Make Washington Affordable
Politics should be first and foremost about policy. Washington influences national policy best by building existence proofs at state level. The following are all possible within the context of our state government but would help the lives of many more people if enacted federally. We cannot allow the lack of leadership at the federal level to paralyze us here at home.
A self-sufficient Washington is possible through investments in our people and our political and economic sovereignty. We can develop our own nation-scale infrastructure right here at home with the right leadership in our state government.
Click through to read more about every policy on this page.
Expand and deprivatize Medicare & Medicaid
Create a statewide universal public insurance plan
Create an employer-mandate to provide health insurance to entire workforce
Fully cover all minors
Expand housing supply through new construction
Invest in alternative housing models including social, cooperative, and public
Enact a long-term vacancy tax
Make home ownership practical for the working class
Expand the free public education system to go beyond K-12
Tuition-free public universities, community colleges, and trade programs
Eliminate most fees on professional licensing and certifications
After establishment of free higher-ed, buy-and-cancel all remaining student debt
A cost-of-living based minimum wage automatically adjusted annually
Incorporates cost of healthcare, housing, food, utilities, and gasoline
Adjusted based on hiring location to encourage local hiring
Minimums set based on averages at state, county, and municipal level
Universal basic income is possible at the state level and could be structured in a very similar way to the famous Alaska Permanent Fund which pays out cold hard money to every Alaskan on a yearly basis based on Alaska's oil profits.
By enacting a windfall profits tax on top businesses in Washington state and then distributing those funds evenly as a direct cash payout to all Washington residents, the prosperity of our business sector will become synonymous with a prosperous people. No longer will "business interests" be seen and treated as separate from "people interests."
Fares, as flat point-of-use fees, are an inefficient and regressive way to raise revenue to pay for public transit. Fare collection slows down transit service, requires expensive additional infrastructure, and creates problems related to enforcement.
Fare-free public transit simply uses our perfectly good system of taxes and tax collection to raise all of the money needed to fund public transit. Like roads, fire departments, and libraries, public transit ought to be a service that is made as widely available for free use to as many Washingtonians as possible.
We need a public banking sector accountable to public oversight to end the state's reliance on commercial and out-of-state financial institutions like Wells Fargo
We must end our state's reliance on regressive sales and property taxes and instead find untapped revenue in places where it will not cause individual financial hardship
We must remove the self-imposed handcuffs of balanced-budget requirements and ensure that core services like schools stay funded and operational no questions asked
Washington must achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible to do our part to divert total global ecological collapse. While our investments in hydro, wind, and solar pave much of the pathway towards sustainable energy, they also provide energy inconsistently depending on weather. Geothermal energy has enormous potential to provide consistent sustainable energy with minimal ecological impact.
Washingtonians deserve a better democracy, one that gives them more than two parties and candidates to choose from. One that allows voters to express their full preferences on their ballots. One that gives representation proportional to the number of people being represented.
