Seattle’s (former?) Capitol Hill neighborhood

[JohnH]

And newsflash. Buildings don't cause crime. If they did Tokyo and Singapore would be crime ridden. They are not.

Singapore manages that by being an authoritarian police state.

Tokyo manages that by being very, very ethnically homogenous with a culture that places a rather intense sense of duty and shame on its people.

What buildings actually do is provide homes for families and increase the tax base for a city that is apparently struggling with both housing and budget.

If people want to live in Tokyo, I suppose they could just move there, couldn't they?

[temporal1]

Perhaps the people in Seattle who aren't yet in a crime infested neighborhood would like to keep it that way, and don't want high rises going up next door to them. Can't say I blame them.

My family lives near Seattle, in King County.
Since 2020, they avoid going into Seattle for anything, due to crime, drugs, homelessness, including drive by shootings on the highways. Formerly, when visiting, i would drive my granddaughter into Seattle for different camps, park district events, etc.
No more. It’s sad.

2020 is when this topic began. Penalties are still being paid. 2020 was a costly “summer”.

Locals tell me Seattle was ruined over years by so many So Cal people relocating there. So it appears.
A warning for areas where Californians are now moving. Beware. Texas. Tennessee.

Many have moved away. Individuals and businesses. i wish my family would move.
The crime and filth doesn’t stay in Seattle. The cost of living is outrageous.

The geography is beautiful. i love the weather. But.

[temporal1]

This site looks promising. With TIME STAMPS!

Washington Policy Center / Washington Passed the Largest Tax Increase in History | Paul Guppy / 16min

Description:
This video is part of our series informing you of the latest in state policy.
Paul updates viewers on the latest policy happenings in Olympia and beyond.

00:00 - Introduction
00:24 - Largest budget and tax increase in WA history
01:49 - Budget timing and political games
02:59 - Where the tax money goes
03:43 - No reforms, just bigger spending
04:06 - GOP budget alternative rejected
04:52 - WA economy may fall behind
05:35 - Clemency board expansion and concerns
06:50 - Parental rights rollback
08:19 - Seattle schools losing students
09:22 - National school choice momentum
10:16 - New WA gas tax and automatic hikes
11:58 - Hidden fees and tolling plans
14:07 - Sound Transit delays again
15:21 - Final thoughts

i added bold+italics to notes that point out particularly underhanded political moves wrt increasing taxes and decreasing accountability. Definitely underhandedness wrt parental rights. grrrr.

[Ken]

Washington is a growing state with both a growing population and growing economy. Of course state budgets are going to grow in nominal dollars. Everything is more expensive today. But on an inflation-adjusted per-capita basis, state budgets here in Washington are basically flat or have declined since the 1990s.

Some basic facts:

• Unlike the Federal Government, the state of Washington runs a balance budget. It only spends what it takes in.
• Washington is only one of 8 states that has no personal income tax. They are: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming
• Washington's overall state tax burden is #28 or #29 in the country. Well below many Republican run states like Utah, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Kansas, West Virginia, and Louisiana.: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-h ... rden/20494
• The biggest tax increase in the recently passed budget is a 6 cent increase in the gas tax and that is to start chipping away at the massive amount of deferred maintenance on bridges, highways, ferries, and so forth. Washington isn't unique in that respect. People want bridges that don't fall down and ferries that work. That costs money. And the gas tax is how such infrastructure gets paid for

Oh, and yes. Seattle schools are facing declining enrollments. But that is mostly a housing issue, not a school issue. Seattle is increasingly becoming a city of wealthy empty-nest boomers in big single family homes and young single people in apartments. The city through its zoning laws is preventing the construction of affordable family-friendly homes and so young families with children are forced to move out to distant suburbs. Many would move back in a heartbeat if there were any remotely affordable places for them to live and raise a family inside the city.

[JohnH]

Washington is a growing state with both a growing population and growing economy. Of course state budgets are going to grow in nominal dollars. Everything is more expensive today.

Given that taxes are, generally speaking, based on percentages, one wonders why the percentage rate on "more expensive today" prices need to be raised.

But on an inflation-adjusted per-capita basis, state budgets here in Washington are basically flat or have declined since the 1990s.

Then why do sales taxes need to go up?

Some basic facts:

• Unlike the Federal Government, the state of Washington runs a balance budget. It only spends what it takes in.
• Washington is only one of 8 states that has no personal income tax. They are: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming
• Washington's overall state tax burden is #28 or #29 in the country. Well below many Republican run states like Utah, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Kansas, West Virginia, and Louisiana.: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-h ... rden/20494

Ken, I'm sorry, but Ohio simply does not have a 10% income tax burden in its major cities.

[*]The biggest tax increase in the recently passed budget is a 6 cent increase in the gas tax and that is to start chipping away at the massive amount of deferred maintenance on bridges, highways, ferries, and so forth. Washington isn't unique in that respect. People want bridges that don't fall down and ferries that work. That costs money. And the gas tax is how such infrastructure gets paid for[/list]

Perhaps a levy on electric cars would be wiser, since electric cars also cause wear and tear and they don't pay any fuel tax. How does that sound?

