Housing
Op-Ed: Five Ways to Lower Rents in Seattle
Here are five things Seattle leaders could be doing to lower your rent, in observance of Affordable Housing Week.
Staff Biography
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Opinion
Op-Ed: Lowering Ethical Standards to Allow Elected Officials’ Self-Dealing is a Terrible Idea
A proposal set to drop this week at the Seattle City Council would loosen ethics standards for councilmembers with potential conflicts-of-interest. Mayoral candidate Katie Wilson breaks down why that’s a terrible idea.
Homelessness
Op-Ed: Harrell’s Record on Homelessness Is Cynical, Cruel, and Cosmetic
Homeless encampment sweeps have tripled under Mayor Harrell, but shelter capacity has shrunk, and the number of people who are unsheltered remains stubbornly high.
Opinion
Op-Ed: Washington State’s Path to Tax The Rich in 2025
With a state budget deficit looming, Democrats may consider a JumpStart-like corporate payroll tax or other new revenue, to lessen the need for deep cuts.
Opinion
Seattle Rejects Capital Gains Proposal, but Progressive Tax Time Is Nigh
Progressive challenger Alexis Mercedes Rinck’s election win could mean a 5-4 majority for a capital gains tax — or even a supermajority, if Rob “this is the right tax at the wrong time” Saka can be convinced that the time is right. Other progressive taxes are also on the table.
Economics
Policy Lab: Why Are Seattle Restaurants So Expensive?
Seattle service workers are set to get a major wage hike, unless restaurant lobbyists get their way. But policymakers can support the restaurant industry in better ways than simply cutting worker pay.
Housing
Policy Lab: Ban Algorithmic Rental Price-Setting
At least half of Seattle’s apartments are priced using algorithms like RealPage, which is facing a federal lawsuit for illegal price fixing. The Seattle City Council should ban such algorithms, Katie Wilson argues.
Housing
Policy Lab: Cracking Down on Rental “Junk Fees”
President Biden has called out junk fees, but local landlords continue to charge them. Here’s what Seattle and other cities can do to address them.
Labor
Op-Ed: Seattle Council Won’t Get Away with Gutting Minimum Wage Law
The Seattle City Council is queuing up a debate on appropriate wages for service workers at smaller employers. At the behest of restaurant owners, Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth is seeking to cancel a scheduled minimum wage increase.
Civics and Culture
Policy Lab: We Want Bread, and Paid Vacation Too!
Most advanced nations mandate at least 20 working days of paid vacation per year, but not the United States. Here’s why we should change that.