With the present challenges concerning labor shortages, supply-chain disruptions, and inflation, it’s easy to forget how far we’ve come, as a business community, this year.

Before we address our wish list for what likely will be a challenging 2022 on many fronts, it’s good to reflect briefly on the progress made in 2021. 

As a business community, we emerged from the pandemic-induced recession, which proved to be the shortest in history, according to Avista Corp. economist Grant Forsyth. Employers in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area recuperated the total number of jobs lost during the recession and built upon those gains. While COVID-19 continues to disrupt daily lives, we have been able to meet in person again, in some cases, and travel around the country, thanks in part to vaccinations and best practices to curb the virus’ spread.

Looking to the new year, we have just a handful of wishes on our Christmas list this year:

• Fix the Long-Term Care Services and Support Program: State leaders from both sides of the aisle have concerns about this new state program, also known as the WA Cares Fund, which is designed to provide long-term care insurance for Washington residents. The state plans to start taking money out of people’s paychecks for the program at the beginning of the year, but if there’s a way to stop it, Gov. Jay Inslee should do so. WA Cares Fund should be delayed by at least a year, and legislators should revisit the question of whether such a program is necessary at all.

• Keep lines of communication open in Olympia: Safety protocols put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19 also have the potential to stymie conversations between state leaders, especially between political parties. Ensure safety measures don’t double as a cloak of secrecy in the Legislature. And along those same lines, keep remote public testimony as an option. Easier access to legislative proceedings from all corners of the state is beneficial and attainable.

• Think transformational with American Rescue Plan Act money: Tens of millions of dollars in federal money is flowing into the Spokane region. It’s one-time money and an opportunity to do something exceptional without raising local taxes or going to voters with a ballot initiative. Federal guidelines limit, to a degree, how those funds can be allocated. But within those guidelines, local governments should be thinking of ways that money can be used to make a measurable, long-term difference in our community, not just help them ease any budgetary pressures.

• Return to the city’s core. Downtown Spokane needs a vibrant workforce walking its streets and having lunch in its restaurants. We’ve learned that some people can do their jobs from home, and that flexibility can benefit employers and workers alike. But it’s time to bring professionals back, with necessary safety protocols in place, and breathe life into downtown again.

• Keep a sharp focus on homelessness. Work must continue on all fronts to ensure everybody has access to housing. That includes providing adequate shelter space, affordable housing, and addressing the overall shortage of living units in the region. But it also means we must ensure that homeless individuals who commit crimes are held accountable, even if they’re a small percentage of that population. Public safety must be part of this equation.