A major change went down recently on the long term care program called WA Cares. A measure was on the ballot this November to put that program's assets into the stock market rather than sticking them into a dusty shoebox at the back of the closet. There are risks involved with that, of course, but there's a great track record to lean on, and the voters -- as they should in this country -- had their say. Let's check it out!
Here are Five Fast Facts on WA Cares officially going public:
- 👍 The Results Are In - The measure (Senate Joint Resolution 8201) won big time with almost 58% of voters approving. Quite the comeback from 2020, when a similar idea got dunked on with only 46% approval!
- 💰 Big Bucks - WA Cares is a mandatory payroll tax program (like a forced tip jar for your future old-self) that's already got $2.9 billion in it. Right now it's only allowed to invest in snooze-fest stuff like government bonds that pay tiny returns (4% at best).
- 📈 Ramping Up - Supporters are popping champagne because pension funds (which already play the stock game) have averaged a juicy 8.9% return over the last 30 years! It's basically turning your $2.9 billion nest egg into a growing fortune instead of hiding it under the mattress!
- 🙈 The Sausage - The SEIU 775 union - representing 55k long term care workers - dropped a whopping $2.5 million to hype this up. It's not often that unions benefit people outside the union, but this sure seems like one of those times!
- ⛔ The Opposition - Not everyone loved it, of course. Haters called it "financial roulette" and freaked out about a market crash wiping out taxpayer money faster than you can say "recession." That's a fair point, but history shows the market always trends upward over the long term, and first responder pensions have been managed this way for decades…so the haters didn't get much love from voters.
🔥Bottom line: Washington is making a daring move - letting money meant for long-term care slide into the stock market dice roll. If it works out, the fund will grow much bigger and faster, premiums should stay lower, and folks needing care should get better benefits. If it doesn’t...well, I'm sure we'll hear all about it when the time comes. Either way, voters were comfortable enough to give the idea a chance, and that's the bottom line.
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