Washington Policy Center

Background

The Washington Policy Center (WPC) is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) think tank based in Seattle, Washington and with offices in Olympia, Spokane, and the Tri-Cities. It recorded an annual revenue over $2.3 million in 2014. In its own words, the “Washington Policy Center (WPC) is an independent, non-profit, think tank that promotes sound public policy based on free-market solutions.” [3], [6] 

The WPC was originally founded as the “Washington Institute for Policy Studies.” In 1997 the Washington Institute for Policy Studies (WIPS) created a new organization, the Washington Institute Foundation, which replaced the WIPS in 1998.  In 2001, the Washington Institute Foundation changed its name to the Washington Policy Center.  [1], [2], [4], [5]

In 2007, WPC raised $3.8 million to fund research centers focused on small business issues, the environment, health care, transportation, government reform, and a legislative information website, WashingtonVotes.org. WPC describes WashingtonVotes.org as “the premier website for tracking bills in Olympia, finding objective, plain-English summaries of legislation, and offering quick access to your legislators’ voting records.” [7]

In 2013, the Washington Policy Center WPC launched a quarterly magazine titled Viewpoint. Their inaugural issue (PDF) includes an article titled ”A Hopeful Step Toward Nonpartisan Climate Policy” by Todd Myers, where WPC advocates actions by Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s, which echo climate policies of “ALEC draft legislation called ‘The Environmental Priorities Act’.”  The Center for Media and Democracy’s SourceWatch has more information on ALEC and the group’s draft legislation. [8]

WPC‘s mission (PDF) is ” to promote free-market solutions through research and education.” According to WPC‘s 2002 annual report, “We believe ideas, supported by sound research and promoted through publications, conferences and the media, over time, create an environment in which sound public policy decisions are made.” [9]

Jack Kemp called the WPC the “Heritage Foundation of the Northwest.” WPC is also a member of the State Policy Network (SPN), a group that has been behind a growing number of “mini Heritage Foundations” at the state level since the early 1990s.  [10], [11]

Stance on Climate Change

2016

“We have consistently argued that Washington can take practical steps to reduce the risk from carbon emissions and have offered ways to do that effectively. Occasionally we have been criticized by some of our friends on the right for offering alternatives; they argue the left only uses climate change as a Trojan Horse to justify higher taxes and larger government, saying they don’t really care about climate change. I must admit, the contradictory and incoherent statement by the environmental coalition at this week’s hearing lends credibility to the claim they care more about increasing the size of government than the planet.” [43]

2012

“We agree with scientists like Pat Michaels of the CATO Institute and the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group that the level of atmospheric carbon from all sources does increase the heat in the atmosphere. What is less clear is how much of an impact humans are having and what the temperature impact will be.” [12]

2008

In his presentation, “The Difference Between Scientists and Policymakers” at the 2008 International Conference on Climate Change, sponsored by the Heartland Institute, Todd Myers stated that science is myopic and scientists conflate science and policy. Further, Myers declared “scientists tend to overestimate their confidence in their assessment of risk.” [13]

In conclusion, Myers stated his belief that the unintended consequences of implementing environmental public policy outweigh the positives done by the regulation itself. The final point on his power-point presentation is that “David Suzuki is absurd and myopic.”

990 Forms

Annual Reports & Financial Statements

Funding

According to their website,”WPC is funded through donations from individual supporters, foundation grants and businesses. Individual membership starts at $50 per year, not counting our six-month free introductory membership. WPC‘s budget is about $2 million per year.” [1]

The WPC‘s single largest donor has been a group called Donors Capital Fund (DCF). DCF has been described as the “dark money ATM” of the conservative movement in the US, and effectively obscures the identity of original donors. [28]

Below is a summary of data currently available in the Conservative Transparency Database. Note that not all individual funding entires have been verified by DeSmog. View the attached spreadsheet for additional information on The Washington Policy Center’s funding by year (.xlsx). [14]

Key People

President

The current president of the WPC is Daniel Mead Smith who has been with the WPC since 1991 and became their president in 2001. [30]

The former president is Bill Baldwin. Baldwin acted as president when WCP was operated under its former name, the Washington Institute for Policy Studies. [29]

