Ah, 2019. When SPS had something like 5 days of school in February due to all the snow days and the previously-planned midwinter break. Good times.

I think the best lines by Usher were Girls to the left of me
Girls to the right of me
Girls winning all the field goals
Men are such wusses.

Amazing performance

@ The Strangers assertion the WA property taxes are high because we don't have an income tax is false. If you look at the list in the article 8 of the cities in the top 10 are in states with an income tax (most notably CA and AZ). Reading further in the Seattle Times article it's noted New Jersey has the top property tax rate at 2.23% and NJ has an income tax as well. Beyond that as you noted no proposals for taxing income ever include relief of other tax streams. It's just mo money, mo money, mo money. The state and the city have seen revenue growth that exceeds both inflation and population growth over the last decade. I really think we are going to see a mini tax revolt this Nov, people are not seeing a return on their tax dollars and are finally starting to push back.

“The median property tax rate in 2022 was $6,800….”

$6,800 is not a “rate” - it is the median payment amount, which equals the assessed property value times the effective property tax rate (which is itself a flat rate, plus any local voter-approved levy).

"Everybody's got something to hide . . .
as for me, it's my monkey . . "

@2, @5: The failure to lift at least some tax burden from the poor is not just cruelly bad policy, it also makes a mockery of all the social-justice rhetoric used as an excuse to raise taxes. It should be obvious the most immediately impactful help the government can provide to poor persons is to stop taking money from them.

I believe pretty much everyone in places like Seattle would agree that the more money you have, the higher your quality of life, and therefore truly progressive taxation is mathematically progressive: the more you have, the larger your tax rate. That way, those of us who are fortunate enough to have more can pay for the schools, roads, police, fire, etc. services everyone, especially the poor, need. Why this obvious selling point doesn’t get exploited is beyond me.

Over 120M Americans had just finished watching the super bowl, I don't think anyone was confusing Biden's MAGA trolling tweet as something about Palestine...

Fewer children in King County could also mean fertile young people are having trouble finding anyone they want to have children with.

about that half time show..... the Deaf community is feeling frustrated. Well, here's the scoop: The NFL actually brings in famous, talented Deaf performers to rock the halftime show, signing the national anthem and "America the Beautiful" like absolute pros. But here's the kicker - you probably didn't even know about it because it wasn't prominently featured on screen. You needed a special link just to catch the ASL interpretation. Talk about dropping the ball on inclusivity. Thanks for nothing, NFL. 🤨🏈

No local politician ever impressed the higher-ups by lowering property taxes – that's just something the pitiful citizens might want. The easiest way to curry favor with the Party is by generating more revenue for the State.

And an impressive demonstration of the necessity of responsible gun ownership & carry at Lakewood Church.

Don't tax income. Tax capital.

Also, without a fully-transparent financial system, taxes are only for the poor. So there's another reason not to tax income.

Good luck with your money troubles.

It's a serious thing when your "leaders" vote themselves more of your money, money that you spent days of your life and health for, that you took risks and sacrificed for. It puts your life in a more precarious position. It's a tradeoff we might grudgingly accept in exchange for "the city doesn't look like an immense pile of trash" or "violent criminals will be kept locked up", but when they can't accomplish even that...

“Health officials report more than 12,300 children Palestinian children have been killed in the war so far.”

How’d that happen?

“… the IDF said its soldiers had found the entrance to a [Hamas] tunnel near a school run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.”

(https://www.businessinsider.com/tunnel-complex-computer-servers-discovered-un-aid-hq-gaza-idf-2024-2?amp)

If your pickleball game has gotten intense, you're not doing it right. Go play a real sport if you want to get sweaty. Leave pickleball to the rest of us.

No income tax. No compromise.

@19: Are you a billionaire, Swifty?