Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age

by Brad Smith

While the proposal initially raised some friction with other companies,25 legislators found their way to a compromise that capped the new tax surcharge at $7 million per company per year. Just six weeks later, the legislature approved a new budget with a dedicated fund that will raise roughly $250 million per year for higher education. Washington’s new Workforce Education Investment Act was hailed both locally and nationally for its commitment to “provide free or reduced tuition for lower- and middle-income students attending community colleges and public institutions, provide new funding for strapped community colleges and eliminate wait lists for financial aid beginning in 2020.”26 As described by a professor at Temple University, it was “pretty much the most progressive state higher ed funding bill” enacted in several years.27 For me, it was proof that if the tech sector could get comfortable with a more community-focused approach and pay perhaps even a bit more than its share toward it, we could have a real and positive impact.