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As Amazon pursues a second headquarters, it battles hometown Seattle over tax to stem homelessness

platocplx

platocplx

2020 Member Elect
Member
Oct 30, 2017
36,072
Source:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...ttle-over-tax-to-stem-homelessness/ar-AAx5qKB

A showdown is looming in Seattle, where the city council plans to take an initial vote Friday on a tax on big businesses that would address an escalating crisis in homelessness but has widened fissures between the city and its largest employer: Amazon.com.

Amazon halted construction plans on a development site in the northern end of the city and vowed that it would forgo additional space it recently leased if the council approves the tax, which is intended to raise $75 million a year.
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Hundreds of other companies in Seattle, including Starbucks and Expedia, have also expressed opposition to the proposal. But it is Amazon's hardball tactics that have caught the attention of city council members and the national media covering the debate.


Amazon is in the midst of a high-profile search for a second headquarters in one of 20 other cities. And the dispute playing out in Seattle is being closely followed by elected officials who would have to wrestle with Amazon's growth if the retailing giant landed in their back yard.
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Seattle and surrounding King County declared a state of emergency over homelessness in 2015, but since then, cost-of-living pressures have worsened. The number of homeless students in the city's public schools has tripled, to nearly 4,300 last school year, and an estimated 23,000 Seattle households are at risk because more than half of their incomes go toward housing costs.

For the past year and a half, home prices have risen faster there than anywhere else in the country. The median price for a house is now $777,000.

How much to attribute the problem to the growth of Amazon, Microsoft, Google and other tech firms that have transformed the city from a sleepy Northwest outpost to a booming extension of Silicon Valley is a matter of sharp disagreement.

"We are reeling under skyrocketing rents and an acute crisis in the availability of affordable housing," said Seattle council member Kshama Sawant, who supports the measure.
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more at source.

But this begs the question once again what can cities do about homelessness and sadly with these larger companies they are driving up home prices like crazy its trash amazon is going that far to stop a tax that would help people and slow down a crisis here.
 
Jessie

Jessie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,921
Vancouver is going to have million dollar outhouses by the time Amazon is through with them
 
BringBackSonics

BringBackSonics

Member
Oct 27, 2017
45,271
Seattle
The mayor offered up a counter proposa last night, halving the tax in half, offering up a 5 year 'sunset' clause and remove the fact that after three years the headtax doesn't fold into the payroll tax.
 
excelsiorlef

excelsiorlef

Bad Praxis
Member
Oct 25, 2017
73,328
Got to make sure we redistribute that wealth from *checks notes* the homeless to *check notes again* Billion Dollar Corporate Giants.
 
FireSafetyBear

FireSafetyBear

Banned for use of an alt-account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,248
Ortix said:
It's not, it's the city's. And the city sees raising this tax as a way to accomplish that.
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why do they have to pay more taxes to fix it when the city should find a way to do it themselves since they created it

Everybody's always wanting to blame and rely on somebody else to fix their issues
 

FullMetalx

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
811
MadJakeChurchill said:
I don't give a fuck what Jeff has made, he could have made a cure to cancer, HIV, and zika.
NOBODY deserves that level of wealth.

Redistribution when?
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It's not really hard money wealth though. As soon as Bezos starts selling billions of dollars worth of shares, the market cap of Amazon would drop substantially, probably causing a selloff. It's not exactly 1:1 old money wealthy like the Rockefellers had. I guess this can kind of apply to many billionaires today who's wealth comes from shares
 
808s & Villainy

808s & Villainy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
42,700
Stop bending over for big corporations. If the upsides of what they bring (jobs, revenue, workers) also exacerbates the problems that already exist (public transportation capacity, housing prices, homelessness) then maybe it's time to reassess their value
 
Nothing Loud

Nothing Loud

Literally Cinderella
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,987
FireSafetyBear said:
why do they have to pay more taxes to fix it when the city should find a way to do it themselves since they created it

Everybody's always wanting to blame and rely on somebody else to fix their issues
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I feel like most Americans have, at most, this quality of understanding of civics and it's why this nation is beyond saving.
 
Kill3r7

Kill3r7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,449
808s & Villainy said:
Stop bending over for big corporations. If the upsides of what they bring (jobs, revenue, workers) also exacerbates the problems that already exist (public transportation capacity, housing prices, homelessness) then maybe it's time to reassess their value
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Sure but without these corporations most cities would not have the booming/vibrant economies to support the city itself. Plenty of space in middle America and yet few want to live there.

Nothing Loud said:
I feel like most Americans have, at most, this quality of understanding of civics and it's why this nation is beyond saving.
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I think he is baiting you.
 
Protein

Protein

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,030
I should be able to amass an unholy amount of wealth, even though I'll only use 10% of it in my lifetime, and even though it destabilizes society, and even though everyone else has to ultimately foot the bill so I don't have to. Because fuck you, that's why!
 
DukeBlueBall

DukeBlueBall

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,059
Seattle, WA
Head count tax is really unpopular here because it's an arbitrary bandage tax against one corprotion. City already spends 200 million a year on homelessness without the metrics and data to justify an increase in budget.

I would rather they lower the maximum year to year increase to for rent to 5%. Also increase on tax home owners as to discourage people from owning property in the city and prevent housing inflation.

I would also increase the city income tax on the extreme top earners.

Take these proceeds and fund a bunch of non-profit companies and/or expand government hiring.
 
