Significantly increasing social security payments would go a long way.
Oh god please no. It’s already on the way to being insolvent
We should fund it better and remove the income cap of $164K.
The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
691–700 of 1001 posts
Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
#692Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
> 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 Homeownership rates haven't changed by more than a couple percentage points since the 1960s: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N
I agree it is worth accounting for this, though I'm not sure the nation-wide rate disproves the claim.
"Large companies" could be having a significant impact on some number of urban markets without shifting a country-wide statistic in a way that's unambiguous against trends driven by larger forces like population age and economic trends.
Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
#693Earlier quoted context omitted.
Public transit is much safer than driving in your car. Someone skipping fare does not compare to even a light fender bender.
> Someone skipping fare This, obviously, isn't what raises fear in people. "Safer" for some statistics, like a car crash, but also much less safe for things like getting stabbed, spit on, confronted. Sure, it's somewhat rare on public transport, but they're exactly zero in my car, at freeway speeds. edit: A quick google search shows two stabbings, one slit throat, and a page full of fights, in my area, over the last…
What's funny is over-policing public transit would probably take only a fraction of the resources that private transportation does.
Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
#694Earlier quoted context omitted.
Since the beginning of 2020, yes. Even the delayed statistics appear to support my anecdotal evidence. However, thanks to Publix sending receipts to my email account I can provide a more concrete example. Kellogg’s Fruit Loops “Family Size” 01/16/2020 21oz $4.79 ~$0.23/oz Today 18.4oz $8.59 ~$0.47/oz So yea, over a 100% increase…
I will point out that this example of inflation seems to be mostly just price gouging by the big brands. I've seen a similar price increase in the branded cereals, so I am not disagreeing with you in that sense. -------- However, the store brand cereals, which are cheaper, haven't really gone up at all. At this point the branded product is more than double the unit cost of the store/no-name brand version in my local…
> This suggests to me that it's not an actual increase in the cost of producing the product. If it was driven by commodity/input/manufacturing cost prices we should be seeing price pressures coming through in the cheapest cereals.
I don't know about cereal manufacturers specifically, but in general, it costs 25% more now compared to pre-Covid to produce food[0].
The amount Americans spend on food relative to their income has gone up in that same time period, but only from slightly under 10% to slightly under 12%[1], and is still well under historical levels as well as compared to other countries. Not bad for an economic system full of supposed "price gougers".
[0]: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU311311
[1]: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery...
Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
#695Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t think houses should be used by anybody to build up wealth.
So apartments shouldn't exist? Or...? I understand your perspective; there's a reason the term "rent-seeking" has a negative connotation. But I don't really see an alternative that wouldn't be worse. Different tax rates for primary residences sounds like a potentially okay compromise (though it would make renting more expensive, by design).
> So apartments shouldn't exist? Or...?
Not that they shouldn't exist but for profit, rental only apartments shouldn't be the predominant form of apartment. Apartments for purchase are perfectly valid and housing cooperatives are also a solution that should be far more common.
Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
#696Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t think houses should be used by anybody to build up wealth.
As a blanket statement, I don't think that makes much sense. You'd be opposed to someone working hard on their own house over the years to improve it so that they can sell it when they're older?
Realistically that doesn't really happen. It's all about land, the building itself is a liability not an asset.
Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
#697Earlier quoted context omitted.
You only perceive corporate landlords as the greater problem because we're not living in the counterfactual reality where there are millions of new apartments that are inexpensive, tiny, safe, quiet, modern, clean, dignified, and well-located. In pretty much every major city in North America, it is illegal or there is too much red tape to build the affordable housing people actually want. Why is it that living in a t…
What government policy would allow for a 2k apartment building and not a $500 apartment building? I just don't buy this argument. The reason there's not a $500 apartments being built is because by expanding the residence out just a tiny bit you can charge $2000 for the same space that 2 $500 apartments would occupy. I'm seeing this play out where I live that has practically no zoning laws or regulations (LOTS of buil…
something I wonder about is that I'm pretty sure new builds target the more premium market. And I'm pretty sure that has mostly been true throughout history.
But I wonder/think that in the past infill targeting $500 apartments would be an older house that gets subdivided. Like all those brownstones in NYC that were turned into SRO, or the mansions in Pittsburgh that were chopped into four-plexes, etc.
Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
#698Some good commentary in this thread, however one topic thats never raised in the topic of affordable housing is fast cheap public transit. I could never imagine being able to buy a house in London. but the train network makes it possible to live in a more affordable neighbourhood and commute as needed. In the US we seem to think that cities can continue to have affordable housing in the most desireable areas. this is…
The constant whinging about NHS notwithstanding, I think London is actually a great place to be if you're 65+ and lucky enough to a have a roof over your head. From what I have seen, senior citizens are very active and proactive -- someone living there a few months a year can end up connecting with a walking group, bird watching group etc, where people are inviting and polite by nature. There's lots of free events, access to large parks and nature is possible using the rail network etc.
In the US, senior citizens can be individually active, but I haven't come across the same level of proactive organizational behavior and openness to noobs and outsiders that I have come across in London. The prerequisite for such a thing of course is proper public transport.
Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
#699[flagged]
Thanks. I've changed the title to make it more in line with what the article seems to be saying.
Re: The elderly are becoming homeless at a rate not seen since the Great Depression
#700That's very surprising, given that you typically hear about how it's the baby boomers who reaped the rewards and screwed over everyone else.
The boomers have copped too much hate at this point. Definitely not every boomer benefitted from the time they were born, the real culprit of the crises many nations find themselves in is: - Too much prioritising of the land development desires of existing landowners - Too much immigration without thought to how the infrastructure and housing to support it would be created (I am an immigrant myself fyi).
Is immigration or affordable housing the issue