海角大神

Ned Friend has high hopes for what Seattle鈥檚 new income tax could mean for his city.

The measure, passed by the city council in July, would impose a 2.25 percent tax on high-income 鈥� those who make above $250,000 a year, or twice that for couples.

Mr. Friend, a software engineer whose annual income is above the threshold, sees the new cash source as a way to help ease the affordability crisis that is the dark side to Seattle鈥檚 booming tech industry. He says he鈥檚 happy to pay a little extra each year if it means more revenue for the city to address homelessness and fund public education, make taxes more fair, and defend liberal Seattle against strikes from a conservative federal government.

鈥淚t shaves a little bit off my long-term investments,鈥� Friend says, 鈥渂ut it makes a better city.鈥�

In some ways, the measure is a regional issue: Seattle鈥檚 is the first income tax initiative to succeed in Washington State since its Supreme Court killed a short-lived bill in 1933.

But the policy is also emblematic of a broader trend, one in which cities with liberal leadership feel empowered to experiment with policy. From minimum wage and fair scheduling measures to plastic bag bans and sanctuary laws, cities across the nation are testing both the boundaries of local authority and the effectiveness of liberal legislation. Elected officials in blue cities 鈥� propelled by constituents like Friend, and a perception of hostility from Congress and the Trump administration 鈥� are raising income inequality, persistent poverty, and climate change to priority levels once reserved for bread-and-butter issues like infrastructure and economic development.

鈥淲e鈥檙e increasingly seeing cities attempting to engage in some sort of redistribution, pro-inclusion set of policies,鈥� says Solomon Greene, a senior fellow in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a bit of an 鈥榰s versus them鈥� mentality, and 鈥� there鈥檚 a sense that we need to be able to take care of our own.鈥�

To some degree, cities have always been laboratories for policy, both liberal and conservative. 聽鈥淚t鈥檚 much easier to reverse a state or city law than it is to reverse a federal law,鈥� says Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank based in New York. Statewide and national challenges are often more pronounced in cities and local communities, Mr. Greene notes, and metro areas often have the resources to try new approaches to problem-solving.

A squeeze that affects politics

What appears new is that, as income inequality rises, greater swaths of local constituencies are feeling the squeeze 鈥� and local leaders are responding by shifting their focus to solutions that reflect those concerns. A Boston University report this year found that mayors more frequently mention poverty, affordability, and income disparity as top policy priorities than they did even two years ago.

There鈥檚 also been a values shift among many urban residents, Greene says. 鈥淭here is a desire to live around a greater diversity of people, a celebration of racial and income diversity, diversity of nationality, and the sense that this generates innovation and a vital, thriving living environment,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here is the economics behind it, but there鈥檚 also changing preferences.鈥�

Seattle is an apt place to experiment on liberal policy.

The city is home to the 鈥淔ight for $15鈥� movement and a liberal stronghold in a state where the Cascade mountains act as a natural divide between Republican and Democratic regions. Citizens like Friend champion a mode of thinking that celebrates individual participation in advancing a common good: 鈥淚 see it as, the vibrancy that these funds will provide will make up the personal cost,鈥� Friend says of the new income tax. 鈥淚t takes our collective investment to make our city great.鈥�

The city is also known for its income inequality and sky-high costs of living 鈥� a place where the median household income is above $80,000 but tent cities for the homeless fill public spaces. In 2014, Seattle鈥檚 wealthiest households made 19 times more than its poorest. 鈥淲hile Seattle鈥檚 prosperity is remarkable 鈥� the city鈥檚 rising tide didn鈥檛 lift all boats,鈥� Gene Balk wrote for The Seattle Times that year. 鈥淵ou might say it only lifted the yachts.鈥�

鈥楾his isn't just about ... revenue鈥�

The new income tax serves as a vehicle for city leaders鈥� attempt to level the playing field between rich and poor. The tax would help fund affordable housing, education, and public transit, and restore any federal funds lost through anticipated budget cuts, they say. It also begins the dismantling of what pro-poor advocates see as an outdated tax structure that places the greatest share of the tax burden on the city鈥檚 lowest-income households.

鈥淭his isn鈥檛 just about raising revenue,鈥� says Lisa Herbold, who represents Seattle鈥檚 District 1 and chairs the council鈥檚 committee on civil rights, utilities, economic development, and the arts. 鈥淭his is about addressing a structural unfairness in our system.鈥�

Perhaps as much as anything, what鈥檚 driving cities to act is the notion that big issues aren't being addressed at higher levels, given a widening ideological gap between progressive metros and conservative states and the federal government. Since about 2014, laws intended to address systemic inequality 鈥� both economic and social 鈥� have seen a wave of municipal support that鈥檚 faced either grudging acceptance or outright resistance from Republican governors and state Legislatures. To date, 40 localities have adopted minimum wages higher than their states鈥�. More than 30 cities and hundreds of counties have passed 鈥渟anctuary鈥� laws that protect undocumented immigrants from arrest and detention. And more than 200 cities and counties have ordinances that bar employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

鈥淐ities feel a rush of urgency,鈥� says Brad Lander, a New York City councilman and member of Local Progress, a coalition of progressive local officials from across the country. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a difference between it being possible to do things at the local level and when the only possible place to make meaningful progress is at the local level.鈥�

Risks in localized experiments

There are pros and cons to this struggle to strike a new balance among various levels of government. Experimenting at the local level may be relatively low-risk, notes Ms. Furchtgott-Roth at the Manhattan Institute, but 鈥渋f it鈥檚 easy to do something, it鈥檚 easy to do bad policy.鈥澛燭here鈥檚 also the danger that a patchwork of policies could result in even worse inequality, not within cities but among them. Seattle and San Francisco may have the resources to weather a failed policy or two, but less affluent cities like Cleveland or Detroit probably won鈥檛. 鈥淲e want to lift up all places, not abandon some,鈥� Greene says.

Still, he says, 鈥淐ities working more creatively with what鈥檚 in their toolbox to address local concerns around rising inequality is really exciting. The future 鈥� what this new landscape looks like 鈥� is a lot of open questions.鈥�

In Seattle, Ms. Herbold openly calls the new income tax a method of 鈥淭rump-proofing鈥� the city. In the event that the president makes good on his promise to pull funding from social safety-net and climate programs, she says, 鈥渨e want to make sure that we have another revenue source that we can turn to.鈥�

Already the state GOP has called the tax unconstitutional and encouraged Seattleites to refuse to pay. Members of the local anti-tax movement are concerned that the policy could set an unwelcome and economy-harming precedent. 鈥淥nce it starts, it鈥檚 going to metastasize,鈥� warns Tim Eyman, a conservative political activist. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Pandora鈥檚 box.鈥� The Freedom Foundation, a local conservative think tank, has said it鈥檚 prepared to challenge the measure in court.

Backers say they designed the policy with legal challenges in mind. 鈥淲e were going to make sure that the legal viability was going to be our North Star,鈥� Herbold says. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e able to use Seattle as a test-case for what can be done, maybe that can help address some of the fears and help create a larger movement.鈥