Dear Seattle resident, 

Every time you feel the need to complain about seeing a homeless person, stop yourself and do the following thing instead: In an email to your city council member, your mayor, your county council member, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and all three of your state representatives, announce your support for a property tax that raises $1 billion per year for the next 10 years. 

Believe it or not, that solution doesn’t come from Seattle’s bleeding-heart socialists. It comes courtesy of a 2020 report from the ultra-capitalists at McKinsey, which was commissioned by the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. We need to spend all that money—in addition to the money we’re already spending—on affordable housing units. Why? Because we don’t have enough housing for the number of people who live here now. 

That’s it! That plus permitting reform to make the buildings go up faster is the answer! And announcing your support for that policy every time you feel the need to stir up resentment for poor people is INFINITELY more helpful than spreading hate about a group of people who we’ve collectively decided to fail.


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