Baldwin is the CEO of the insurance firm Baldwin Resource Group, Inc., [31] which joined The Partners Group in 2011. [32] Bill Baldwin has also worked for the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE)—one of the oldest free enterprise think tanks in the United States. FEE has received funding from both the Scaife Family Foundations and the Koch Family Foundations. [33]

Board of Directors

The Washington Policy Center (WPC) is governed by a 27-member volunteer Board of Directors that meets four times per year, plus board committee meetings. Board members do not direct daily operations or select research topics.  [1]

Board Emeritus 

Eastern Washington Advisory Board

Staff

Actions

April 6, 2020

The Washington Policy Center, represented by Todd Myers, was signatory to an American Energy Alliance letter to President Donald Trump supporting the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule which would scrap federal fuel economy mandates under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program. [52]

Describing CAFE, the letter contends: “Those families and individuals who prefer or need trucks, SUVs, and crossovers pay more to subsidize those who buy smaller vehicles or electric vehicles under the existing mandate. This significant, needless, and unjust cost is a very real regressive tax on American families that has made our country worse off.” [52]

March 23, 2020

As reported at DeSmog, Life:Powered sent a letter to Congress critical of the COVID-19 stimulus package for including “tax incentives and spending for unreliable ‘green’ energy
programs.” [50], [51]

The letter, to which the Washington Policy Ceter is a signatory, concludes: [51]

“This is no time for political games. Climate change is not an immediate threat to humanity. Climate-related deaths have declined 98.9% in the last century, and humanity is growing more and more resilient thanks to the availability of affordable, reliable energy. On behalf of all Americans, we urge you to oppose any stimulus proposals that carve out special treatment for or bail out any energy companies and focus instead on stopping COVID-19.” [51]

The full list of signatories is below: [51]

November 2018

According to a State Policy Network press release WPC was a “key voice” in shutting down a carbon tax initiative  (I-1631) in Washington. [48]

“Media and campaigns repeatedly cited WPC’s analysis on the initiative’s costs, hidden components buried in the text, and overall ineffectiveness,” the SPN press release boasted.  [48]

As part of WPC‘s success, the press release cites a September 2018 policy brief put forward by WPC‘s Todd Myers entitled a “Citizens’ Guide to Initiative 1631” (PDF). [49]

According to Myers, “Ultimately, Initiative 1631 represents a costly and dramatic experiment in the government-heavy approach to reducing carbon emissions.”  [49]

May 2016

In a “Policy Note” from the Washington Policy Foundation, Todd Myers criticized “green” building standards proposed in Spokane, WA, claiming that buildings made to LEED certification standards are “costing more to build and actually increasing energy use.” [36]

“Spokane can join the club of cities that chose trendy environmentalism over environmental results, or it can do the hard work of finding real ways to do more with less; that is at the heart of true environmentalism,” Myers writes. [36]

“Many advocates who promote LEED or similar rating systems point to the supposed carbon dioxide emission reductions achieved by green schools. The failure to save energy, or even slow the increase in energy use, wastes resources on efforts that do nothing for climate change or the environment. Instead misguided green building rules divert scarce funding from efforts that could have a positive environmental impact, or which could be used to fulfill other public needs,” Myers claims. [38]

April 29, 2016

“A regulator is supposed to be clear and objective. In this case, the regulation is far from clear and far from being an objective standard and has become an arbitrary tool,” Todd Myers said. “Ecology’s suggestions are probably the most expensive things that you can do and do almost nothing for the environment,” Myers said. [41]

January 20, 2016

Todd Myers, Director of the Washington Policy Center’s “Center for the Environment,” wrote a Legislative Memo opposing HB 2346, a bill which would introduce solar energy subsidies in Washington. [34]

“Despite Western Washington’s status as one of the worst places in the United States for solar energy production, legislators continue to subsidize a technology that costs more and delivers less environmental benefit than virtually all other strategies,” Myers writes. “Shifting to solar energy only reduces CO2 emissions by a very small amount.” [34]

