Six News Highlights You Should Know

A Quick Look At Important, Underreported Topics

Folks, there are too many underreported issues I want to discuss, but I only have so much time, since this isn’t a paid gig! So I thought I’d highlight some important items.

Trumps Project 2025 Looks A Lot Like Sara Nelson and Tanya Woo’s Tax Plans

An analysis of the tax plan from Trump’s Project 2025 revealed that, in addition to turning the country into a monarchical version of the handmaid’s tale, it would massively redistribute income from the poor and middle class toward the richest among us.

Interestingly, the extreme MAGA plan aims to make federal taxes look more like the tax system in Seattle and Washington State that Sara Nelson and Tanya Woo are fighting to preserve.

I’m not saying these two are MAGA believers, but their tax policies might make a Trump rally attendee blush so hard his face matches his red hat.

Will Council Let Seattle Vote for a Democratic Approach to Funding Subsidized Housing?

On the other hand, Democrats who actually believe in the Democratic party platform gathered enough signatures to get a progressive funding measure on the Seattle ballot to fund missing middle-income housing, or “social housing.” The money comes from a nickel-on-the-dollar tax for every dollar a person makes after their first million, in a year.  

Will the City Council use the Republican playbook and try to suppress votes by slow-walking their certification so it ends up on the low-turnout February ballot?

While some council members are open about wanting to choose their voters, rather than have their voters choose them–my guess is most don’t want to be associated with Republican style voter suppression. Time will tell.

Kangaroo KOMO: Literal Fake News

Remember that KOMO “news” is owned by the arch-conservative Sinclair network, which hands out talking points to reporters around the country, including at KOMO. Sinclair has become so unhinged with its propaganda that one of their top national anchors “resigned over biased and inaccurate content.” 

I strongly suggest you read the whole writeup. KOMO is clearly owned by a bigoted, MAGA messaging machine.

Better yet, share the pieces with anyone you’ve ever known in the Seattle region who has uttered the words, “I consider myself liberal, but.”

SPD Officer Doesn’t Care About Kid Injured By Car in Crosswalk. Does the Mayor?

The day after a 15 year old cyclist was hit by a car in a crosswalk and injured, a Seattle Police Detective called the cyclist’s mother. 

The mom, a local physician, said the detective was only interested in whether her daughter had worn a helmet. The officer said the driver had done nothing wrong because he stopped after he drove into her in the crosswalk. He even went on to complain that “Cyclists do whatever suits them, on and off the road and sidewalk."  

Apparently some kinds of crime, and some kinds of violence don’t count–the kind towards kids on bikes. Yet another reminder of SPD’s unusually bad record of mistreating our citizens. 

No word from the Mayor’s office that anyone is interested in doing anything about this.

But Are They Affordable? Yes!

It is well known among housing economists that new, market-rate, housing units provide a pressure relief valve for rental prices by opening up spots in older, less shiny housing.

But it also turns out that many of these units meet our current definition of “affordable.” For example, fully 28% of of the units built in the greater Seattle area since 2010 are affordable to people earning 60% of the area median income.

Crucially, many of our affordable housing policies require units to be set aside at prices that are affordable to people earning 60% or 80% of the area median income. 

While the piece may overstep in the conclusions it draws from this, this information at the very least suggests we should be thinking more rigorously about how we design inclusionary zoning programs. And, most importantly, it significantly strengthens the case for allowing lots more market rate housing in high opportunity communities with high prices, particularly those close to jobs and transit. 

Another Gross, Bizarre Statement from JD Vance.

JD Vance, Trump’s newly minted VP pick is already known for selling out his country and his values to grovel his way toward power. 

But in addition to his desire to abolish the core pillars of American freedom he says a lot of other weird, scary stuff. The latest to surface is “Let’s give votes to all children in this country, but let’s give control over those votes to the parents of those children.” Those without children should “face the consequences and the reality” and not get “nearly the same voice” in democracy.” 

Not only is this stupid and prejudicial toward people who make different life choices than he prefers, but it callously ignores the immense suffering of those who try to have kids and cannot, or who have lost children.

As a (who knows if anything is real with this guy) conservative Catholic, JD likely believes in hell. If I were him, I’d start to worry.