Why Middle Class Americans Can't Afford to Live in Liberal Cities (Portland: middle-class, 2014)

[almostjay]

An interesting article from Citylab:

Link

This doesn't seem to have much to do with liberal fiscal policy, but rather with unfortunate by-products of other liberal philosophies. Also, it just makes sense that this would happen in liberal cities, as the ideology tends to result in "nice" places to live and subsequently supply and demand takes over. Thoughts?

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by almostjay

..........
This doesn't seem to have much to do with liberal fiscal policy, but rather with unfortunate by-products of other liberal philosophies............

From the liberal New Republic:
“Few purveyors of big ideas have as much riding on a single notion or catch phrase as Richard Florida does with the 'creative class.'” ….................."His theories about how to boost city economies have, quite simply, been discredited.”
Richard Florida: Creative Class prophet now talks up rust belt | New Republic

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Originally Posted by almostjay

An interesting article from Citylab:

Link

Thoughts?

Thank you so much for not ending this post with the word "Discuss".

BTW, Richard Florida is an idiot.

[VTHokieFan]

So sad

[usaf_1832]

Ha! Interesting title of a thread.

[Squidlo]

The long term will tell if the clustering of the creative class provides a sustainable economy. I have my reservations. The steady influx of money and people will slow at some point. How will the city manage with mostly local money? The idea that Mr Florida has somewhat backed away from his original thoughts on the matter may have a chilling effect on further implementation of said ideas. Again only time will tell if the current plan will continue to bear fruit for the residents of Portland.

[khyron]

Originally Posted by usaf_1832

Ha! Interesting title of a thread.

It's the title of the original piece as it appeared in The Atlantic:

Why Middle-Class Americans Can't Afford to Live in Liberal Cities - The Atlantic

[khyron]

When I first saw this, I wondered where Portland fell in terms of the metrics they were discussing (since it doesn't show up on any of the abbreviated "best" and "worst" lists). I clicked through to the original Atlantic article and then clicked through to the original Trulia data and if anyone else would like to save their time here's the result:

Portland, OR

% of homes within reach of middle class, May 2014 (Trulia) 52%
Median size of affordable homes, square feet (Trulia) 1,450
% of homes within reach of middle class, May 2013 (Trulia) 65%
Median household income (Census) $58,323
Maximum affordable home price, rounded (Trulia) $287,000
% of homes within reach if head of household has high school education or less, May 2014 (Trulia) 20%
% of homes within reach if head of household has some college or associate degree, May 2014 (Trulia) 43%
% of homes within reach if head of household has bachelor's degree, May 2014 (Trulia) 71%
% of homes within reach if head of household has graduate's degree, May 2014 (Trulia) 81%

source: http://info.trulia.com/download/Trul...s_May2014.xlsx

[Squidlo]

Originally Posted by khyron

When I first saw this, I wondered where Portland fell in terms of the metrics they were discussing (since it doesn't show up on any of the abbreviated "best" and "worst" lists). I clicked through to the original Atlantic article and then clicked through to the original Trulia data and if anyone else would like to save their time here's the result:

Portland, OR

% of homes within reach of middle class, May 2014 (Trulia) 52%
Median size of affordable homes, square feet (Trulia) 1,450
% of homes within reach of middle class, May 2013 (Trulia) 65%
Median household income (Census) $58,323
Maximum affordable home price, rounded (Trulia) $287,000
% of homes within reach if head of household has high school education or less, May 2014 (Trulia) 20%
% of homes within reach if head of household has some college or associate degree, May 2014 (Trulia) 43%
% of homes within reach if head of household has bachelor's degree, May 2014 (Trulia) 71%
% of homes within reach if head of household has graduate's degree, May 2014 (Trulia) 81%

source: http://info.trulia.com/download/Trul...s_May2014.xlsx

What does this data say to you?

2 adults making 15$ an hour 40 hours a week gross $62,400. Is that middle class living?

[almostjay]

Originally Posted by Squidlo

What does this data say to you?

2 adults making 15$ an hour 40 hours a week gross $62,400. Is that middle class living?

I really just don't get it. What are these people supposed to do? Where do all of the people who work in Whole Foods and New Seasons live? Is it simply time to abandon the "dream" of owning a home? Is communal living the model moving forward?