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The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

moneywise.com

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Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#251

Post by bandyaboot »

NoZebra120vClip wrote: post #184
diogenes4 wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is that specific definition? It seems in many cases the term is used to AVOID being pinned to any specific definition.

Affordable housing is defined by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as housing that does not require a household to spend more than 30 percent of its gross monthly income on housing costs. For rental housing, these costs include monthly rent and utility payments; for owner-occupied housing, these costs include mortgage payments and additional expenses associated with homeownership. A household…

That definition really has no value outside the context of analyzing a given household’s situation. In the context of housing regulation, zoning, etc it really isn’t helpful since all housing is both affordable and unaffordable. Schrödinger’s housing.

Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#252

Post by eropple »

zug_zug wrote: post #211
zemvpferreira wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a bizarre idea contrary to how many housing affordability crisis were actually solved in the past. Would SF's housing prices go down if you were to build 10,000 new units? You're right, probably not that much. Would SF's housing prices go down if you were to build 1M new units? No doubt. Shenzhen grew from 100,000 people in the 1980s to 13M now with no housing affordability crisis...by building. The whole pea…

Are you sure it's profitable to build 1million units in Soma (or whatever portion isn't protected historic houses limited to 3 stories) ?

"Profitable" and "necessary" might sometimes be at odds.

That's why we have governments, though.

Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#253

Post by voisin »

c_crank wrote: post #214
fifticon wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder why the Robin Hood issue is never a problem when money is moved in the opposite direction :-)

Did anyone force all those students to take student loans?

Education has traditionally been a primary method for upward economic mobility. Once student loans became a thing, colleges jacked up tuition to put it out of reach of anyone but the super wealthy unless student loans were used.

Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#254

Post by c_crank »

voisin wrote: post #253
c_crank wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did anyone force all those students to take student loans?

Education has traditionally been a primary method for upward economic mobility. Once student loans became a thing, colleges jacked up tuition to put it out of reach of anyone but the super wealthy unless student loans were used.

But no one forced those people to take on those loans.

Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#255

Post by trident5000 »

pc86 wrote: post #140
somewhereoutth wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is not supply and demand for houses - there are plenty enough to go around (though often in the wrong place). The issue is that a sizeable underclass is being created that have no wealth, not least because what wealth they did have has been funnelled to the very wealthy. For example, medical bills. For example student loans. For example zero interest rates with zero wage inflation meaning accommodation cost…

A house in Omaha doesn't help someone living in NY, so saying there are plenty of houses but they're just in the wrong place is so wildly wrong I have to think it's intentionally done just to score cheap political points.

Imagine thinking where you want to live is more important than physics.

Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#256

Post by Nifty3929 »

escapedmoose wrote: post #192
jongjong wrote: post #16

Part of the problem is government regulation. In some places, it's almost impossible to build new houses due to regulations. Some portion of the population wants to see house prices continue to increase and they will vote for politicians who will implement policies which will support that agenda. Of course this happens at the expense of another, also large portion of the population who do not own a house and have to…

Among my friends seeking to buy houses, the greater problem is the ability of large companies to buy up whatever is on the market, which they then immediately turn into a rental. It’s nearly impossible to compete with a company who will pay $50k over asking price, in cash, for the house you’re trying to get. Comparatively, immigrants don’t have the purchasing power to compete, so saying they’re the problem is a weird…

What would happen to the person renting from the landlord, if the corporation hadn’t purchased the house to rent to them? Well, maybe that person would buy the house themselves to live in.

But there still wouldn’t be any more houses for YOU to buy.

Corporations and landlords aren’t the problem, lack of building is.

Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#257

Post by ohyes »

c_crank wrote: post #214
fifticon wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder why the Robin Hood issue is never a problem when money is moved in the opposite direction :-)

Did anyone force all those students to take student loans?

Yes. They literally have to or they’ve got no chance at competing in the job market.

They’re screwed either way, might as well get 4 years of college out of it.

Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#258

Post by IKantRead »

zemvpferreira wrote: post #116
somewhereoutth wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's take SF as an example. If a significant number of new units were built (somehow without detracting from the character of the city), would it really lower prices much? Likely not - instead prices would dip just enough to make it viable for large numbers of high income people from outside SF to come to the city (which by massing effect may make SF even more desirable, so actually higher prices!) Wealth taxes are…

This is a bizarre idea contrary to how many housing affordability crisis were actually solved in the past. Would SF's housing prices go down if you were to build 10,000 new units? You're right, probably not that much. Would SF's housing prices go down if you were to build 1M new units? No doubt. Shenzhen grew from 100,000 people in the 1980s to 13M now with no housing affordability crisis...by building. The whole pea…

> Shenzhen grew from 100,000 people in the 1980s to 13M now with no housing affordability crisis...by building.

I wouldn't use China as an example of solving the housing problem by simply building. There's currently a large oversupply problem [0] and, not entirely unlike the US (but more extreme), excess supply of housing has lead to people simply owning more than one property as an investment strategy.

0. https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-smaller-cities-struggle-...

Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#259

Post by shoe2OtherFoot »

pc86 wrote: post #140
somewhereoutth wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is not supply and demand for houses - there are plenty enough to go around (though often in the wrong place). The issue is that a sizeable underclass is being created that have no wealth, not least because what wealth they did have has been funnelled to the very wealthy. For example, medical bills. For example student loans. For example zero interest rates with zero wage inflation meaning accommodation cost…

A house in Omaha doesn't help someone living in NY, so saying there are plenty of houses but they're just in the wrong place is so wildly wrong I have to think it's intentionally done just to score cheap political points.

[flagged]

Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression

#260

Post by logicchains »

PixyMisa wrote: post #164
BirAdam wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the absence of government intervention, wealth is more likely to tend toward the center. The issue is that any democratic form of government featuring any kind of legislature reliant on voting will be bought. First, large companies will want small little advantages like a new road to their factory. Overtime, it becomes massive like immunity from prosecution from drugs that kill people like opioids. Over time, thes…

Corporate personhood is a legal fiction that allows corporations to own property and be sued. It dates back to craft guilds in the bronze age. I'm not sure what alternative you envision.

Corporate personhood is used to shield people from persecution for things they'd be persecuted for doing as private individuals. If there was no corporate liability shield, every single drug company employee involved in knowingly marketing and distributing harmful opiates could potentially be sued; no longer could people use "I was just following orders" as an excuse.
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