March 27, 2015

The Washington Policy Also released a March, 2015 Policy Brief titled “Five myths of Cap-and-Trade” critical of the cap and trade system recommended by Governor Inslee in Washington State. This is no the first time The Washington Policy Center has lobbied against Cap and Trade. [17], [42]

The Policy Brief concludes:

“Cap-and-trade continues to be the preferred climate policy of the environmental left. The arguments they make to support it, however, are often incorrect or contradicted by experience. A serious approach to environmental policy and funding education should be built on more than the hope that it will work out better this time.” [17]

October, 2014

The Washington Policy Center has consistently been critical of Governor Inslee’s actions on climate change policy. In October, 2014, Todd Myers criticizes Inslee for his use of a “flawed University of Oregon study that used outdated projections.” [18]

Myers concludes, “Much of the discussion about climate policy in Washington state involves raising the specter of catastrophic economic impacts as a way of justifying expensive and harmful policies. This Executive Order makes use of this approach, warning that unless we take action, the costs to Washington’s economy will be significant.”

December, 2011

WPC published its first “Policy Guide” for Washington State. In their chapter on the environment, WPC reveals their stance on climate change: [12]

“We agree with scientists like Pat Michaels of the CATO Institute and the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group that the level of atmospheric carbon from all sources does increase the heat in the atmosphere. What is less clear is how much of an impact humans are having and what the temperature impact will be.”

WPC recommends that a potential solution is to put a small price on carbon, while Washington should “eliminate costly and ineffective carbon regulations and programs.”

September, 2011

Todd Myers, the Washington Policy Center’s Director of the Center for the Environment, released a book (published by the WPC) titled ”Eco-Fads: How The Rise Of Trendy Environmentalism Is Harming The Environment.” 

According to the WPC‘s description, “Eco-Fads exposes the pressures that cause politicians, businesses, the media and even scientists to fall for trendy environmental fads. It examines why we fall for such fads, even when we should know better. The desire to “be green” can cloud our judgment, causing us to place things that make us appear green ahead of actions that may be socially invisible yet environmentally responsible.” [19]

Myers promoted his book in an article in the Opinion section of The Seattle Times, titled “How the rise of trendy environmentalism is harming the planet.” [20]

Eco Facts received praise from climate change skeptics in the media including Patrick Michaels in Forbes, (10/13/2011) and Sterling Burnett in National Review, (9/21/2011). [19]

July, 2011

“[W]e challenge Sightline to find one climate scientist at the UW Department of Atmospheric Sciences who says recent weather patterns (unusually hot in 2009 or unusually cold in 2011), are the result of anthropogenic climate change. I’ll give you until the end of the day on Tuesday to find someone,” Myers said. If I lose, I’ll send $50 to the charity of their choice. If I win, they send $50 to KIVA.ORG, to fund entrepreneurs in developing countries.”

2008

WPC‘s Todd Myers was a speaker at the Heartland Institute’s First International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC1). At the conference, Myers stated that science is myoptic and scientists conflate science and policy. Further, Myers declared “scientists tend to overestimate their confidence in their assessment of risk.” [13]

2007

The Washington Policy Center has repeatedly criticized building standards created by Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) as economically detrimental, environmentally harmful, and providing little energy savings. [22]

2004

In the 2004 article, “A Responsible Approach to Climate Change,” the WPC said investing in climate change initiatives was an expensive and poor use of resources. [23]

They prescribed spending resources in programs designed to create wealth in the Developing World as the best way to deal with the issue of climate change and global warming. The reason, they explain, is  “wealth buffers adversity.”

Washington Policy Center Contact & Address

As of June 2016, the Washington Policy Center listed the following contact information on its website: [44]

Main Mailing Address
PO Box 3643
Seattle, WA  98124-3643
[email protected]
 
Seattle Office
3404 4th Ave S.
Seattle, WA  98134
p 206-937-9691 | f 206-624-8038

Olympia Office
711 Capitol Way South, Suite 505
Olympia, WA  98501
p 360-705-6543

Spokane Office
801 W. Riverside, Suite 100
Spokane, WA  99201
p 509-570-2384

Tri-Cities Office
2815 St. Andrews Loop, Suite F
Pasco, WA  99302
p 509-547-2234

Related Organizations

Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change (CSCCC)

