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Danny Westneat is a columnist for the Seattle Times.

Bad news for liberals.

That was how one national news outlet summed up the finding last week that Seattles bold experiment in a $15 minimum wage isnt working out quite as planned. University of Washington researchers found that forcing wages higher and faster could be hurting the very people it was most supposed to help: the lowest-wage, least-skilled workers.

But the bad news doesnt have to be either final or fatal. Not if liberals can get out of their defensive crouches and actually be liberal that is, open to new information that may not square with the program.

We have a culture in Seattle that if youre not on board with the cause 100 percent, then youre vilified. Thats got to loosen up, or were really heading for trouble.

Thats Dave Meinert, owner of six bars and restaurants in town. He was one of only three on a 24-member advisory task force who dissented as the $15 wage plan was adopted in a progressive cheering parade three years ago.

Basically what he said then was the city was pushing the base wage too high, too fast, without enough flexibility for different types of businesses. Unlike some of the more strident naysayers, who predicted (wrongly) that businesses would fail, Meinert suggested it was the workers themselves who would get hurt.

Which is what appears to be happening to the lowest-wage workers, the UW study found.

As with anything involving the dismal science, the report is complex and caveat-filled. But the main finding is very inconvenient that near the bottom of the pay scale, wages went up but hours were cut more, resulting in an overall loss of $125 in pay per job per month.

Meinert said he wasnt surprised, because he has started slightly shaving hours at his bars. Example: One of his places that used to open at 11 a.m. now opens at noon, leading to a reduction of one hour per day, times three workers, equaling 21 fewer paid hours per week.

Nobody has lost jobs, but some of the newer hires have seen reduced hours, Meinert said.

The study found that while this was going on, Seattle restaurants also hired more highly paid employees. The LA Times said it suggests restaurants here are splitting into two models: limited service, like where you bus your own tables, or lavish, full-service joints, where a salad can cost, say, $25.

A $25 salad? In 2014 I quoted one pub owner predicting Seattle would become the city of the $18 hamburger. He wasnt far off.

The red flag is that restaurants have been shielded from the biggest wage boosts so far. They have a $2-an-hour tip adjustment (meaning they can pay $2 less than the base wage, which this year is $13 for small businesses.) But in time that tip adjustment will be phased out.

If I were a Seattle lawmaker, I would be thinking hard about the $15-an-hour phase-in, David Autor, an MIT economist, told The Washington Post.

Are they? I see more rationalizing and propagandizing. That Mayor Ed Murray went out and recruited a labor-friendly Berkeley researcher to bash the UW economics study before it was even released doesnt exactly suggest an open mind.

Maybe this study is wrong, and more research obviously is needed. But whats puzzling about City Hall attacking it is that even this bad-news finding suggests only tweaking might be in order.

Theyre putting their heads in the sand, when they could just be adjusting the experiment to make sure it works better, Meinert said.

Ideological rigidity like this is exactly whats plaguing national politics. Example: There was an insane story in Politico that U.S. Senate Republican leaders were going around with an urgent warning for colleagues: If Obamacare repeal fails the GOP might be forced to compromise with Democrats.

Compromise? Oh the humanity!

Seattle liberals, dont be like them. Instead, be real liberals.

Danny Westneat is a columnist for the Seattle Times.

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Westneat: Liberals need open minds in minimum-wage debate - The Columbian

While most people using Twitter yesterday posted photos of fireworks or wished fellow citizens a happy Fourth of July, Donald Trump Jr. used Independence Day as a way to insult liberals.

Trump Jr., who like his father uses Twitter to pontificate and has a history of being caught saying false things on the social media platform, couldnt seem to comprehend that people with different political opinions than his would have reason to enjoy Americas Independence Day.

Out of curiosity, what exactly are Big Govt, oppressive [sic] taxation, anti 2A left wing socialists celebrating today? Trump Jr. tweeted.

As you might expect, people didnt seem to enjoy his assumption that only supporters of his father, President Donald Trump, could possibly be patriotic. When you ask Twitter such a provoking question, you should expect a swift responsewhich is exactly what happened.

Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara also got in on the fun.

Some people were celebrating their ability to spell oppressive, unlike Trump Jr., and did not miss the irony of him having spelling issues on Twitter, like his father.

While other people werent in the mood to get drawn in.

