No one living on Sawant’s proclaimed $37,000 income could afford a house like this. Sawant must be lucky … she either had a bunch of money from her separated Micros0ft hubby or she had a very friendly banker. Now, she has made a $200,000 return on that great investment!
Just a year after buying her home in the rapidly gentrifying Leschi neighborhood, Kshama Sawant, our City Councilor, has made $200,000! According to Zillow, Sawant’s $345,000 house is now worth $547,000.
This is great news for Dr. Sawant. Even as a Ph.D. economist in rural Indian economics, our avowed Trotskyite must understand the wonder of the American tax system that creates huge advantages of real estate profits. Her 167% gain will not be taxable until it is “realized” by a sale. NO TAX? Truly magical. What she can do, of course is use her equity to take out loans at very low rates. So, she can 
take out $100,000 and buy another house! Of course the interest on that loan is fully tax deductible and depreciation on the two houses can mean she pays no taxes on the $37,000 she claims to take home from her city job!
You might have thought Dr. Sawant would have converted her good fortune into poltical capital. Actually no. Her mantra, instead, is to tax newbies … people moving in now by adding a tax to all new housing while creating rent control so that newbies pay developers full tilt! She is also insistent on rent control (against state law) which, of course would not affect well-to-do Seattle newbies who are able to use their salaries from Microsoft to buy a house (or two).