Economics

A triplex in Magnolia. (Photo by Doug Trumm)

Conventional Conforming: The Quiet Hurdle to Increasing Density

How Federal Subsidy of Loan Interest Rates Block Missing Middle Housing Earlier in the pandemic, I was searching around Zillow. Looking at houses was a...

The Urbanist Podcast: Time to Talk About Washington State Taxes

Every one knows there are two things you can't escape in life, death and taxes. While I'd add a few more items to that...

Solving Homelessness Is More Complex Than Just Supply

In a recent article, I wrote about homelessness and mentioned that the building boom of new (mostly luxury) apartments hasn't positively affected One Night...

Rents In San Francisco Are Determined By Demand, New Data Show

Slightly better than the worst possible outcome (detail), by Christine Hou By putting together 60+ years of housing data, much of it gathered from newspaper microfiche,...

Seattle Seeks to Close Internet Access Gap

In September, the City of Seattle released the Internet for All Seattle Report. This report follows the City's July 27th resolution to establish the...

Sunday Video: Who Pays The Lowest Taxes In The US?

https://youtu.be/kXCGbAv8YPw America may have an income tax, but the national tax structure is not remotely progressive and is weighted mostly against the poor and working...

Concrete Companies Stonewall Striking Truck Drivers, Threatening Cascading Construction Delays

Concrete is not flowing in King County and several high-profile infrastructure projects threaten to be delayed as a result. Concrete mixer drivers are striking...

Op-Ed: Why We’re Taking Burien’s Minimum Wage to the Ballot Box

Raise the Wage Burien is bringing together a coalition of workers, community groups, and labor unions to gather petition signatures to put a measure on the ballot this fall to raise Burien’s minimum wage to parity with nearby cities like Tukwila, SeaTac, Seattle, and Renton. In contrast, the city council's version is riddled with loopholes.