The Washington Policy Center is a past member of the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change (CSCCC). The CSCCC describes itself as an organization designed to educate the public about the science and economics of climate change. Note that the CSCCC website is no longer online, and it is unclear if the group is still in operation. [24]

State Policy Network (SPN)

The WPC is a member of the State Policy Network (SPN). The State Policy Network was formed in 1992. It’s mission is to improve the effectiveness of independent, market-oriented, state-focused think tanks, so that “they can educate the general public and policy makers in every state to embrace market-friendly policies that maximize liberty and opportunity. [25]

American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)

The Washington Policy Center (WPC) is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). SourceWatch documents connections between the Washington Policy Center and ALEC: [26]

• Daniel Mead Smith, President, represented WPC as the ALEC state co-chair of the state of Washington as of August 2011. 
• Carl Gipson, director of WPC‘s Center for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, is a member of ALEC‘s Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force.
• Jason Mercier, the Director of WPC‘s Center for Government Reform, is a member of ALEC‘s Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force.
• *Todd Myers represents WPC on ALEC‘s Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force.
• ALEC is an associate member of the State Policy Network (SPN), along with the WPC.

*Todd Myers wrote a blog post for the National Center for Policy Analysis criticizing the Center for Media and Democracy’s “ALEC Exposed” project in August 2011.  [27]

Social Media

• @WAPolicyCenter on Twitter.
• “Washington Policy Center” on Facebook.
• “Washington Policy Center” on LinkedIn.

Resources

1. “Frequently Asked Questions,” Washington Policy  Center. Archived September 22, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/5tDx3

2. “Washington Policy Center,” Charity Navigator. Accessed September, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/FYMWk

3. Washington Policy Center 2014 Annual Report. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/GSX9o

4. “New Washington Institute Foundation Created,” WIPS.org. Archived June 26, 1997. *Page no longer available on Internet Archive. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/iiiKJ

5. “Washington Institute changes name,” Puget Sound Business Journal, June 21, 2001. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. https://archive.is/XqNX6

6. “About Washington Policy Center,” Washington Policy Center. Archived September 22, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/u6XXp

7. (Press Release). “Free Markets for Washington Research Centers Campaign Now at $3.8 Million,” Washington Policy Center, December 21, 2007. Archived September 22, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/6wiyK

8. Viewpoint: Quarterly Magazine of Washington Policy Center (PDF). Summer, 2013. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

9. Washington Policy Center: 2002 Annual Report. Retrieved from Documentcloud. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/HVC95

10. “About Us,” Washington Policy Center. Archived February 5, 2007. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/jkXLq

11. John J. Miller. “Fifty Flowers Bloom,” Hey Miller, September 16, 2009. Archived September 22, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/UKimL

12. “Chapter Three: ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY,” Washington Policy Centre, 2012. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

13. Todd Myers. “The Difference Between Scientists and Policymakers.” Retrieved from Heartland.org. Archived .pdf on file  at DeSmogBlog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/v9CX6

14. “Washington Policy Center,” Conservative Transparency. Accessed June 6, 2017. 

15. “Our Staff,” Washington Policy Center. Archived September 23, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/VMXns

16. “Board of Directors,” Washington Policy Center. Archived March 23, 2012. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8BCz8

17. Todd Myers. “Policy Brief: Five myths of Cap-and-Trade,” Washington Policy Centre, March, 2015. Archived September 23, 2015. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/lqhMO

18. Todd Myers. “Inaccurate and misleading University of Oregon study used in Governor Inslee’s climate Executive Order,” Washington Policy Centre, October, 2014. Archived September 23, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/J0Xbt

19. “Eco-Fads,” Washington Policy Centre. Archived September 23, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/yeWZu

20. Todd Myers. “How the rise of trendy environmentalism is harming the planet,” The Seattle Times, September 5, 2011. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/msWNv

21. “Greens vs. Science: Is Climate Change Already Here? I’ll Take That Bet!” Washington Policy Center. Archived September 23, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/K3Cca

22. Todd Myers. “Why Don’t Greens Care About Global Warming?” Washington Policy Centre, March, 2007. Archived September 23, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/zhB0b