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Donald Trump Jr. thinks liberals shouldn't be allowed to celebrate the 4th of July - The Daily Dot

After months of weighty policy shifts by Premier Kathleen Wynne, Ontarians appear to be warming up to their unloved Liberal government, according to a new poll from the Innovative Research Group.

The long-governing Liberals have trailed the opposition Progressive Conservatives in a number of polls since last summer but with less than a year before the next provincial election, the gap between has closed and they are almost tied in public support, according to pollster Greg Lyle; 30 per cent of Ontarians say they would vote PC compared with 27 per cent who would vote Liberal.

The poll follows a number of feel-good announcements in April and May in which Ms. Wynne announced a tax on foreign buyers to cool an overheated housing market, the move to a $15 minimum wage, a balanced budget with a new pharmacare plan, a basic-income pilot project and a 25-per-cent cut to hydro bills.

Globe editorial: Why Kathleen Wynne has become a great NDP premier

Former Liberal heavyweights have suggested in recent months that the party could be staring at defeat next summer if Ms. Wynne stays on as leader. However, while Ms. Wynne remains unpopular with the majority of Ontarians, Mr. Lyle says his polling shows paths for the Liberals to win again. By next summer, the Grits will have been in power for 15 years.

What were seeing is that the pool of people open to the Liberals is starting to move, Mr. Lyle told The Globe and Mail. That doesnt mean that theyve got them, but theyve got a lead in party identification and the number of people open to considering them is growing.

Despite lagging in the polls, the Liberal brand remains the most popular in Ontario, with 34 per cent of those polled identifying as Liberals. The governing partys base has also grown over the past few months, with 25 per cent of Ontarians disagreeing that its time to change government nearly equal to the 27 per cent who say they are hostile with the government.

The Liberals are also in the lead across much of the Greater Toronto Area, after months of wobbly support in the partys seat-rich heartland. The Tories lead everywhere else in Ontario, with commanding leads in southwestern and south-central Ontario.

Since November, the Liberals base support has grown, while the number of Ontarians mad at the government has shrunk. Thats good news for Ms. Wynne, according to Mr. Lyle the pollster for former Tory premier Mike Harris.

Anger directed at Ms. Wynne has also dropped. While she ranks third when asked who would make the best premier, after PC Leader Patrick Brown and the NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, the number of people angry at the Premier has dropped five points to 41 per cent. Admittedly, thats still quite unpopular, according to Mr. Lyle.

While the numbers are improving somewhat for Ms. Wynne, Mr. Lyle said he was surprised by the incremental increase. Whats striking to me is that the policies were so dramatic and the gains have been relatively so small, he said.

What may account for the discrepancy, Mr. Lyle said, is the governments inability to form a narrative that has gained currency among Ontarians. While the governments announcements on housing and minimum wage have been well regarded, it hasnt led to a more cohesive story. In an interview with The Globe in June, Ms. Wynne summed up that narrative in one word: Fairness.

And while Mr. Browns party might be ahead in the polls, more than half of Ontarians say they dont know enough about him to form an opinion. Thats a problem also facing Ms. Horwath, as an increasing number of Ontarians have said they dont know much about her, either.

Follow Justin Giovannetti on Twitter: @justincgio

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Ontario survey shows rise in support for Liberals a year out from election - The Globe and Mail

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has sent out some tester bumper stickers for the midterm elections that have been met with about as much warmth as a fender bender. One reads: Democrats 2018. I mean, have you seen the other guys?

Slogan suggestions were sent out via email to DCCC subscribers on Wednesday, prompting several people to share the less than inspiring ideas on social media.

The National Republican Congressional Committee was quick to jump on the negative attention the bumper stickers stirred up, writing on its website: After Nancy Pelosi and national Democrats were roundly mocked for their ridiculous stickers, we decided to help them with one of our own.

It added: Nothing encapsulatestheir party better than our "Democrats 2018: We win moral victories, not elections" sticker.

Other, less criticized slogans suggested by the DCCC included: She persisted, we resisted, and make Congress blue again.

Subscribers were asked to vote for their favorite bumper sticker, with the winning slogan to be picked after the polls close at midnight tomorrow.

The Democrats have faced criticism that the party appears to be rudderless following Hillary Clintons surprise election loss in November.

Indeed, pundits on both the left and the right have voiced concerns that the party has no clear leader. For many, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi did not give a satisfying answer in March when questioned on the subject by CNNs Anderson Cooper.

