61–70 of 280 posts
Maybe I'm missing the point here, but why is it reasonable to think that a single mother with a low income should be able to afford to live in San Mateo?
This may not be the most popular thing to say, but ... Just move? If you are the head of a large household living in an area where the cost of living is too high to support your dependents, you would do a whole lot of good for them and yourself by starting new in some other part of the country. At the very least it would be wise to relocate across the Bay. I realize that people have families, social networks, and sma…
> My sentiment is not classist or elitist. You just think poor people should have to move out of their homes because rich people decided they want to live there. Got it. > The same argument applies to people of all socioeconomic background. Yeah, rich people get forced out of their homes because they can't afford them all the time. /s
I prefer a minimum living stipend for a few reasons: It doesn't treat the poor like they are too stupid or too criminal to manage their own lives and their own money. It allows people the ability to move to more fulfilling (and more lucrative) employment by providing time for training. It protects kids without trying to transition parenting responsibility to the state. In general, it keeps the state out of people's lives, increasing their dignity.
Yes, there will still be homeless people. There will be people who squander the money. But there will be many who take advantage of it and build a better life for themselves and all of their posterity. And I prefer to bet on the general desire of people to better themselves.
The problem is I don't know how to get there from here.
I don't think the solution is as simple as 'building more housing'(aka giving permits). It would drive down the prices somewhat, but what's to stop more engineers from moving in/shortening their own commutes etc? I think the term we're looking for is 'build low-income housing'. That would make it more likely that people who need it get it.
More people want to live there? Awesome, build even more. Demand is not infinite. Ever.
This may not be the most popular thing to say, but ... Just move? If you are the head of a large household living in an area where the cost of living is too high to support your dependents, you would do a whole lot of good for them and yourself by starting new in some other part of the country. At the very least it would be wise to relocate across the Bay. I realize that people have families, social networks, and sma…
This may not be the most popular thing to say, but ... Just move? If you are the head of a large household living in an area where the cost of living is too high to support your dependents, you would do a whole lot of good for them and yourself by starting new in some other part of the country. At the very least it would be wise to relocate across the Bay. I realize that people have families, social networks, and sma…
The other question is (don't know the answer) how many people who owned homes (instead of renting) were able to cash in in some way on rising property values?
My guess is that at least some of the people renting made the decision to not purchase and some of the people owning made the decision to not rent. Of the people who could choose an option.
As far as people saying "it costs money to move" what about one family member moving and the other staying until a life is established elsewhere? [1]
Maybe what is needed instead of handouts is some kind of social service that makes people aware of their options. Edit: And pushes them to take those options even if they are painful. And also to make them realize that "even though you don't want to move because your friends and family are here" you might have to move if you can't afford this place anymore.
Note: I don't live in California and have no skin in this game.
[1] And lastly, has the "problem" even been properly quantified? I watch stories similar to this on TV news reports. They always pick the right people that you seem to be able to relate to and a situation that always seems unjust. But they never show exactly how many people actually are like that person (or even not like that person). They pull at your emotional heartstrings because their job is to make the story attractive, not necessarily balanced. And when they do they always add the "to be sure" that gets them off the hook. As in "to be sure not everyone who is homeless is XYZ" etc.
As someone from outside the US, how much do you need to earn in order to live well in this area? There was one slide stating a minimum of $100K for a family of four just to "escape poverty". Is that really the case? And if so, how do early stage founders who aren't already rich manage to get by?
On $100k, you wouldn't really be able to save very much, so the idea that you could somehow "escape poverty" while raising a family in Silicon Valley on that salary is somewhat of a stretch.
In Silicon Valley, a "middle class" family typically means two highly educated adults each earning six figure incomes.
This may not be the most popular thing to say, but ... Just move? If you are the head of a large household living in an area where the cost of living is too high to support your dependents, you would do a whole lot of good for them and yourself by starting new in some other part of the country. At the very least it would be wise to relocate across the Bay. I realize that people have families, social networks, and sma…
> My sentiment is not classist or elitist. You just think poor people should have to move out of their homes because rich people decided they want to live there. Got it. > The same argument applies to people of all socioeconomic background. Yeah, rich people get forced out of their homes because they can't afford them all the time. /s
That isn't how this works, at all. When the number of people who want to live in an area > the area's capacity, prices increase. See: every metro area in the world.
> Yeah, rich people get forced out of their homes because they can't afford them all the time. /s
Rich people move to optimize their finances all the time.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/networth/article/State-leader...
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/February/Frances-Recko...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2014/04/27/it-makes-sen...
http://www.aei.org/publication/companies-are-leaving-califor...