Economics

Amazon Splits the HQ2 Baby, Rich-Get-Richer Style

The suspense is over as Amazon made it official yesterday that its headquarters expansion will be to Arlington, Virginia and to New York City....
The domed Olympia Capitol Building stands in the distance with a bus stop with a passenger waiting in the foreground. A dogwalker also mosey on the lawn.

Op-Ed: Don’t Believe Corporate Elite Claiming to Fight for ‘Affordable Washington’

A corporate front group is pushing ads seeking to sap support for taxing the rich as the state faces a budget crisis. John Burbank points out the ads are misleading and argues the state must raise new revenue to avoid draconian cuts that will hit the working class hard.
A photo of the Bellevue Council building sign

Bellevue Council Update: Deficits Create Difficult Budget Decisions to Come

King County's second largest city began its budget season on Monday evening with a foreboding presentation. With lagging property tax revenues, increased demands for...
A pergola shelters a street cafe on Ballard Avenue, with a person biking by in the street.

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.

Will Linkage Fees Keep Properties Off The Market?

In my last article on linkage fees I made the case that the typical supply and demand dynamics we are familiar with from buying gasoline...

Sunday Video: Does My Neighborhood Determine My Future?

https://youtu.be/pu2sKNJMH-k Vox looks at the history of redlining, practices of renting and selling property, zoning practices, public services and investments, and environmental health that collectively...

The Price of Market Freedom

I’ve found that many people conflate supply and demand, or price-based resource allocation, with the pseudo-ideal of a libertarian “free market”. Supply and demand is...
Third Avenue near Madison Avenue with office towers, some of the historic, in the background.

Seattle Hopes to Spur Office-to-Housing Conversions with Regulatory Incentives

Facing waning demand for office spaces, landlords are weighing housing conversions, with Mayor Harrell and the Seattle City Council aiming to nudge them in that direction with a recently passed package of regulatory incentives. Financial incentives could be next, but hurdles remain.