You should be looking at the lobbying logs for the Council. My guess it reads: Kaushik, Kaushik, Kaushik....

Heidi, at least as intellectual exercise, you really should begin to address your writing without overwhelming it with your subjective predispositions.

Hey buddy, can you spare a politician to actually help people?

So the Transit Riders Union wants to take businesses irrespective of their net income. Transit riders per se have no skin in the game. If the crisis is as urgent as Ms. Wilson seems to believe and the moral arguments so definitive, why then isn't she advocating for increased bus fares, the revenues from which would be directed to projects for the homeless?

That's tax businesses irrespective of income. Oh, that one could edit a Stranger
comment.

The bold creative action that needs to be taken is require data to be collected. Data on who is being helped and what type of housing is going to be funded. Lorena Gonzalez is correct to question the proposal and so is Deborah Juarez. It's another quickly and poorly written proposal without all the details fleshed out and without the information on who is being helped and what the measure of success for the people being helped is. We are already throwing money after money at the homeless issue and nobody has any data to tell us if people are getting into housing and out of homelessness. Keep pushing for details ladies. And also question why a new tax is needed when we already have more tax revenue than ever before. Lets make budget cuts first before adding more new taxes.

Amazing that any other Council members would have a shred of respect for Sawant since she so obviously has none for her colleagues.

By not focusing on simple shelters that can be built quickly and cheaply, are't we missing the chance to get people out of the weather? If relaxing some of the rules about drinking etc. in the shelters is what it takes, let's do it.

For the amount of money the city is already spending, I think the taxpayers have a right to expect some results. I don't know if anyone else is seeing any improvement in the situation, but I certainly don't. What says that the NEXT 20/50/100 million is going to be any more effective?

Weird how when corporations keep giving you money everybody is always like saying you're doing something for the corporations to get the money.

Seriously? There always has to be a reason for corporations to hand out cash? Is that how your mind works?

Hey, here's an idea for you: ever think maybe corporations are giving politicians money to be NICE. Yeah! To. Be. Nice. You just think on that.

Is being nice a crime now? Is it? Ever hear of Santa Claus? Ever hear of the Easter Bunny? Have you? Are they criminals too? Is it okay with YOU for Santa and the Easter Bunny to give out a few nice gifts every once in a while? Are you suspicious of them now?

No, no, that's ok, I see how you are. Say what you want about corporations. Say they give money to politicians for calculated gains. That's ok. Corporations have feelings too you know but you go right ahead and say that. But we will NOT sit here and let you bad mouth the EASTER BUNNY! And SANTA CLAUS!

For shame. Is this what you people have become? So cynical. So suspicious? It makes the Easter Bunny shed a little tear. And corporations too. Bet you didn't know corporations could cry, did you? Maybe next time you'll think before you... before you, you know. Cast aspersions on innocent corporate motives. Innocent politicians, accepting nice gifts to be polite. Bet you never heard of politeness, have you?

Corporations are just nice! Politicians are just polite! There I said it. What darkness must lurk in your cold, cold heart.

#11:

Kshama Sawant has no respect for anybody who doesn't adore her. And in her ideal world, anyone who opposes her would be gunned down, just as her heroes the Bolsheviks dealt with their opponents.

So let me get this straight, there is 50 MILLION+ DOLLARS going towards transitional housing, low income housing, homelessness, etc. YET, we have 5 THOUSAND+ people sleeping on the streets.

Apologize for the CAPS, but this is ridiculous. The citizens and corporations--who employ many thousands of good tax payers btw--should only hand over more of their hard earned money when it is proven the TENS of MILLIONS already taxed and spent are being used effectively, and in an accountable way.

Simply throwing money at a problem has NEVER solved any problem. You have to have a f*cking plan that actually works. Hell, we could all pay 100% of our income to tax and still have 5,000+ people sleeping on the streets if the mismanagement is going down the way it appears to be going down.

Kshama should accept some personal responsibility for this...nevermind.

@5: That's because greedy, "Tax the Little People" RepubliKKKans want to take all available money away from the 99.999% for themselves. A rising tide of lies, corruption, and grift lifts all their yachts.

@13: Ummmmm....you are being sarcastic here, right...?

We already spend over 60 million dollars a year on homelessness in Seattle. Two studies last year said this was enough, IF we spent the money wisely. So when does “wisely” come into the picture? We have a handful of city council members that obviously feel the answer is to tax businesses, thinking that this will have no impact on the health of those businesses. Idiots. And as soon as someone questions any details of their tax, they immediately shout them down as catering to "business interests." Right. Lose business in Seattle and boy, those rents will come down. It's just that no one will have a salary to pay them.

@18

Sarcasm is how I hug.