give the ordinary people of Washington the boost we need by finally funding the Working Families Tax Credit this year, which would get some cash back in the pockets of people with low or moderate incomes. $500 – $900 wouldn’t just mean a few fewer tears shed – it might be the difference between a young person who has been educated in our state continuing to invest their talent here, or being forced to move away.
Direct cash assistance would also reach an outsized share of our communities of color, who are the hardest hit by the pandemic. If we want a recovery that brings us towards our goals of justice, our lawmakers must do the right thing and get cash to our communities by passing HB 1297!
Abigail Leong
Member of the Working Families Tax Credit Coalition
