Washington State's proposed 9.9% millionaire tax is already rattling NBA investors and tech founders, with internal documents revealing that Seattle Kraken owner Samantha Holloway warned Governor Ferguson the levy makes it harder to recruit pro athletes and is driving investors to relocate to Florida — potentially killing the long-awaited Sonics return before it starts. Meanwhile, street-level outreach workers in Seattle and San Francisco are publicly breaking with the political consensus on homelessness, with firsthand accounts showing many people living outside already have taxpayer-funded housing but remain on the streets due to addiction. Together, the two debates expose a growing disconnect between progressive policy assumptions and on-the-ground reality in the Pacific Northwest.
Washington State legislators are building a tax regime so hostile that NBA investors are spooked and founders are planning their exits.
Street outreach workers from SF to Seattle confirm what politicians refuse to admit: half of people using drugs in public already have apartments.