Washington Policy On The Go is WPC’s bi-weekly (weekly during the legislative session) virtual lunchtime event series featuring center directors and guests to inform you on the latest in Washington State policy research and analysis. In this video we interview Eric Zimmerman, mayor of Normandy Park, whose study on homelessness lays out important information on Washington’s policy choices and how effective they have been.
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00:00 – Introduction
02:53 – Is Washington really an outlier?
05:31 – The two biggest factors behind homelessness
09:22 – Why minimum wage increases did not solve the problem
13:11 – How bad Washington’s rankings really are
14:29 – Why Washington leads on fentanyl overdose indicators
18:10 – Why policymakers resist changing course
19:35 – Jail, system friction, and forced interruption
22:32 – Involuntary commitment and family intervention
24:18 – The broader public cost of homelessness
26:24 – Washington’s per-capita homelessness ranking
27:07 – Why people stop working and fall into homelessness
30:41 – Where other cities have had more success
32:46 – Could AI job losses worsen homelessness?
35:14 – How much is being spent per homeless person?
37:05 – Cannabis legalization, homelessness, and normalization
38:56 – Ninth Circuit rulings and public camping
39:49 – Low-barrier housing and whether it works
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