One of the reasons Katie is running for mayor is that she wants housing to be affordable for all of our residents. Housing costs have doubled since Bruce Harrell first took office. Social housing is one important part of that puzzle. Let’s talk about it!
Yes Let’s “Talk About it” #Deport 21 million Illegals and Free up approximately 5 million housing Units!
England did it very successfully back in the '60s, providing quality homes that both lowered the prices while raising the quality of private built housing by setting a new standard they had to then overcome. Imagine what we could do if we didn't always hold corporate profit over everything else.
Council housing was all (or at least very much mostly?) net-new units, though. Massive national home-building to ensure that everyone had not just a roof over their head but modern conveniences like indoor plumbing. Truly a massive project, and a key driver of the post-war boom.
There’s nothing anyone can do to lower housing costs
I never trusted Harrell. He's a part of the system, a fixer.
Actual income tax for the middle class in the UK in 1960s until mid-1970s was 40%. The tax rate for high income households was in the high 50% + a sur-tax.That money went towards subsidised housing b/c so much was destroyed in WW2. No one in the US wants to pay taxes & the rich don’t pay taxes.
Nothing will be affordable, not housing, health insurance, education until we have a truly progressive tax system & sane economic structure. Instead of concentrating jobs & homes in major urban areas, creating smaller cities across the country linked by rail, is better for environment & safer.
Did you hear about Harrell's cringefest of a public appearance at Old Stove? He said, and I'm quoting directly, "We have a lot of wealthy people here, and I embrace the wealth. I don't wealth-bash!" What a guy...
This is a problem nationwide! Instead of attacking the current mayor, tell us what you’re going to do!
How many net new units is the social housing provider slated to produce by 2030?
Considering the social housing provider won’t collect funds until 2026 and new housing construction is on a 3-4 year timeline, not much. But, they’ll make a lot bigger strides than they would have with 1/5 of the funding if 1B passed instead. Plus they’re also looking at ex building acquisitions.
Do you remember how many net new homes were in the prospectus for the tax?
I do not because that’s not why I voted for it. I would imagine a vast majority of voters who voted for it don’t know that answer either.
Fewer than 200.
200>0
Follow up: how does spending tax dollars on already existing housing address the acute housing shortage?
Buying existing housing keeps affordable housing affordable and stems the cycle of new multifamily housing cannibalizing older multifamily housing.
City buys existing older building to add to social housing program. Landlord who sold building reinvests that into new construction at market rate? Maybe that doesn’t map out perfectly, but I’m sure that will happen to some degree. It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s a meaningful puzzle piece.
“Housing construction in Seattle is equity constrained,” is a…take. You’re gonna need some empirical evidence to make that plausible.
Yeah, maybe not. I’m not all that interested in dumping on social housing funding. It’s good policy. It’s not the only policy needed. I don’t think Katie Wilson has *ever* argued that.
Like, it’s well and good to like social housing, but like, we’re short ~100,000 housing units and it won’t produce more than a few hundred in the best case prior to ~2040, so it’s not material either way.
I’m not sure how many homes that untaxed money was producing or how many homes diverting money from the jumpstart payroll tax would have produced or how much the over $500,000 spent by businesses opposing the tax went towards housing but I voted for taking practical steps towards housing
And a mayor who runs with that attitude instead of dragging their feet, setting up roadblocks, and repeatedly favoring the status quo is the mayor I voted for. #WilsonforSeattle