Nonetheless, the party is gearing up for the 2018 midterm elections, with very early predictions looking favorable for the Democratsquestionable bumper stickers notwithstanding.

Of the previous 20 midterm elections, the presidents party has lost seats in 18 of them, CNN reported, with an average of 33 seats lost per electionmeaning history clearly favors the opposition party.

The rest is here:
Democrats 2018: New Slogan Could Be, 'Have You Seen The Other Guys?' - Newsweek

By Ron Klain By Ron Klain July 5 at 7:25 PM

Did Democrats ignore or worse, condescend to white working-class voters in 2016?Did many of these voters back Donald Trump because of his promises to restore economic growth for small towns and in manufacturing and mining or because they resented rising prospects for minorities and women?Can these voters be returned to the Democratic fold with sharper economic messaging? Or does appealing to them require an unthinkable retreat on issues of social justice and inclusion?

These questions have divided Democrats since Election Day. But who really condescended to working-class voters in 2016 and what should replace such condescension today?

The most damning piece of evidence for the Democrats condescended claim is Hillary Clintons statement last September that half of Trumps supporters were a basket of deplorables.I was with Clinton the next day, and it was clear how much she regretted that formulation.Worst of all, the focus on this comment drowned out the real point of her remarks:that Democrats had an obligation to understand and empathize with Trump supporters in the other basket people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, [and] nobody cares about them.

Far from condescending, Clintons campaign spoke truth to these voters: Our economic future is Stronger Together.Americas best hope to remain an economic superpower is an inclusive economy where immigrants start businesses and create jobs, where everyone can make meaningful contributions to an innovative economy and where the United States masters the economic opportunities that come from challenges such as climate change.That message may not have appealed to some working-class voters, but it isnt condescension its honesty.

By contrast, Trumps economic message has been a kind flim-flammery where the carnival barker lavishes compliments on his audience while whispering to his sidekicks, Can you believe they are buying this?He extolled the virtues of Buy American while building his own projects with imported Chinese steel.He made immigrants the scapegoats for a wide array of economic problems, while applying for special visas to import foreign workers for jobs at Mar-a-Lago.

It was Trumps campaign that reeked of condescension when he told working-class voters that he alone could make sure that jobs shipped overseas come back. Trumps presidency is erected on faux populism, as he claims to look out for forgotten people while saying that only rich people are qualified to formulate economic policy and using the presidency to promote his familys businesses. Appealing to working-class voters on false promises and flawed premises is not showing them respect:It is a condescending belief that with enough bluster and showmanship, you can get away with anything.

Democrats should respond to this not by writing off white working-class voters, or by mimicking Trumps divisive rhetoric and hollow promises but with a combination of honest talk and a new social and economic contract for the working class.

The honest talk starts with unapologetically reminding Trumps working-class voters that immigrants like their own ancestors have always made America greater, bringing new energy, ideas and job-creating businesses to our country.It means telling them (as President Barack Obama did), that the time has passed when you didnt have to have an education ... [and] you could ... get a [good] job.It means rejecting economic nostalgia, and embracing technology and innovation; when these forces are shaped by the right policies and a fair tax system, they can create a stronger middle class in our country, as they have during earlier periods of economic transformation.

A new social and economic contract for the working class would include replacing the confusing mishmash of higher education plans with a clear program to make four years of education after high school free and universal.It should include defending and then building on the Affordable Care Act so that every American has health coverage without fear or doubt.It should ensure that benefits such as unemployment compensation and workers comp are available to all, whether they are employees or contract workers.It should make affordable child care a right (not a scavenger hunt) and life-long skills training an American area of excellence.

But like any true contract, this set of benefits must be paired with obligations. This includes an uncompromising insistence that the economy it creates will be inclusive and that, with a program in place to restore economic opportunity for those who have been left behind, there can be no excuses for resentment of Americas growing diversity.It also includes acceptance that young people will have to get education after high school, working adults will have to continually improve their skills, and some long-beloved occupations will be replaced with new jobs. The nostalgia for an America where brawn alone was enough to create a middle-class life and where a comfortable stagnation was revered as tradition must be abandoned.

Candor, not condescension, is the Democrats path to unmasking the false promise of Trumpism and reclaiming working-class voters in 2018 and beyond.

Excerpt from:
To win the working class, Democrats need to start talking straight - Washington Post