melissa
No. It’s not. As far as people who think this is a Seattle-specific problem, it’s not. It’s a US problem of the wealthy getting wealthier and the less wealthy getting poorer. Our taxation system has become more and more regressive over the past thirty year as housing has gotten more and more expensive. And those problems are showcased here because of the tech sector.
It’s not the city council’s fault, nor is it the governor’s fault. We can help this situation by voting for higher corporate taxes and higher taxes on the super wealthy. We can also support business owners like Dan Price of Gravity Payments, who work to see that all of his employees are fairly paid and that there aren’t huge discrepancies between the CEO and the workers. Support a high minimum wage so that people can afford housing. Recognize that many people who are not houseless because of povery are houseless because of un- or poorly-treated mental illness; work towards health care for all, including mental health care. While blaming the city council and the governor may seem like a quick fix, it isn’t.
Oh, and as a small business owner in Seattle who knows many other small business owners, this is a tough place to have a small business, but so are may others. Large corporations have economies of scale and tax breaks we don’t get.