Tracking HALA: Ending Homelessness with Social Impact Bonds
We’re starting a project that tracks all 65 recommendations of the Mayor’s Housing Affordabilty and Livabilty Agenda (HALA) Committee. As I’ve mentioned (and been derided for) the HALA document has gone from a pile of wonky idea and policies to a slogan being used to push Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning (MIZ). So far, the only recommendation […]
It Might Be Time for Guaranteed Income for Seattle’s Poorest
Imagine if poor people living in Seattle were guaranteed a minimum level of income for housing costs. I don’t like the standard typically used to establish the normative standard for housing costs—30 percent of gross monthly income discounted by some percentage of Area Median Income—but let’s start with that. In my thought experiment everyone earning 30 percent […]
Housing Data: We Can Solve Problems AND Feel Better Too
Think about any problem you might have in your own household or at work. Usually that problem comes with two kinds of measures, quantitative and qualitative. For example, if you’re running low on milk you know what “low” means when you pick up the carton and if feels lighter than usual. That’s a qualitative measure. […]
