Bryan Mistele

Seattle and Bellevue are about as close to a natural experiment in economics as you could get, akin to North Korea and South Korea. The reason Seattle is in decay, while Bellevue is thriving is simple: bad policy and Seattle's incompetent socialist leadership.

Just after Washington State voted to approve a 9.9% "millionaire tax" on personal income over $1 million, Jeff Bezos, Howard Schultz, and tons fled. The impacts will be ENORMOUS. I gathered the facts, stories, and data and made this mini documentary: youtu.be/9Vg0-7c0J3g

Very cool opportunity today to be interviewed at the NYSE to discuss how AI is changing Transportation and the role that @INRIX plays. youtube.com/watch?v=MlvHC8…

Jevons paradox is happening in real time. Companies, especially outside of tech, are realizing that they can now afford to take on software projects that they wouldn’t have been able to tackle before because now AI lets them do so. We’re going to start to use software for all new things in the economy because it’s incrementally cheaper to produce. Marketing teams at big companies will have engineers helping to automate workflows. Engineers in life sciences and healthcare will automate research. Small businesses will hire engineers for the first to build better digital experiences. And as long as AI agents still require a human who understands what to prompt, how to review when an agent goes off the rails, how it guide back, how to maintain the system that was built, how to fix the ongoing bugs, and more, we will still have humans managing these agents. This is why all the advice you get of not going into engineering is wrong. The world is going to increasingly be made up of software, and the people that understand it best will be in a strong economic position. This will happen in other roles as well where output goes up and demand increases.

This is a real head scratcher… what could be causing the vacancies? and why would vacancies be causing property values to decrease… Future head scratcher will be why are property taxes decreasing so much? And why is the Seattle City Budget so upside down relative to revenue? And why is no one else moving in to fill the space? So many unanswerable questions to ponder. If only there was some logic to all of it!

Massachusetts Introduced Millionaire Tax In 2023, Immediately Lost $4.2 Billion In Income As People Fled The State notthebee.com/article/massac…

Thoughtful piece in the @seattletimes today: WA has a jobs crisis. Why won't our leaders say it? seattletimes.com/opinion/wa-has… via @seattletimes

From @WSJopinion: A secret to the Evergreen State’s success has been that it has no income tax. But Democrats in Olympia are perilously close to enacting a “millionaire tax” of 9.9%, write Arthur Laffer and Stephen Moore. on.wsj.com/41e75lx

Massachusetts approved a millionaire tax of an extra 4% of income above $1 million in 2022. This is in addition to the 5% state income tax everyone pays. So the wealthy in that state pay 9% on top of their federal income taxes of 37%. As a result, they are moving to New Hampshire, Florida and other states with no state income taxes

@BobFergusonGov, veto it, force the Legislature back to the drawing board, and demand real tax reform that reduces regressivity by cutting sales and B&O taxes instead of layering new levies on top. Do the right thing now, before Washington’s taxpayers stage a modern-day Boston Harbor in the shadow of Mount Rainier. chronline.com/stories/commen…

Washington State Democrats lied. Their new income tax on millionaires isn’t just for people making over $1 per year “It’s not just the millionaires who are gonna face this tax. In fact, couples whose combined income is a million dollars or more will also be taxed. Tax experts call it the marriage penalty. So if you have two individuals who each make $600,000, neither would pay the state income tax if they filed as individuals, but if they are married and they file jointly, they would owe a tax of about $20,000” And so it begins… next they’ll start lowering the threshold and it’ll soon apply to everyone

Much of the anger and frustration over the creation of an income tax in Washington state can be explained as the breaking of a century-long social contract that many generations of Washingtonians came to trust and expect. This social contract was so foundational that it was enshrined in our state's constitution - namely that taxation needs to be uniform and the state cannot target any group for higher rates of taxation. This is not to say that social contracts cannot be changed, but there is a legal and proper mechanism for doing that: amend the state's constitution. The Democrats did not choose that path because it is a very high bar to overcome (rightly so) and every time they had attempted this in the past, the people of Washington voted it down. Instead, the Democrat legislature chose the path of double-dealing and disingenuousness. This occurred in a series of steps: 1. Pack the Supreme Court with judges who would rubber stamp unconstitutional taxes. 2. Pass an unconstitutional capital gains tax but claim that, unlike any other state or at the Federal level, such a tax is an "excise tax" rather than a tax on income, giving the Supreme Court the excuse it needed to rubber stamp this wolf in sheep's clothing. 3. The Supreme Court then upholds this tax, clearly violating the Constitution and opening the door for a full income tax. 4. Create an fully fledged income tax (with all the bureaucracy required to administer it) but cynically label it a "millionaire's tax" even though they rejected every provision to guarantee it would only apply to millionaires. 5. Call the passage of this tax a state emergency, even though it only becomes effective two years from now. What kind of "emergency" allows you to wait 2 years? Answer: by classifying its passage an emergency, the Democrats purposefully prevented the possibility of a referendum of the people to reject the tax (as Washingtonians had done for a century). This get-what-you-want-no-matter-the-cost strategy is a deeply dishonest means of undermining the democratic process. 6. The Governor claims this tax makes life more "affordable" for Washingtonians but its passage provides almost no meaningful tax relief for the legion of other taxes that have ballooned under the Democrats (gas tax, sales tax, b&o tax etc). They did provide some sales tax relief on shampoo and hygiene products though. 🙄 So much has been lost to the whims of our politically extreme legislature in the last four years, but perhaps nothing so significant and painful as Washington's century-long social contract.

