Welcome to Washington, a place of stunning mountains, beautiful forests, and a cost of living that makes you wonder if the state is secretly made of gold! From rising taxes to angrily expensive essentials, families and employers are feeling squeezed tighter than toothpaste in a travel tube. Let’s break down why living here is starting to make your piggy bank cry.
Here are Five Fast Facts on the financial squeeze in Washington State:
- ⛽ Pass On Gas - First off, fuel costs $1.25 more per gallon here than the national average. It’s like Washington decided that filling up your car should be a luxury sport.
- 😣 Generally Unaffordable - The state is the fifth-least affordable state to buy a home in the whole country. It's so expensive that you're probably better off trying to win the lottery than saving up for a down payment.
- 🚫🏢 Business Unfriendly - For businesses, Washington ranks near the bottom, coming in at 39th for the cost of business and 42nd for business friendliness. Apparently, the state's motto is "You'll love our nature, but you'll hate our rules!"
- 🏘️ No Place (To Call) Home - The state is also woefully behind on housing. We're hundreds of thousands of units short, and by 2040, we will need at least one million new units. It’s like the state is challenging us to build a million-unit Lego castle, but without the instructions or any of the good bricks.
- 💲 Icing On The Cake - Lawmakers just passed the biggest tax increase in state history. This is on top of already having the costliest workers' compensation system and the second-highest unemployment insurance payments in the nation. They're basically playing a giant game of "let's see how much we can tax everything!"
🔥Bottom line: The real irony here is that Washington State has the highest hourly pay rate of all 50 states! So this means we're being paid more than any other state in the nation, but it's STILL this unaffordable! Why do we keep sending these yahoos to Olympia to make decisions on our behalf??
Seriously, why do we keep voting for the people who do this to us?
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