The state of Washington’s homeless population rose by 3.5 percent over the last year, 2016-2017. This was after it had already grown 7.3 percent the previous year. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/washington-state-homeless-numbers-grew-last-year/ http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...-in-washington-state-up-73-percent-this-year/ The primary cause of this increase in homelessness is rising rents, much of that caused by an influx of people into the state from other states, as well as immigration from foreign countries. Higher construction labor costs may be another lesser factor, relative to other states.
They should raise their minimum wage to $30 an hour. That'll really bring the rent prices down and stop the influx of low skill advantage seekers.
Who wouldn't want a $60 McDouble from the McDonald's Drive Thru? Them robots probably will fry them in lithium grease because who in Seattle doesn't start their day off without a strong dose of lithium.
It's interesting that the level of homelessness is continuing to increase during, what is, supposedly, an economic recovery in the state.
The minimum wage is displacing teens and younger adults from jobs (those who don't already have experience), and is causing people to eat out less than they used to, but it's more than that. As for the reason construction labor costs are higher relative to other states like California, it's because they don't have Mexican laborers. Yet construction costs are still higher than some other state like, say, Kansas, because of the higher cost of living. High level of construction regulations play some role too because Washington state has as much regulation as the state of California. These regulations can add as much as 15 percent to the price of construction. Essentially you have a situation where land is 5 times cheaper in Washington than California, yet the cost of a house is only half the cost. In other words, the cheaper price of land doesn't really fully transfer over into cheaper cost of homes, it's still very expensive to do construction on a house in Washington state, relatively speaking. It's somewhat of a complicated situation. There are a few primary causes, and several minor factors. The homelessness really spiked during the Recession (2009), although in 2011 the real estate prices plunged and buying a house did become much more affordable (although many people were not in the financial positon to buy a house). During this time too it became much easier for people looking to rent a room in someone else's house, since many people desperately needed some extra money. So these factors probably helped slow down the increase of homeless during that time period. But now real estate prices are rising, faster than the employment rate and people's incomes. Well, that's a bit of a difficult thing to describe precisely, maybe a more accurate yet still simple way to say it would be to say the median income. Because employment rates have shot back up but the majority of these people back into the workforce are not earning very much, so there's not such a strong tie between increasing employment rates and decreasing homeless rates. On the other hand, there are a few people with already high incomes who are now doing better than before, so the overall average increase in incomes does not have a strong tie to decreasing homeless rates either. In fact to some extent it may be pricing other people out.
Leftist governance in Olympia equals an increase in people looking for a handout. It's an ipso facto truth! More people looking for easy and increasing benefits is what you get....like leaving out cheeseburgers on your back porch will get an increasing number of bears visiting you. Washington must look at California and like what they see. The leftist pod people have ruined the place and I weep for my birth state.
The Homeless Illustrate a Growing Divide... In Silicon Valley, the Homeless Illustrate a Growing Divide November 07, 2017 — In the same affluent, suburban city where Google built its headquarters, Tes Saldana lives in a crowded but tidy camper she parks on the street.
I live in the Seattle area, and see this first hand. The major problems in my opinion are people coming here from other places for the bennies, they get a lot of handouts not available in other places. The climate is pretty nice and life on the streets is easier than say, N Dakota. High rents are a problem, but any skilled worker can get a good paying job. Shelters have rules that some people cannot follow. Drugs are the main problem. Many people get welfare or SSI and would rather use the money for a party, than for rent.
SSI is $750. Average rent for one bedroom apartment in King County is $1125, this goes up to $2150 within a 10 mile radius from Seattle. Not claiming the homeless deserve to have housing in the high desirability area near Seattle, but to claim it's because they're choosing not to spend their money on rent is ludicrous. Even being able to get a room for rent (for a normal person with a stable job who looks presentable) anywhere even remotely close to Seattle can be difficult for anything less than $700-800. (Sure there are a few rooms listed for $500, but good luck competing with the long list of applicants) You are correct, drugs are a big problem in the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia region. (Probably a little over half the homeless younger people are weed smokers, as one example) Nevertheless, not all the homeless are drug users. There was a survey done in King County and 36% of the homeless population admitted to being drug users. Half of them said they did not use drugs or alcohol. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattl...-people-living-outside-because-of-drug-abuse/ It's cold for almost half the year, but doesn't get as cold as many other parts of the country. They might get pneumonia from being exposed outside in the cold for so long, but in Seattle they are not so likely to freeze to death. More like uncomfortable cold than deadly. I doubt any homeless come to live in Seattle from other parts of the country unless they're coming from Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, or Minnesota. Although around 1 in 10 homeless in Seattle appear to be Somali.
When most people think about the West Coast, what usually comes to mind is wealthy areas. But that's not entirely true. If you start going far enough north some of these coastal areas are less desirable areas to live, because of the incessant grey overcast skies that stay around for the greater part of the year. There's still a lot of rural poverty in some of these places. The county of Grays Harbor is situated right along the West Coast, about a half hour to an hour drive from the state capital in Olympia. Grays Harbor has higher rates of food insecurity than the state average (16% vs 13% for the state as a whole), and has drug overdose rates that are among the highest in the state. A rural logging and fishing community, with industry in decline, Grays Harbor county can feel forgotten by the rest of the world. When the timber economy collapsed, the region was left with very few jobs and little hope. But many of the people didn't leave. We stayed. In a place where 46% of us are on public assistance and one out of 25 is homeless, we have weathered every storm since, and have taken care of each other when no one else would. The harbor is a place of great beauty and great struggle. Works In Progress, article by Gary Murrell, June 2018
