How to Fix Housing in Washington State with Nicholas Carr

In this episode of the Move to Tacoma Podcast Marguerite Martin talks with Nicholas Carr, a Housing Policy Strategic Advisor for Washington State. They talk about why housing in Washington State is so expensive, why homelessness keeps rising in Tacoma and beyond, and why small fixes do not seem to be having the impact everyone wants. Nick explains that housing isn’t just about buildings. It’s an entire ecosystem made up of five connected parts: land and zoning, money and financing, permits and construction, jobs and wages, and how the system responds when things break. When one part fails, the whole system suffers. He argues that Washington’s housing crisis is ultimately an economic problem. The state has one of the most unfair tax systems in the country, where lower-income people pay a larger share of their income in taxes than the wealthy. As costs rise, this imbalance puts renters at risk and strains affordable housing providers. Nick shares ideas for long-term solutions, including creating a true state housing department, using public land to build homes, simplifying rules to lower building costs, investing in construction jobs, and providing direct rental assistance to prevent evictions before they happen. Throughout the conversation, Marguerite pushes back on narratives that blame renters. She emphasizes that tenants are often the most vulnerable people in the system and are doing what they can to survive. This is a wide ranging conversation that explores why communities end up fighting each other instead of addressing the larger economic forces driving the housing crisis. The post How to Fix Housing in Washington State with Nicholas Carr appeared first on Move to Tacoma.