John Braun commentary: The continuing insanity of the homelessness ‘emergency’
Friday, November 7, 2025
The line about “insanity” being defined as doing the same things over and over, and expecting a different result, is sometimes attributed to Albert Einstein.
An online search indicates the saying more likely originated in a Narcotics Anonymous publication many years ago about the difficulty of overcoming a drug addiction.
If so, insanity is an appropriate word for how Seattle and King County are responding to their part of the homelessness crisis in our state, seeing how they have downplayed the role of drug addiction and behavioral health in creating this situation.
Here’s an example: It’s insanity that 10 years ago this month King County and Seattle both declared a state of emergency regarding homelessness — and although those declarations are still in place, the homeless populations have grown significantly.
King County’s has increased 68% over the past decade, with 56% of that population counted within the city limits of Seattle.
Don’t expect the new King County executive, once that election is settled, to bring a new, commonsense approach. One of the two finalists for the position claims the problem is a delay in moving people into stable housing. The other echoes that, plus a call for more “permanent supportive housing.”
In Seattle, the incumbent mayor is quick to point out that more than two-thirds of the homeless in his city came from elsewhere. Homelessness is a regional problem Seattle can’t solve alone, he says — while insisting his city will lead the charge to end the crisis through a combination of collaboration and robust data that is, of course, “rooted in equity.”
If his try for re-election falls short once all the ballots are counted, then Seattle will have a mayor who at least acknowledges drug addiction is a factor in putting people on the street but still clings to the housing argument.
Each of these candidates has been present in Seattle and King County to witness the growth of homelessness during the 10 years of the “emergency.” It’s insanity that none, having seen the failure of the Obama-driven housing-first policies, is willing to trade those for an approach that emphasizes treatment.
Legislators need to pay attention to what happens in Seattle and King County because of all the taxpayer dollars that continue to flow, in the name of homelessness, to counties and service providers from the state Department of Commerce.
The director of that agency, a former Democratic state senator, also sees homelessness as an emergency — and he too is in the housing-first camp. During the 2025-27 budget cycle his agency will push out a whopping $1.8 billion out to counties and service providers for housing and homelessness.
That’s a 4,400% increase over what Seattle spent toward homelessness 10 years ago, and 4,900% more than what King County budgeted for homelessness-related efforts the year it declared an emergency.
The fact that the sharp increase in spending has been accompanied by a significant increase in the homeless population should raise questions. Democrats don’t seem to be asking them.
Instead, we have to look to the self-styled “friendly neighborhood homeless industrial complex worker” writing in a Tacoma-based online publication. His experience has convinced him the homeless-service system is in truth a homeless industrial complex that “exists to continue existing” and is therefore more interested in perpetuating homelessness instead of eliminating it.
The idea that homelessness has become an industry in which there’s money to be made, or at least diverted, isn’t as far-fetched as it may sound.
Thanks to an independent journalist in Seattle and a whistleblowing real-estate broker, there is reason to suspect housing-related financial corruption also is present in a “community reinvestment” program run by Commerce which has received $250 million in budget appropriations in the past three years.
In comparison, untold billions have been poured into housing-first homelessness efforts at various levels of government in the past decade. I say “untold” because no one can or will say exactly how much money, and that lack of transparency means no one can assure taxpayers those dollars have been protected against waste, fraud and abuse.
A different money-related angle could also end up pulling the curtain back on the city’s homelessness policies. An attorney recently filed a $30 million lawsuit against Seattle, alleging the city pushed homelessness into the Little Saigon area of the Chinatown International District downtown. That caused him, the suit says, to lose business tenants and constituting what amounts to a “taking” of his property.
A reporter covering the 2015 declarations of the Seattle and King County states of emergency asked several people, who were homeless at the time, for their reaction. One said it was “about time” but also questioned whether spending a lot of money would accomplish anything.
Ten years later, the answer is obvious. The housing-first approach is a failure. Taxpayers aren’t getting the transparency they deserve. Getting people the drug and mental-health assistance they need should be the priority, rather than pouring taxpayer money into an ever-expanding homeless industrial complex. There needs to be accountability from both the agencies and homeless population they serve.
The insanity needs to end. We must do better.
Sen. John Braun of Centralia serves the 20th Legislative District, which spans parts of four counties from Yelm to Vancouver. He became Senate Republican leader in 2020.