Michael Luis

Michael Luis is a public policy consultant who has been wrestling with housing, growth and economic development issues around Washington State for over 30 years. He is author of several books on local history and served as mayor of Medina.

Indexer: Sea-Tac is Bigger Than You Think, and More At Risk

By passenger volume, Sea-Tac is now the eighth busiest airport in the country, serving a metro area that is the fifteenth largest. A prolonged virus shutdown will damage a regional economic engine.

Indexer: As Local Sales Taxes Bust, Here’s Who Gets Hit Most

As economic activity plummets, local governments are scrambling to figure out how badly their budgets will suffer this year from a drop in taxable sales. It’s going to be tough, but how tough remains to be seen.

Indexer: Inhospitable – The Sector Of Our Local Economy Being Devastated

Consumer spending is drying up and no one knows how long it will take before it returns. We don’t know if diners will flood back into restaurants as soon as they have permission. One worry: consumers will use the return to normalcy as a time to restock depleted savings.

Wanna Help? Don’t Buy Gift Cards—Buy the Stuff

At retailers and restaurants across the Seattle area, business is evaporating. Customers are just not going out to places where they might encounter other people. One response from those who want...

Indexer: Seattle Is All Dressed Up and Very, Very Rich

On a per-capita basis, each resident of King County had, on average, 36 percent more income to spend in 2018 than in 2010, after adjusting for inflation. Insane housing prices? All those new, expensive bars and restaurants? Bentleys and Teslas? Now you know why.

Indexer: King County Migration – Why We’re Getting More Millennial

The rapid hiring by Amazon explains a good deal of the Millennial bulge. At the other end of the age spectrum, few older people migrate to a place like King County, and some older people will migrate out to warmer, quieter, less expensive places.

Indexer: Taking Over – Millennials Everywhere?

In dynamic West Coast cities, attracting young people from around the country does not seem to be a problem. Whether they choose to stay and build their lives in these cities is another question, and is tied closely to the price of housing and the lengths of commutes.

Housing the Homeless: Keep it Simple

Backyard housing for the homeless can get to a higher scale if we keep it simple, keep it inexpensive and leave complex case management to the professionals.

Explainer: Elizabeth Warren’s Single-Payer Plan

The Warren campaign came up with maybe the worst possible approach. But before we get to that, let’s put some numbers to this dilemma.

Explainer: The Real Challenge of Funding Single-payer Medicine

Each of these revenue sources is embedded in the economy and into the budgets of families, governments and businesses. This discussion should not just be on the narrow question of new revenues...

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