Who pays for public goods?
The concept of a "public good" suggests that some services and programs are simply essential for any government to do its job responsibly.
Decent roads are one example; public schools are an example; a functioning police system and courts of law are another example.
In cities, businesses are traditionally taxed to provide these public goods; as businesses leave inner cities, the tax revenues disappear and the cities become destitute.
Hip, tourist-friendly Seattle is asking Amazon to step up. "The tax will charge $275 per employee to build or preserve nearly 900 units of affordable housing and provide wraparound services for the homeless. With 45,000 workers at its downtown Seattle campus, the city’s largest employer is expected to account for about a third of the $47 million that will be collected annually for the next five years."
"In 2015, the city and surrounding King County declared a civil state of emergency on homelessness. Since then, greater Seattle has risen to host the third-largest homeless population in the U.S.—nearly 12,000 people, half of them sleeping in tents or cars. The median house price hovers above $800,000 with the Seattle area having led the nation in percent increases for 18 months straight. Nearly half of all households are rent burdened and Seattle-based real estate company Zillow has noted a correlation between rising rents and rising homelessness."
Decent roads are one example; public schools are an example; a functioning police system and courts of law are another example.
In cities, businesses are traditionally taxed to provide these public goods; as businesses leave inner cities, the tax revenues disappear and the cities become destitute.
Hip, tourist-friendly Seattle is asking Amazon to step up. "The tax will charge $275 per employee to build or preserve nearly 900 units of affordable housing and provide wraparound services for the homeless. With 45,000 workers at its downtown Seattle campus, the city’s largest employer is expected to account for about a third of the $47 million that will be collected annually for the next five years."
"In 2015, the city and surrounding King County declared a civil state of emergency on homelessness. Since then, greater Seattle has risen to host the third-largest homeless population in the U.S.—nearly 12,000 people, half of them sleeping in tents or cars. The median house price hovers above $800,000 with the Seattle area having led the nation in percent increases for 18 months straight. Nearly half of all households are rent burdened and Seattle-based real estate company Zillow has noted a correlation between rising rents and rising homelessness."
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