House homeless in less costly area

If high state taxes are all that important then why don’t 20 million people in California leave that state and return to Oklahoma? We could call them “Baokies,” Bay Area Okies.” Why? Because it is expensive and should be expensive to live in the best place in the world. How come some theoretically smart people can understand that a Mercedes Benz should cost more than a Plymouth but can’t understand that living in the Puget Sound area should cost more than living in North Dakota?

What frosts me is that our local, state and federal taxes pay people to live in the most expensive parts of the area — in Seattle, in Everett, and in Tacoma, people who are officially disabled and who officially will never do a lick of work. There are probably 40 states in which I could live like a king on my pension but I am happy to stay in Everett and pay the taxes. If I was 100 percent disabled I would move to San Francisco and collect my welfare down there.

You say our poor and oppressed don’t want to live in North Dakota? Breaks my heart. If the choice was between living on the streets in Everett and a warm apartment in North Dakota … North Dakota, here I come.

Think of tax savings and job creation if the federal government would only build welfare housing where most rich and middle class people don’t want to live. Never happen. Why? People on welfare seldom vote Republican.

Bill Wald

Everett

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, July 9

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

A Volunteers of America Western Washington crisis counselor talks with somebody on the phone Thursday, July 28, 2022, in at the VOA Behavioral Health Crisis Call Center in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: Dire results will follow end of LGBTQ+ crisis line

The Trump administration will end funding for a 988 line that serves youths in the LGBTQ+ community.

Welch: A plan to supply drugs to addicts is a dangerous dance

A state panel’s plan to create a ‘safer supply’ of drugs is the wrong path to addiction recovery.

Douthat: Conservatives sacrificed own goals to pay for tax cuts

Along with its cuts to Medicaid, long-held GOP priorities were ignored in the Big Beautiful Bill.

Comment: Supreme Court porn ruling a naked change to speech rights

The majority ignored a 20-year-old ruling that overturned an age-verification law similar to the Texas law.

Comment: With Voice of America silenced, who’s next?

The Trump administration saw VOA as ‘radical left’ media. It’s the mark of authoritarian governments.

Comment: Michelle Obama is quitting politics. Or is she?

She may be stepping back from campaigns and speeches, but her new podcast is in itself a political act.

toon
Editorial: Using discourse to get to common ground

A Building Bridges panel discussion heard from lawmakers and students on disagreeing agreeably.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, June 27, 2025. The sweeping measure Senate Republican leaders hope to push through has many unpopular elements that they despise. But they face a political reckoning on taxes and the scorn of the president if they fail to pass it. (Kent Nishimura/The New York Times)
Editorial: GOP should heed all-caps message on tax policy bill

Trading cuts to Medicaid and more for tax cuts for the wealthy may have consequences for Republicans.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Tuesday, July 8

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Comment: Students can thrive if we lock up their phones

There’s plenty of research proving the value of phone bans. The biggest hurdle has been parents.

Dowd: A lesson from amicable Founding Foes Adams and Jefferson

A new exhibit on the two founders has advice as we near the nation’s 250th birthday in the age of Trump.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.