Op-Ed: Murray Drops His Property Tax Levy

Op-Ed: Murray Drops His Property Tax Levy

Published on

by Nikkita Oliver and the Seattle Peoples Party

As the Peoples Party has shown, with our detailed platform to address the housing and homelessness crisis on the Party webpage, we have a vision for how we can serve the housing needs of all Seattleites starting with the needs of the most vulnerable amongst us. We believe in our plan and the community who developed it.

As a result, it will not change because of political expediency. While the Mayor and billionaire Nick Hanauer's proposed property tax levy was misguided and regressive, many were thankful that he took some decisive action when he proposed to raise taxes to pay for homelessness services.

But the Mayor promptly backed out of that plan barely a month after proposing it. Now, the Mayor wants to move on an equally regressive King County wide tax which will disproportionately impact low-income families and communities of color. This impulsive behavior, combined with the fact the Mayor has taken no effective action on homelessness, leads the Peoples Party to believe the Mayor has no vision for how to address this crisis.

The Peoples Party has a vision and a plan. We will work with stakeholders to create progressive tax structures and luxury taxes on corporations in order to ensure that all Seattleites who need and want housing have equitable access to affordable housing options.

We will do as homelessness expert Barb Poppe, to whom the City of Seattle paid $80,000, advises and ensure daytime access to shelters. We will consult equitably with all communities as potential sites for Navigation centers.

We are also strongly considering the so-called "Trump-proof Tax" on our wealthier Seattleites because we believe that all Seattleites want this crisis effectively addressed and desire to contribute to the solution equitably.

We will not change course simply because we feel we might get pushback. Instead, we will consult with community ahead of time, utilize the experts on which we spend and have already spent taxpayer money, and trust Seattleites want decisive intelligent action and will work with us to build the right solution.

Featured image: Naomi Ishisaka

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