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The problem with the Bay Area is that the ghetto is expensive too. The median home price in the ghetto next food to Palo Alto (literally) is $650k. And "hipster" "milennial" "tech workers" are driving up costs there because it is close to work.
There is nowhere cheap in the entire region. The worst neighborhoods still cost the same as most of the best neighborhoods across the US.
An upper middle class municipality is not going to embrace higher taxes to enable peons of lower income to live there.
Ummm... that's precisely what this proposed housing subsidy scheme IS.
And it's a silly, inefficient method of doing exactly what I propose... which is *pay people more if you want them to live in expensive areas*
I'm just saying that there are better ways to do this than this ridiculous band-aid that serves little purpose except to make the rich locals *feel* better. I'd think an apparent worshiper of the Holy Free Market could understand that.
But yeah, we all know that in this day and age, any utterance of "free market" really means nothing more or less than "I hate poor people". No need to try and pretend otherwise. You're among friends here
It doesn't matter how often, as long as it happened at least once (and it has, because I personally know a family where this happened) because you stated that it NEVER happens. Don't make absolute statements when you don't know what you are talking about.
Actually, it does matter. So... let's see the stats. How often does an asset seizure upon death yield less than the amount of property taxes plus interest owed?
When your housing costs are 65% of your take home pay you can't afford to move either.
Why not?
Just sell your junk or throw it away and stick out your thumb by the side of the road.
There are also Greyhound and Amtrack.
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I mostly grew up in the the Bay Area. It is home for me. It is pretty sad that even with a relatively well paying job I can't afford a 2 bedroom condo. If my household income doubled I wouldn't be able to afford an average home in my neighborhood, which average 900k. Renting an apartment near my office would cost 4x what I pay in rent now. Sharing an apartment would cost 2.5x near my office.
So where does this leave all of the service workers that keep the economy hummin along? Sharing 1 bedroom apartments with 4 people?
Oh, I know.
I've experienced the same horrible trauma, having grown up in Belvedere and Woodside.
They just didn't care that I couldn't afford a $5 million house when I entered the labor market.
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Originally Posted by turkey-head
I've moved half way across the country multiple times with nothing more than would fit in my old car... Just enough money for gas and a deposit on a 'new' place. You can move if you're willing to do it.
Exactly.
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Originally Posted by InformedConsent
How does that matter?
You seem to not recognize that because of our country's extremely lax immigration policies and some people's idiotic proclivity to pursue college degrees in unmarketable and/or flooded fields, there's a glut of no/low-skill and/or low-value workers, and they simply do not warrant any higher pay than they're now offered.
Exactly.
Kick out the illegals, stop more illegal immigration, stop more legal immigration, and lower business taxes so that companies will stop off-shoring good jobs, and there will be pay raises aplenty for everyone.
Of course, the libs don't want to do any of that.
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Originally Posted by le roi
Raise property taxes.
Oh wait ! California's taxpayer revolt prevents you from doing that.
Yeah I guess you're screwed.
Too bad.
California already has some of the highest taxes in the nation, even with Prop. 13 and other restrictions.
It also has one-third of the nation's welfare caseload and about one-third of the nation's illegal immigrants.
Even with the high taxes, they are certainly not fixing the roads in this state, which are full of potholes.
California was a great place when it had a Republican majority.
Then the Democrats took over....
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Originally Posted by le roi
It's really amazing how stupid some of these responses are.
If middle/working class people can't afford housing in Palo Alto, that negatively impacts the municipality of Palo Alto.
Simply pointing to "hurr durr free market" might make you feel good, but it does not solve any problems from the municipality's standpoint.
Working class people can't afford Beverly Hills.
So what?
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Originally Posted by turkey-head
Yeah, and with this approach you'll ONLY enable a short list of workers to live locally. Say teachers, firemen, police... you know the usual coddled government workers.
But mechanics, cashiers, plumbers, electricians, truck drivers, factory workers, janitors, cab drivers, restaurant workers, delivery people, and everybody else you need to get by (but who can't afford to live in your little paradise) will have to live in some adjacent ghetto and commute.
So it may make you FEEL better that ya'll are helping out the teachers (gotta love those folks who run daily child-institutions!). But it's nothing more than a symbolic gesture.
Yes, this is all about unionized government employees stealing from everyone else. Working short hours, retiring early, getting benefits private sector workers don't get -- and now they want subsidized housing as well.
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Originally Posted by jade408
What if you don't have a car? About 35% of the people I know don't have one. What if you don't have enough money for a deposit?
Stick out your thumb.
Work your way across the country and save money.
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Originally Posted by jade408
The problem with the Bay Area is that the ghetto is expensive too. The median home price in the ghetto next food to Palo Alto (literally) is $650k. And "hipster" "milennial" "tech workers" are driving up costs there because it is close to work.
There is nowhere cheap in the entire region. The worst neighborhoods still cost the same as most of the best neighborhoods across the US.
Then don't live in the Bay Area.
If enough people decide not to live there, prices will come down.
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Originally Posted by turkey-head
Yeah, that's crazy. I dunno what to tell you.
I mean, when I entered adulthood 20+ years ago... I drove out of bum**** Southern Appalachia in an $800 Buick that was older than me. With $1300 in my pocket. Earned by working at Walmart. Nothing else to my name except a safe home back in the sticks that I could crawl back to should it become necessary. Somehow I survived.
I'm sure there are people in Palo Alto worse off than I was. But NONE of them are teachers with a college degree.
If people can't afford to live in a paradise like Palo Alto, then they need to move somewhere they can afford. Yes, it's inconvenient. No, I don't care.
Me, neither.
Who would want to live there, anyway? A college friend who had grown up there said it was "the pits" -- and close to "Deadwood City" to boot.
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Originally Posted by turkey-head
I guess they better move somewhere cheaper then.
Or Palo Alto needs to pay the more.
Anything else is just a bandaid to make the locals FEEL better.
Yes, the libs always want to bring the ghetto into the neighborhood....
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Originally Posted by InformedConsent
They want government services, but they don't want to PAY for them. How is that not very typically the Dem mindset?
It is the Democrat mindset.
But believe me, Californians already pay way too much in taxes for what they get -- whether they are Democrat or Republican (actually, most Democrats don't pay any taxes...instead, they're subsidized by the government....)
But believe me, Californians already pay way too much in taxes for what they get -- whether they are Democrat or Republican (actually, most Democrats don't pay any taxes...instead, they're subsidized by the government....)
I'm not buying the "Californians already pay way too much in taxes" assertion.
They're not even in the top 10 of highest property tax states.
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