Washington Forward: What the Data Means for Business

​Washington Forward: What the Data Means for Business

Washington Forward is a voter education campaign that helps people understand how rising costs in Washington are connected to increased state spending and what that might mean for the future. The website is designed as a straightforward hub for messaging, brief talking points, and a collection of data points that link to external sources, allowing readers to see where the numbers originate from.


On the site, Washington Forward frames Washington as a long-time leader in innovation and industry, then argues that recent years have brought higher costs and worsening challenges even as state spending has grown. The main navigation is straightforward: “About,” “Where We Stand,” “Data,” and “Stay Informed,” plus a section that highlights campaign videos.


The “Where We Stand” section compiles several headline-style claims, each with links to supporting articles or reports. Examples include Washington’s ranking as a high-cost state, annual grocery spending figures, significant increases in home prices over time, declines in student reading scores, and claims about business failure rates and new business growth compared with other states.


The “Data” section goes a step further by grouping figures into topics that impact daily life and economic conditions: state and local tax burden, food and essential living costs, housing costs, educational outcomes, and childcare expenses. For example, it includes per-capita tax burden, state and local taxes per employee, the portion of total state and local taxes paid by businesses, restaurant price comparisons, housing affordability metrics (including costs associated with regulations), NAEP proficiency trend snapshots, and an estimate of the average yearly childcare cost for two young children.


For businesses, the main takeaway is that the website’s content focuses on affordability pressures that often directly impact hiring, retention, and operating costs. When housing, food, and childcare costs increase, employers frequently face greater wage pressures simply to help workers keep pace, which can be especially challenging for small businesses with thin margins. Education outcomes also matter because employers depend on a consistent pipeline of workers with solid basic skills. Two practical examples include: a hospitality business using the site’s restaurant price data and cost-of-living framing to explain why labor costs and consumer price sensitivity are rising simultaneously; and a manufacturer looking to expand could reference housing and childcare cost figures as part of a broader discussion with local and state leaders about workforce availability.
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Overall, Washington Forward’s website is designed as an accessible entry point into an affordability narrative, supported by a curated selection of statistics and links for readers who want to explore further. It clearly states that Washington Forward is sponsored by the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy (WashACE), and the support page mentions that donations are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. If you use the site in business communications, it functions best as a starting set of talking points, with the linked sources serving as the place to verify details and add local context.
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