Approximately 100 local activists and concerned citizens spent their noon hour Friday, August 21 at a rally in Westlake Park protesting the use of $23 million in low-income housing loans on a subsidy for Nordstrom's new Pacific Place parking garage. In yet another example of "corporate welfare," the Seattle City Council is expected to mis-appropriate funds originally designed to increase low-income housing opportunities so that Nordstrom's new downtown home (many of us are still unsure about what the old Nordy's homebase lacked) can have a taxpayer-subsidized automobile mansion.

Led by the Raging Grannies and a host of protesters outfitted in miniature car puppets, the rally moved from Nordstrom Central (a.k.a. "revitalized downtown Seattle") for a police-escorted "tour" of the eight level parking garage. While such construction is now commonly described by opponents as "corporate welfare," this event demonstrated that those of us concerned with the misuse of civic dollars are facing a much larger issue: "consumer welfare" for a narrow sector of wealthy, fashionably dressed, white folks out on a shopping spree.

Perhaps those of us who cringe at the sound of "corporate welfare," fearing that such depictions will drive corporations and their barely-living-wage jobs out of the city and beyond our national borders, can more easily stomach the deeper truth: though paid for with everyone's tax dollars, Nordstrom's new parking facility will benefit only those who can afford to regularly shop there. Now, let's be honest for a moment: how many of us actually can buy our basics at Nordy's? C'mon. Such considerations help put a real human face on any debate over whether or not these construction subsidies are in the public's best interest.

If the idea of corporate flight strikes fear into your heart, and if "corporate welfare" remains a distant concept, ask yourself if you want to be the one paying the tab on suburban shoppers' parking meters. For those of you who find this proposal something less than palatable, be sure to show up at the September 14th meeting of the City Council, where this mis-appropriations package will be voted on. If this passes, we suggest anyone needing a warm place to sleep bring his or her bedding downtown to inhabit a luxury-car-sized condo. The rent includes parking.