808s & Villainy

808s & Villainy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
42,700
Kill3r7 said:
Sure but without these corporations most cities would not have the booming/vibrant economies to support the city itself. Plenty of space in middle America and yet few want to live there.
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Yeah, but an already booming city doesn't need to keep giving these corporations handouts. It's not like Amazon is suddenly going to move its HQ after all its invested in Seattle. They'll be fine without another building. I can totally understand a smaller city/town giving tons of benefits to jumpstart and grow their economy, but Seattle is at the point where it's self sufficient. It's at the scale where companies will choose to come there for the existing workers and infrastructure and tech.
 
FireSafetyBear

FireSafetyBear

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Oct 27, 2017
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User Banned (3 Days): Thread derailment, previous infractions for similar behavior.
Maneil99 said:
Yah its pretty funny when a city wants to raise money from companies to fix homelessness.. wait where is the funny part?
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Maybe they should cut their salaries.

I just read the most hilarious article about congress members unable to afford housing when they're paid $185k a year. Hahahahahahahagagagagahahahahahahayahahahaid sixbwushahahHhhhhhhhahahahahahahahahaha
 
EverythingShiny

EverythingShiny

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,086
This breaks my heart. I lived in Seattle for 5 years; it's probably the most beautiful place in the US that's I've lived, but even as a data analyst I couldn't afford to save for a house, let alone rent a decent place in the Seattle area. A lot with a condemned house in my old neighborhood in Seattle sold for 400k. I moved back east a year ago and am about to close on a nice house 10 minutes from Durham, NC for less than 200k. It's disgusting; I don't know how anyone who doesn't work for Amazon or another huge company can afford to live in Seattle.

Amazon should absolutely own up to the problem they've helped to cause and pay for some of this shit. The homelessness problem in Seattle is insane (I'd never seen this level of homelessness before, except maybe in San Francisco; I thought things were bad in DC but hoo boy Seattle has them beat) and parts of the city are dirty af. It's incredibly depressing.
 
leder

leder

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,111
FireSafetyBear said:
why do they have to pay more taxes to fix it when the city should find a way to do it themselves since they created it

Everybody's always wanting to blame and rely on somebody else to fix their issues
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Just curious, do you actually think you have any idea what you're talking about or are you just trolling?
 
Kill3r7

Kill3r7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,449
808s & Villainy said:
Yeah, but an already booming city doesn't need to keep giving these corporations handouts. It's not like Amazon is suddenly going to move its HQ after all its invested in Seattle. They'll be fine without another building. I can totally understand a smaller city/town giving tons of benefits to jumpstart and grow their economy, but Seattle is at the point where it's self sufficient. It's at the scale where companies will choose to come there for the existing workers and infrastructure and tech.
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You are underestimating the ability and willingness of these corporations to move. I have lived in NJ most of my adult life, Pharmaceutical companies have left the state in droves over the last decade causing a significant slowdown in the state's economy.
 
FireSafetyBear

FireSafetyBear

Banned for use of an alt-account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,248
Lyon N. Laap said:
Reductionism, a well known tactic of the deliberately ignorant.
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1436979488-joey-tribbiani-custard-good-jam-good-meat-good.gif
 
Lulu

Lulu

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
26,680
FireSafetyBear said:
Maybe they should cut their salaries.

I just read the most hilarious article about congress members unable to afford housing when they're paid $185k a year. Hahahahahahahagagagagahahahahahahayahahahaid sixbwushahahHhhhhhhhahahahahahahahahaha
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Derailing the thread with pure stupidity.
 
808s & Villainy

808s & Villainy

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
42,700
Kill3r7 said:
You are underestimating the ability and willingness of these corporations to move. I have lived in NJ most of my adult life, Pharmaceutical companies have left the state in droves over the last decade causing a significant slowdown in the state's economy.
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Hmm, I still think Seattle is in a good enough position to play that game of chicken with Amazon. Especially with Microsoft also there. There aren't too many other cities with multiple big tech companies and space for them, especially considering they're still searching for a city for their second HQ. I can't see them doing this all over again if they decide to move out of Seattle, but who knows
 

Deleted member 6582

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,789
The head tax doesn't seem to be popular with anyone in Seattle. The core issue is that Washington doesn't have income tax so taxation is usually pretty regressive and they've been trying to find bandaids. Amazon is likely just going to increase presence in nearby Bellevue to counteract it.
 
Irnbru

Irnbru

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,132
Seattle
DukeBlueBall said:
Head count tax is really unpopular here because it's an arbitrary bandage tax against one corprotion. City already spends 200 million a year on homelessness without the metrics and data to justify an increase in budget.

I would rather they lower the maximum year to year increase to for rent to 5%. Also increase on tax home owners as to discourage people from owning property in the city and prevent housing inflation.

I would also increase the city income tax on the extreme top earners.

Take these proceeds and fund a bunch of non-profit companies and/or expand government hiring.
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100% this. Doesn't help the council is half run by real estate folk who don't want to do shit about affordable housing. The city had no plan on how to fix the homeless other than throwing more money at it

The best part, this will actually impact smaller companies 100x, like nobody thought this through
 
Kill3r7

Kill3r7

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,449
808s & Villainy said:
Hmm, I still think Seattle is in a good enough position to play that game of chicken with Amazon. Especially with Microsoft also there. There aren't too many other cities with multiple big tech companies and space for them, especially considering they're still searching for a city for their second HQ. I can't see them doing this all over again if they decide to move out of Seattle, but who knows
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Microsoft is in Redmond but yeah I don't imagine that the economy would tank right away if they were to leave. I just wanted to point out that they are not opposed to leaving.
 
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