Guess why housing is not always affordable – because Democrat imposed regulations and restrictions are major factors for why more than 75% of Washington State households cannot afford new homes.  The median price for a new home in the state jumped 8.4% last year to $565,613 according to a new report from the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW).  To obtain a mortgage to purchase an average new home would require an annual household income of $130,409.  Yet Washington State’s median household income is just $73,775. Thus, after a generation of Democrat control over state and large county policies, 76% cannot afford a new home.  BIAW President Joseph Irons said, “The sad truth is there simply aren’t enough new homes available for people to purchase. That, coupled with decades of increasing layers of regulation and zoning restrictions, has slowly and steadily created the crisis we’re in today.” (Building Industry Association of Washington media release)

Evidently Democrat legislators believe Governor Inslee’s ongoing abuse of emergency powers (now on Day 767) goes beyond his COVID-related orders, as thus far they continue to abandon the legislature’s power by refusing to override the governor’s vetoes on bills which passed with overwhelming support from lawmakers. This interesting discovery comes from the Washington Policy Center’s Jason Mercier, who lists six bills from the 2022 legislative session which Governor Inslee has completely vetoed, and 10 additional bills which the governor partially vetoed.  Of these specific 16 pieces of legislation, 13 passed both chambers of the legislature with more than the required 2/3rds of the support necessary to override a governor’s veto.  Yet, while Democrat legislators claim to their constituents that they are “disappointed” in the governor’s “misguided” actions, thus far they have refused to call a legislative special session to override the vetoes on any of these bills which received bi-partisan support. (Washington Policy Center, Senate Democrat Caucus media release, and Seattle Times)

Liberal energy and public safety policies are forcing more employees to work from home according to the former president of the Association of Washington Business.  In a column for the Centralia Chronicle, Don Brunell explains that the price of gas and public safety concerns are forcing many Washington State employees to continue to work from home even as COVID concerns are diminishing. The price of gas has increased by 86.3% (to an average of $4.88 a gallon) in the past year due to liberal domestic energy policies (and this price will continue to soar as Governor Inslee’s expensive and inefficient climate policies hit the fuel pump later this year – and for the rest of your life).  This is increasing the cost of commuting to an office by either personal vehicle or mass transit.

Liberal public safety policies have resulted in skyrocketing crime rates in Seattle, making traveling to a downtown office location less desirable for workers.  Major downtown employers such as Amazon and Weyerhaeuser have told workers to continue to work from home as conditions around their office buildings are unsafe due to criminal activities. (Centralia Chronicle)

The exodus of well-trained and diverse officers from the Seattle Police Department continues as $25,000 signing bonuses are not enough to encourage possible recruits to work in the dysfunctional and hazardous public safety conditions created by city leaders and the state’s liberal politicians.  KTTH’s Jason Rantz reports that 10 more officers left the SPD in March, bringing the to total having 43 in 2022, and 418 since 2020.  Only 13 new recruits have been hired this year.  Currently only 888 police officers remain with the department, despite its goal to employ a police force of 1,400 “deployable staff.” (Jason Rantz Facebook)

Liberal public safety policies are resulting in skyrocketing crime rates, and residents in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood are fed up.  After Democrats in the Washington State Legislature rewarded violent liberal rioters by caving into their demands to make the state a more comfortable place to be a criminal – when they passed the Democrat-only 2021 “police reform” package – crime rates dramatically increased throughout the state.  Some lower- and middle- income communities, like Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood, have experienced the increase more than others. Assaults are up 24% and burglaries have increased 91%.

Hilltop business owners and residents recently sent a letter to Tacoma city leaders stating their belief that a large homeless encampment is the source of much of the crime. They have asked for some lighting and sidewalk improvements and for more police to patrol their community.

It is interesting to see the ironic silver lining of stories such as this one.  The result of liberals violently rioting and illegally taking over a Seattle neighborhood, demanding the “defunding” of police departments has resulted in a growing appreciation for police departments and the public safety they provide – especially in lower- and middle- income neighborhoods.

Thus liberal activists received short-term victories when Democrats caved into their demands.  Yet in the long run, the support for law enforcement has grown and the politicians who supported the activists’ positions (like former Seattle City Attorney Peter Holmes and former Seattle City Council President Lorena Gonzalez) have been voted out of office. Other liberal politicians have seen the writing on the wall (such as the “architect” of the Democrats’ “police reform” package, Representative Jesse Johnson) and have suddenly decided to retire.   (Q13 Fox News)

KVI Radio will be holding a Zoom panel with Pacific Northwest reporters to discuss “Journalism on the Streets of America.”  The event features [un]Divided’s Brandi Kruse, independent journalist and author Andy Ngo, and Jonathan Choe, who was formally with KOMO News. The panel will be moderated by KVI Host Ari Hoffman and will take place at 6:00 PM on Monday, April 11^th. Please click on link for more information on this free event and to register. (KVI570 Radio)

The Washington State Dairy Federation president says many farmers are looking at using more technology and automation because it is more affordable than the wage increases which have been mandated on agriculture by liberal urban legislators.  President Henry Benthem also stated that the overtime wage hike, passed by the Democrats in the Washington State Legislature, has also significantly reduced the hours (and paychecks) of migrant workers, as farmers have been forced to cut the number of hours each farm hand is allowed to work.  Benthem noted that energy prices, which are also rising due to liberal inflationary policies, are also impacting the operational costs for dairy farmers, resulting in higher prices at the grocery stores.  (Pacific Northwest AG Network)

“Moderate” Democrat lawmakers are desperately attempting to distance themselves from the unpopular radical Left policies which they supported.  Even partisan Democrats realize that that this year’s elections are shaping up to be a “bloodbath” and the most vulnerable Democrats in swing suburban districts are pushing the false narrative that it is somehow just the radical (think socialist) members of their party who are responsible for all the bad policies.  Unfortunately for these so-called “moderate” legislators (especially those most vulnerable in swing suburban districts) the record shows that when they were given the opportunity to either support the radical measures of their far-left colleagues or work with any Republicans, they nearly always chose to join their fellow Democrats to impose higher taxes, make government larger, increase energy costs, make the state safer for criminals, and allow Governor Inslee to continue his abuse of emergency powers. (Click to read full Shift Article)

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