Oh, and yes. Seattle schools are facing declining enrollments.

Then their schools should need less money, not more.

But that is mostly a housing issue, not a school issue. Seattle is increasingly becoming a city of wealthy empty-nest boomers in big single family homes and young single people in apartments. The city through its zoning laws is preventing the construction of affordable family-friendly homes and so young families with children are forced to move out to distant suburbs. Many would move back in a heartbeat if there were any remotely affordable places for them to live and raise a family inside the city.

Despite places that have no zoning (like Houston) still having unaffordable housing and some of the worst suburban sprawl I have seen anywhere in America.

[Ken]

Washington is a growing state with both a growing population and growing economy. Of course state budgets are going to grow in nominal dollars. Everything is more expensive today.

Given that taxes are, generally speaking, based on percentages, one wonders why the percentage rate on "more expensive today" prices need to be raised.

But on an inflation-adjusted per-capita basis, state budgets here in Washington are basically flat or have declined since the 1990s.

Then why do sales taxes need to go up?

Some basic facts:

• Unlike the Federal Government, the state of Washington runs a balance budget. It only spends what it takes in.
• Washington is only one of 8 states that has no personal income tax. They are: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming
• Washington's overall state tax burden is #28 or #29 in the country. Well below many Republican run states like Utah, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Kansas, West Virginia, and Louisiana.: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-h ... rden/20494

Ken, I'm sorry, but Ohio simply does not have a 10% income tax burden in its major cities.

[*]The biggest tax increase in the recently passed budget is a 6 cent increase in the gas tax and that is to start chipping away at the massive amount of deferred maintenance on bridges, highways, ferries, and so forth. Washington isn't unique in that respect. People want bridges that don't fall down and ferries that work. That costs money. And the gas tax is how such infrastructure gets paid for[/list]

Perhaps a levy on electric cars would be wiser, since electric cars also cause wear and tear and they don't pay any fuel tax. How does that sound?

Oh, and yes. Seattle schools are facing declining enrollments.

Then their schools should need less money, not more.

But that is mostly a housing issue, not a school issue. Seattle is increasingly becoming a city of wealthy empty-nest boomers in big single family homes and young single people in apartments. The city through its zoning laws is preventing the construction of affordable family-friendly homes and so young families with children are forced to move out to distant suburbs. Many would move back in a heartbeat if there were any remotely affordable places for them to live and raise a family inside the city.

Despite places that have no zoning (like Houston) still having unaffordable housing and some of the worst suburban sprawl I have seen anywhere in America.

Sure, weigh in here on a topic you clearly know nothing about.

1. Washington's sales tax hasn't changed since the 1970s and it isn't going up as a result of this latest tax bill either. It is still the exact same rate as when I was in college in the early 80s except that the percentage of goods and services that are exempt from sales tax has increased over time so for the average person, their tax burden relative to what they spend has actually gone down substantially. In other words, a WA resident paid a higher effective sales tax in 1980 than they do today.

2. WA does already have extra registration fees for hybrid and electric cars and they did go up in this latest tax bill. They raised the registration fees on EVs by $100. Which is a bigger increase than a 6 cent increase in the gas tax. For someone who drives 10,000 miles a year in a car that gets 35 MPG the 6 cent increase in gas tax would amount to an extra $17 per year.

3. This isn't about Seattle school funding. It is about statewide school funding and the number of K-12 students in WA is increasing. The state distributes funding based on student enrollment and if Seattle's enrollment is declining, so will the amount of state support.

4. Housing is a good like any other and housing prices do respond to the laws of supply and demand like any other good. If Seattle wants lower housing prices it needs to build more housing. Unfortunately Seattle is full of aging baby boomer liberals who want to preserve their neighborhoods in amber and so here we are, with housing becoming increasingly unaffordable and families moving out of the city as a result.

5. Seattle's budgetary issues would vanish overnight if the city allowed increases in density. Because tax revenues per square foot of property would double, triple, or quadruple. That doesn't mean no zoning like Houston. It means upzoning to accommodate more density. Under existing zoning it is currently illegal to even build an apartment building in about 90% of the city. But it is legal to tear down an existing modest bungalow and replace it with a giant McMansion and so that is what is happening.

[JohnH]

Sounds like Seattle is a terrible place to live.

[ken_sylvania]

Sounds like Seattle is a terrible place to live.

Probably about the same as your neighborhood - minus the sharp-tongued guy that has an occupied camper in his yard [the yard that may or may not be his depending on which Mennonet thread he's arguing in].

[Ken]

Sounds like Seattle is a terrible place to live.

Why?

If you are going to live in a city, Seattle is one of the nicer ones.

[Valerie]

Sounds like Seattle is a terrible place to live.

Why?

If you are going to live in a city, Seattle is one of the nicer ones.

Used to be.

Another “Summer of love”?

https://www.christianwarriortraining.co ... at-seattle