The Seattle housing levy is a good investment

AS a business leader, I recognize a good investment when I see one.

The Seattle Housing Levy, Proposition 1, will create an estimated 4,000 family-wage construction jobs, attract more than three times our own investment from philanthropy, investors and the federal government, and avoid significant medical and other emergency costs by enabling individuals and families to live in decent housing rather than on the streets. It is an excellent financial investment.

Bruce Ramsey misses the mark in his Oct. 26 column ["Pause to consider the housing levy," Opinion] when he bemoans the cost of the housing levy.

The cost savings the Seattle Housing Levy achieves by providing safe, decent housing for our most vulnerable residents has received national attention, including a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. One levy-funded apartment building, Downtown Emergency Service Center's 1811 Eastlake Apartments, saved our community $4 million in one year by reducing the amount of emergency services used by its residents.

Similarly, Plymouth Housing Group uses levy funds to provide homes for disabled homeless people with high medical needs at Plymouth on Stewart, an apartment building with nursing services on site. These residents' medical costs are down 75 percent compared with when they were living on the streets and cycling in and out of Harborview Medical Center.

We also know that when children and their families live in affordable housing rather than couch-surfing or living in cars, the family is more stable and children can learn at school. And when our senior citizens can pay an affordable rent in levy-funded apartments, they can afford to buy their medications and groceries.

Housing costs have risen since the voters approved the last housing levy in 2002, so renewing it will cost a little more. The investment is still modest: The typical homeowner will pay about $5.50 per month. The money we save by treating our neighbors with dignity, the jobs we create, and the lives we change are well worth our investment.

Please join me in voting yes on Proposition 1 to renew the Housing Levy. For more information about the Housing Levy, visit: www.yesforhomes.org.

Dan Brettler is CEO of Car Toys Inc.