Washington State is about to repeat a costly mistake. Every state that adopted an income tax has fallen behind economically. Democrats in Olympia want a 9.9% “millionaire tax.” History says this ends badly. My latest in @WSJ with @realartlaffer: wsj.com/opinion/how-to…

"Washington has been one of the fastest-growing states for decades. It conspicuously avoided the “blue-state disease” of low economic growth and population declines. The Seattle area is home to great companies from Microsoft and Amazon to Starbucks. Washington has been the Florida or Texas of the West Coast. A secret to the Evergreen State’s success has been that it has no income tax. But Democrats in Olympia are perilously close to enacting a “millionaire tax” of 9.9%. Washington would go from being one of nine states with no income tax to having the fifth-highest rate in the country. The tax has passed both legislative houses and Gov. Bob Ferguson says he’ll sign it. Supporters hope the state supreme court will uphold it, overturning or brushing aside a 1933 precedent under which it is plainly unconstitutional. The decision to enact an income tax bodes ill for Washington’s economic future. Eleven states have done so since 1960: West Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois, Maine, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ohio, New Jersey and Connecticut. We found that every one of them significantly underperformed the rest of the nation in every economic measure we looked at, including share of the nationwide population, income, and state and local tax revenue. The 11 states in combination accounted for about one-third of national output in 1970. Today they account for slightly more than one-fifth. Since Ohio adopted its income tax in 1971, its share of nationwide domestic output has fallen by nearly half. Since Michigan adopted its income tax in 1967, its share of total state and local tax revenue nationwide has fallen by 53%. Pennsylvania’s share of national output declined 42% since its income tax of 1971; West Virginia has lagged national population growth by 56% since its income tax of 1961; and Rhode Island’s share of state and local tax revenue nationally has plummeted by a third since its income tax of 1971. In terms of the change in its share of the nation’s population, economic output and population, not one of the new income-tax states registers a positive number since the imposition of this tax. And the negative numbers are often highly negative. In every state that adopted an income tax, supporters promised the added money would be used to improve education. Washington is trying to play this card, saying the tax hike is for education, but the statements from lawmakers make it clear they want a new fund for any of their spending desires. When the Washington House approved the income tax, Rep. April Berg, chairman of the Finance Committee, triumphantly declared this plan “truly historic” because it will “make life more affordable for Washingtonians.” Many of them will not be Washingtonians anymore. Illinois added its income tax in 1969, and since then its share of the national population has sunk by 40%. By following suit, Washington will join the ranks of the incredible shrinking states." -- Wall Street Journal

“How to Hollow Out Your State’s Economy” via @WSJ wsj.com/opinion/how-to…

It's rare that nearly every major media publication's editorial board agrees on something, but they all agree this is an AWFUL idea. #waleg "It’s telling that politicians, who insist the new law is broadly popular, rejected an amendment that would have let the voters decide on whether to impose a state income tax." "Yet entrepreneurs and high-performing workers will now think twice about coming to a state that explicitly designs laws to penalize success." washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/…

NEW: Holy crap! Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO John Scholes is going nuclear. He annihilated the so called "progressive tax" and says it's crippling the downtown business core in Seattle. With sobering data, Scholes masterfully lays out his case and also acknowledges Bellevue is quickly becoming the new destination for business owners. Meanwhile, far-left politicians like Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, CM Alexis Mercedes Rinck, and WA State Rep. Shaun Scott claim the "progressive tax" will help revitalize the city. So who do you believe, Scholes or these socialist elected officials? 🧵👇 @MayorofSeattle|@GovBobFerguson|@GirmayZahilay|@downtownseattle|@DiscoveryCWP|@washdems|@eyesonthestorm|@weheartseattle

Democrats have just thrown a nuke into the startup industry in Seattle and the tech industry more generally. Without this industry Washington would go from being one of the highest per-capita income states to one of the lowest.

I've been in tech in the PacNW since the early 90s, working for big companies, and many start ups. There will never be the equivalent of one of these companies founded, or based in Washington. (founded, maybe. But they won't stay.) If you're a newbie to the Seattle area, these companies are legends and it's time to get a clue on the history. Under the new taxation, the founders of these companies would have never successfully grown and collectively hired hundreds of thousands: Attachmate WRQ Microsoft Amazon Avalara Concur (SAP) McCaw Cellular (Now AT&T wireless) Expedia T-Mobile Aldus (acquired by Adobe) Immunex ZymoGenetics Real Networks F5 REI Eddie Bauer Costco Zillow Starbucks Expediters International Alaska Airlines Paccar Airborne Express UPS (yes, UPS was founded in Seattle) Nordstrom Eagle Hardware (acquired by Lowes) Blue Origin Why would a founder of any of these companies start the equivalent of any of these legends if they'd have to give up 10% to the state when they're still in an early stage? And save me the sanctimonious "paying my fair share" virtue signaling. Grow up. This is one of the most aggressive tax schemes in the country. And our once vibrant economy will be relegated to satellite offices and incubator stage companies. Nice work, Washington!

@ericmetaxas I love you Eric, but it's the 21st century. Can we please get a kindle version?

I’m absolutely thrilled to announce my new book, REVOLUTION: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World (June 2, 2026) is now available for pre-order! ericmetaxas.com/revolution In his Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln said that the “new nation” born in 1776 was “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” So it’s not too much to say that the conception of the United States occurred when the idea of liberty went forth from the eternal mind of God, entering history and time. That world-changing REVOLUTION — a word I chose very intentionally — took all of humanity into a new era. The significance of our nation’s birth can hardly be overstated. In REVOLUTION, the full story is told at last — from beginning to end. The principal purpose of this book is simple: it is inescapably vital that the citizens who form this nation are aware of the glorious events of our history so that they may rejoice in them.