There's some notable number screwiness here, at least among the five minus fours: two or three of the "non-millionaires" listed have considerably more than a million in assets, (for instance, socialism suffers a lot more personal income than some here would have you believe)
Lorena Gonzalez, a working attorney for more than a decade, has a net worth comparable to the price of a new car? I know she's (admirably) done a lot of pro-bono work, but that's pretty incredibly low.
Would be interesting to see how many of these councilmembers' net worth came via the natural wealth generating aspects of homeownership vs. the unnatural wealth generating aspects of housing supply suppression via zoning regulation in single-family neighborhoods.
WA is a community property state, are those household nets or just $$ directly held by the office holder even if a spouse has a claim to it (and they have a claim to stuff their spouse has that may not be on these books)?
It's actually really interesting to dig into the data on the submitted forms, because it breaks down a ballpark on what they owe, on what assets, and how much they've saved and where:
Lorena Gonzalez: $22k net worth
-30-year fixed mortgage @ 4% (about $150K)
-makes between $25k-$100k @ NW Area Foundation
-makes between $100k-200k @ Seattle City Council
-has between $10k & $25k in a checking account
-has zero in retirement or investments
-owes between $25k+ on a BMW
I think this woman needs to sit down with a financial advisor and discuss where all of her income is disappearing.
Lisa Herbold ($225k net worth)
-Pays $1250 a month in mortgage to a house that's worth ~$150k
-Somewhere between $50k-$200k in retirement accounts
-Pays $350 a month to BECU, $420 a month to Wells Fargo, $150 a month to Harley Davidson, $320 a month to Kubota, $320 a month to the US Treasury.
Damn, she pays nearly $3,000 a month just on loans/debts.
Kshama Sawant: $270k net worth
Owns a nice little 1,100 sq.ft. 2-bedroom house on 28th ave. It's gone up $200k in value since she bought it 2014, She has some money in savings ($10k-25k) but zero investments or retirement accounts . . . but no other debt.
Gonzales isn't that old, right? Isn't she the youngest member of the council? She didn't finish law school until 2005.
If she graduated from college and law school with significant student loan debt, couldn't that be dragging down her net worth, even if she owns a home or condo? Moreover, if she bought her home or condo at the top of the market 6-7 years ago before thing tanked, she could have been underwater on it until fairly recently, so there might not be much equity there.
Anyway, just a thought. As others have said, most of the other members are older and have probably owned some kind of a home in Seattle since at least the early 2000s. So the numbers aren't super surprising.
Debora Juarez: $700k net worth
-Put 20% down, on a 4% 30-year mortgage. Bought her house in 2004 for $630k - it's worth nearly a million today. (6 bedroom, 5.25 bath, 3,810 sqft)
-Gets a small amount of disability insurance, has some other insurance benefits (death in the family?)
-Has a nice variety of assets/savings, in multiple retirement accounts, 401k, investment account, life insurance and checking.
Rob Johnson: $500k net worth
-No retirement, no investments. Has some money in a savings account.
-Put 10% down, on 30-year 4.25% mortgage. Bought the house in 2011 for $440k. It's worth 814K today.
If you're even sort of approaching retirement age and don't have a $1M net worth (or near it), you're in trouble. I would have more concern about electing someone who has put almost nothing into their retirement account to be making giant investment decisions for the city.
We have terrible poverty in this city and turning a blind eye to that and upholding the status quo
will bite Seattle in the ass. That’s what the city government does. We must think outside the box.
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/20…
Would be interesting to see how many of these councilmembers' net worth came via the natural wealth generating aspects of homeownership vs. the unnatural wealth generating aspects of housing supply suppression via zoning regulation in single-family neighborhoods.
Lorena Gonzalez: $22k net worth
-30-year fixed mortgage @ 4% (about $150K)
-makes between $25k-$100k @ NW Area Foundation
-makes between $100k-200k @ Seattle City Council
-has between $10k & $25k in a checking account
-has zero in retirement or investments
-owes between $25k+ on a BMW
I think this woman needs to sit down with a financial advisor and discuss where all of her income is disappearing.
Lisa Herbold ($225k net worth)
-Pays $1250 a month in mortgage to a house that's worth ~$150k
-Somewhere between $50k-$200k in retirement accounts
-Pays $350 a month to BECU, $420 a month to Wells Fargo, $150 a month to Harley Davidson, $320 a month to Kubota, $320 a month to the US Treasury.
Damn, she pays nearly $3,000 a month just on loans/debts.
Kshama Sawant: $270k net worth
Owns a nice little 1,100 sq.ft. 2-bedroom house on 28th ave. It's gone up $200k in value since she bought it 2014, She has some money in savings ($10k-25k) but zero investments or retirement accounts . . . but no other debt.
If she graduated from college and law school with significant student loan debt, couldn't that be dragging down her net worth, even if she owns a home or condo? Moreover, if she bought her home or condo at the top of the market 6-7 years ago before thing tanked, she could have been underwater on it until fairly recently, so there might not be much equity there.
Anyway, just a thought. As others have said, most of the other members are older and have probably owned some kind of a home in Seattle since at least the early 2000s. So the numbers aren't super surprising.
-Put 20% down, on a 4% 30-year mortgage. Bought her house in 2004 for $630k - it's worth nearly a million today. (6 bedroom, 5.25 bath, 3,810 sqft)
-Gets a small amount of disability insurance, has some other insurance benefits (death in the family?)
-Has a nice variety of assets/savings, in multiple retirement accounts, 401k, investment account, life insurance and checking.
Rob Johnson: $500k net worth
-No retirement, no investments. Has some money in a savings account.
-Put 10% down, on 30-year 4.25% mortgage. Bought the house in 2011 for $440k. It's worth 814K today.
will bite Seattle in the ass. That’s what the city government does. We must think outside the box.
Welcome to the real world.