2024 Seattle Solidarity Budget Guarantees
Right now, with at least 32% of our city’s general fund going towards criminalization and punishment, the only guarantee is that Seattle’s most marginalized and vulnerable residents lack the resources needed to survive. Our city’s current budget allocations guarantee continued suffering in the form of sweeps of our unhoused neighbors, and repeated arrests, court dates, and nights in the deadly King County Jail for Black and brown communities, queer and trans folks, people with disabilities, and poor people in general.
We believe true safety comes from guaranteeing that people’s material needs are met. Every person in Seattle should have what they need to survive and thrive. We reject a system that sorts people into categories of deserving and undeserving and assigns resources accordingly. We reject eligibility requirements for essential goods and services that require people to prove they’re deserving of what they need to live and are used to criminalize and exclude the people most in need. We reject the use of the criminal legal system as an entry point to meeting basic needs. Instead, we call for a city budget that guarantees our collective well-being without conditions. Our budget advocacy will focus on fighting to win the Solidarity Guarantees. We will evaluate any proposed budgets on how much closer they get us to achieving universal, accessible, and decommodified services.
We demand the City of Seattle provide the residents of our city with basic guarantees that provide a base standard of living and quality of life for all people in Seattle. The city has prioritized punishment as a means to attempt to mitigate social issues, when services and access to resources are what have been proven to not only mitigate, but remediate circumstances that currently lead to contact with police and the punishment system. Below is a list of Nine Essential Guarantees the community has developed.
Income Guarantee
Guaranteed basic income program. Roll out will prioritize people who: have experienced sweeps; police contact, court contact, and incarceration of any form, including their families; family policing system (foster care); gender-based violence; Black communities; Native communities; communities of color; people experiencing homelessness; people with disabilities; queer and trans people; and people experiencing impoverishment
Unconditional monthly payments
Housing Guarantee
Affordable, accessible, dignified, safe, and permanent housing for all; at all income levels, including $0
Immediate non-congregate shelter options for people experiencing homelessness
Health Guarantee
High-quality, unconditional, free, voluntary, accessible womb-to-ancestor care and healing for all, with robust ecosystems of preventative care and aftercare,
Free, safe, and accessible options for drug user health that support individual autonomy
A network of supportive and culturally competent adults engaging young people using non-punitive, non-carceral approaches to help them address mental health issues
All the above without criminal supervision, surveillance or conditions
Transportation Guarantee
Fast, frequent, reliable, free mass transit
Safe, accessible sidewalks on every street
Additional protected bike lanes in all areas of the city, co-working with each community to define their needs
Pedestrianized streets to create a safer, healthier, and more welcoming environment
Intersections redesigned for pedestrian/biker safety
Electrified service vehicles (garbage trucks, school buses, freight vehicles)
Communication Guarantee
Digital equity and high-speed municipal internet access for all
Robust network of digital and communications navigators
Climate Action and Resilience Guarantee
Fully funding green new deal oversight board priorities
Funding community resilience, which includes Climate Resiliency Hubs
Care Guarantee
Childcare guarantee: A system of support that enables caregivers of children to work and to care for themselves and their communities.
Expand funding for programs that improve choice, promote independence, and enhance the quality of life for older people and adults with disabilities
Food Guarantee
Universal access to nutritious, regenerative food
Community-owned green spaces in all neighborhoods for community members to grow fresh produce
Living Wage Guarantee
Raise the wage for all non-profit human service workers by 37%
Pay all city workers a living wage
Close the income gap between executives and their lowest paid workers