23. Pete Geddes. “A Responsible Approach to Climate Change,” Washington Policy Center, September, 2004. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/L6hcR

24. “Members of the CSCCC,” Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change. Archived July 11, 2013.  Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/aGWBw

25. “Directory,” State Policy Network. Accessed May 9, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/frhjU

26. “Washington Policy Center,” SourceWatch. Archived September 23, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/nvBOc

27. Todd Myers. “Left-Wing Group Exposes Its Environmental Ignorance,” Energy and Environment: Clearing the Air (NCPA Blog), August 17, 2011. Archived September 23, 2015. Archive.is URL:  https://archive.is/bJBCd

28. ”Exposed: The Dark-Money ATM of the Conservative Movement,” Mother Jones, February 5, 2013. Archived July 23, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Iw7IB

29. “Washington Policy Center welcomes four new board members from across the state to its Board of Directors,” Washington Policy Center. Archived November 12, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/oygOT

30. “Daniel Mead Smith,” Washington Policy Center. Archived November 12, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/BmV1z

31. “Company Profile,” Baldwin Resource Group, Inc. Archived February 26, 2012. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/cMgCU

32. “History & Heritage,” The Partners Group. Archived May 9, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ObBef

33. “Foundation for Economic Education,” Conservative Transparency. Accessed May 9, 2016. 

34. Todd Myers. ”HB 2346: Solar subsidy bill would spend $100 to get $1 of environmental benefit” (PDF), Washington Policy Center, January, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

35. Andrew Follett. “Washington’s Solar Subsidies Cost 13.5 Times The Price Of Power Generated,” The Daily Caller, April 14, 2016. Archived May 9, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/CpA2g

36. Todd Myers. “Proposed Spokane ‘green building’ ordinance would increase costs and increase energy use” (PDF), Washington Policy Foundation, May 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

37. Todd Myers. “Certified ‘Green’ Schools: Savings & Benefits Fail To Materialize In North Carolina,” Washington Policy Center, March 1, 2016. Archived May 9, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dOVDB

38. “Certified ‘Green’ Schools: Savings & Benefits Fail to Materialize in North Carolina” (PDF), John Locke Foundation. Retrieved from scribd.com. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/12VrC

39. Todd Myers. “The Environmental Failure of Green Schools,” Wall Street Journal, November 17, 2015. Archived May 9, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Dsf2X

40. H. Sterling Burnett. “Todd Myers: Green Schools Shown to Use More Energy,” The Heartland Institute. Archived May 9, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/RjAgk

41. Don Jenkins. “Washington demands coal exporter cut carbon footprint in half,” Capital Press, May 1, 2016. Archived May 9, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/EuU3E

42. Kevin Grandia. “Right Wing think tank sets target on Washington State cap and trade,” DeSmogBlog, March 2, 2009.

43. Todd Myers. “Greens: Tax Cuts Are “Too High a Price to Pay” to Address Climate Change,” Washington Policy Center, February 11, 2016. Archived May 9, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/fUfEZ

44. “Contact Us,” Washington Policy Center. Archived June 8, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/gWUFG

45. “Board of Directors,” Washington Policy Center. Archived October 20, 2014. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Smfg1

46. “Board of Directors,” Washington Policy Center. Archived August 3, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tLzSm

47. “Staff,” Washington Policy Center. Archived August 3, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/5aUtH

48. “WPC messaging helped defeat carbon tax initiative,” State Policy Network, November 28, 2018. Archived November 28, 2018. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/MbnGI

49. Todd Myers. “Citizens’ Guide to Initiative 1631” (PDF), Washington Policy Center, September 2018. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

50. Dana Drugmand. “Under Cover of Pandemic, Fossil Fuel Interests Unleash Lobbying Frenzy,” DeSmog, April 2, 2020.

51. Coronavirus Stimulus Letter, Life:Powered, March 23, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

52. CAFE-Coaliton-to-Trump-April-2020-9 (PDF), American Energy Alliance.

Other Resources

• “Washington Policy Center exposed: Todd Myers,” Down To Earth, August 31, 2011. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ZVPW8