Charts and Graphs: More Taxes Mean Higher Rents
Last week I participated in an interview of a landlord about whether it’s a good idea to have a renter’s commission. Tim Burgess is carrying Councilmember Sawant’s water again and proposing just such a thing, a group of renters empowered with City staff and funding to find more and more well intentioned rules to help […]
Part 3. The Price of Love: Housing, Economics, Politics, Money, and Being Loved
When I was in elementary school I took some pleasure in telling other kids on the playground that Santa Claus didn’t exist. I remember the look on their faces, the fear and disappointment. Then I saw the furrowing brow and anger. They knew Santa was a hoax. But as long as believing in him and colluding […]
Part 1. Affordability, Price, and Measuring a “Crisis”
When we talk about housing in Seattle, affordability dominates the conversation. Close behind are parking and design issues that tend to bother neighbors, and after that is the notion that somehow we’ve grown too much, too fast and the quality and character of life in Seattle is changing for the worse. But housing prices, expressed […]
