Most people feel it at the register, looking at a receipt that is higher than expected and deciding what to cut next time. Skip eating out this week? Drive farther for cheaper groceries? These quiet trade-offs have become part of daily life in Seattle, even for households that once felt comfortably secure. This is no longer an abstract policy debate. It is a shared problem, one that cuts across neighborhoods and ideologies, and one we should all strive to address.
