As a 20-year veteran of the software industry and the son of a successful entrepreneur, I’m far from a marxist crusader. But as a father of two (soon to be three) Seattle Public Schools students, I also know just how much potential every child holds, and how much better our world could be if our wealthiest neighbors decided to pitch in.
Much like a plant needs good soil, water, and air to grow, a child’s environment plays an enormous role in their development. Washington’s public schools–a child’s soil–are in financial crisis, with a record number of districts at risk of bankruptcy and many more enduring painful cuts year after year. At my kids’ school we are facing hard choices about academic intervention, after-school enrichment, 5th grade camp, and so much more that we know can be transformational, especially for kids who need it most.
Likewise, we are seeing the erosion of supports around stable housing and health care–a child’s air and water. For many (too many) children in our state, public services provided to them and their family are essential to creating and maintaining the preconditions for being an engaged student. When these preconditions aren’t met, the nutrients of a rich educational environment can’t be absorbed.
If we want our children to thrive, we must do more to invest in these foundational needs. The just-passed ‘millionaires’ tax is a fair and pragmatic way to do just that. A 9.9% tax on income above $1 million won’t solve every problem, but it will raise more than $3 billion annually that could mean so much to so many children (and their communities) across the state.
Opponents argue that it would drive away job creators and hurt our economy. Speaking for myself, if I’m ever fortunate enough to be subject to this tax it would be my honor to be a part of showing our children that we believe in them, and that we’re here to lift them up. If we’re worried about our economy, though, we should honestly confront the reality of what that economy has become.
To understand the scale of inequality we face, imagine that you have a pair of magic “wealth-vision” glasses. Whenever you’re wearing them, every person you see has a green bar showing their net worth: one foot equals $100,000. Most Washingtonians’ bars would be just a few feet high, but the top 20 billionaires in America would rise into the stratosphere and beyond it. Elon Musk’s bar would hover somewhere above 1,000 miles–depending on the day.
The ‘millionaires’ tax is, in some ways, a proxy for the great question of our time: Is this how we want things to be? Do we think the continued siphoning of more wealth from a broad middle class into a handful of isolated spires is healthy? Is it a durable foundation for economic growth and resilience?
This is our opportunity to declare that we want a more balanced economic future, where wealth is stacked shorter and spread wider. And as that wealth spreads into our schools and neighborhoods, and as we raise a generation of thriving young adults who believe in communities helping each other, that will be fertile soil in which we can all prosper.
The ‘millionaires’ tax is more than just a tweak to our state’s finances. It’s an invitation to those living in the economic clouds to join us back down here on Earth, and I sincerely hope they’ll accept it. We need their help.
