Seattle 2025
—Katie Wilson: Seattle’s Mamdani—
—Pizza for Less!—
By Krist Novoselić (July 25, 2025)
The De-Growth Movement is on the move in Seattle. Mayoral candidate Katie Wilson articulated this sensibility during a recent* interview. While doubting business was going to ever flee new tax increases, she questioned if every (Amazon) job is necessary / needed — generally referring to the big employers driving Seattle’s great economic success.
Seattle’s spectacular economy, offering high-paying jobs, along with vibrant culture and natural beauty, has attracted people from all over the world.
Wilson’s questioning the value of jobs, opportunity and success, reveals the sensibility of the De-Growth movement — a populist reaction to the high cost-of-living. In world-class city Seattle, the dream of home ownership is out of the question for too many.
Wilson is running on the hard fact that a slice of pizza is $8 dollars in Seattle. De-Growth believe Microsoft is the reason for expensive pizza — never mind the rules and regulations adding to the high-cost of running small business.
Here is the conundrum with De-Growth: They want to put the brakes on big business, while at the same time, demand more taxes from big business to pay for social spending.
Public policy seeks to mitigate the effects of the region’s success, mostly through taxing big companies and redistributing the wealth.
In 2020, the city council approved a new Jumpstart payroll expense tax for certain big businesses. The idea was to ease the effects of the economic boom on people in the lower end of the economic spectrum. Jumpstart is a tax revenue stream, paying for things like affordable housing, a “Green New Deal” and other programs. The tax raised $360 million in 2024.
In February of 2025, Seattle voters passed an activist initiative to fund Social Housing. The resulting quasi-governmental entity imposes a so-called “excessive compensation” tax on payrolls of over $1 million. This is projected to raise around $50 million a year.
For the 2025 legislative session, Olympia passed the largest tax increase in state history — funding a $77.8 billion budget for the next biennium. A new High Grossing Business Surcharge will be placed on businesses with Washington taxable income exceeding $250 million in a calendar year.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and CM Alexis Rinck are currently proposing raising the tax on gross receipts on businesses with revenue over $2 million. The city seeks to net $90 million a year in tax revenues through this increase.
Promising to lower the cost-of-living is a potent message. In addition, the activist Left have an effective grassroots / canvassing organization. This is growing nationally and the marquee campaign is Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the NYC Democratic primary.
In fact, Katie Wilson is touted as "Seattle’s Mamdani”.
Superstar politician US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has raised $15.4 million this year in donations from national supporters. AOC is a De-Growth Democrat, who lead the effort to scuttle an Amazon HQ in her district. AI overview tells,
“AOC played a significant role in Amazon's decision to withdraw its plans for a second headquarters (HQ2) in New York City, specifically in Queens. She and other critics voiced strong opposition to the project, raising concerns about the potential displacement of residents, lack of community benefits, and the potential for gentrification.”
Wilson asking, “Do we really need these jobs?”, says economic opportunity only attracts more people to the area; who are in need of housing, and this is a problem, so they should not come, and better yet, leave. This is a promise to open living space.
It’s like AOC in Queens — shoo away pesky big-business, and associated displacement problems will be solved.
Last November, Washington’s big business supported Democratic Party revenue policy.
Major companies, and very wealthy individuals in our state were not cast as villains. Billionaires Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, along with companies like Microsoft and Amazon, and even international oil giant British Petroleum, were the ruling party’s patrons — financing the ultimately successful opposition to the tax cutting initiatives on the 2024 ballot.
During the following legislative session, Democrats in Olympia dumped their generous patrons.
They dumped them because De-Growth wins either way. If big business happen to stick around, pushing more taxes on them will provide progressive revenue for promising affordability.
If big employers leave; there is less displacement resulting from a shrinking economy.
Look at the state's $77.8 billion budget to support the following: There are still the property owners, small and medium businesses, fees, fuel, estates and car tabs left to fund the sensibility behind the “This is Your City” promise.
It remains to be seen how much individual household budgets are willing and capable of paying for the social democracy.
Big businesses currently tolerate the taxes. However, like households, there eventually will be a tipping point, especially when there are 49 other states in the US to grow to.
* [Correction July 25, 2025 5:30pm] Katie Wilson responds to the statements on Reddit, "This clip is from some years ago. Maybe four?" It's fair to say her statements are not "recent", as stated in my article.
Krist Novoselić is Cascade Party Chair. He serves on the board of directors in an at-large position.