How Our Success Is Ruining Seattle

Thanks for posting this. It's also on Slashdot tonight: http://developers.slashdot.org/story/15/07/11/2255232/is-the... and on BB yesterday by Doctorow: http://boingboing.net/2015/07/10/how-seattles-economic-boom-...

Seattle has had an anti-growth strategy going on 20 years now, and the State as well as City have been terribly mismanaged for at least that long.

Housing prices go up when you cannot build more housing units while population increases. When the state gets any money-- the dotcom boom is a perfect example- they spend like crazy, and not on things that add lasting value (transportation was a trivial part of the state's budget) ... then when the boom times end or slow down, the state has the same spending as before, without putting any reserves in. So they end up raising taxes.

It's the standard "let the roads suck so you can get people to vote for a tax increase, even though road spending is less than %1 of the budget." routine.

Seattle is geographically challenged with the sound, lake union and the mountains compressing the amount of room available... yet you can't build housing on a scale that makes it affordable?

Lets not even mention the fact that Seattle has been overrun with califronia liberals who have bought real estate and profit from the rapid increase in costs... so long as supply is way below demand their houses go up in value each year.

They pretend to be about "keeping a good community" but really they profit from their anti-growth position.

So if I read the linked story correctly, the Amazon bro brigade called in the patriarchy to destroy Seattle for the real natives. They are also responsible for an increase in prostitution and associated drug crimes. Hate crimes are somehow their fault too.

It has nothing to do with progressive anti-growth policies enacted by the state and city governments. What I really love is the appeal for more progressives in government to fix the problem.

No, Seattle "died" when a bunch of people moved from California and Almost Live was no longer culturally relevant. Outside people trying to recreate California with California problems. Tech lynch mobbing is lynch mobbing.