Washington's kids are at the edge of the fiscal cliff

The Bellingham Herald

By Bruce Lesley and Jon Gould

As the federal “fiscal cliff” looms, we’re hearing more about how various scenarios would affect politicians, defense contractors, high-income taxpayers, seniors and other constituencies. But an important group of Washingtonians with a lot on the line has been largely ignored: children.

The stakes are immense, because the recession’s impact on children is still being felt in families all across Washington. A recent analysis by the nonpartisan Urban Institute found that nearly 150,000 Washington children live with an unemployed parent. That’s more than a 90 percent increase since 2007. When you look at kids living with a long-term unemployed parent, the increase is more than 400 percent...

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