Christian Democrats in the United States
Domestic Issues - Jobs and Taxes We demand a living wage for all workers in America and object to attempts to establish a flat tax because of the comparative value of one dollar to one's total capital. We insist on closing tax loopholes for the wealthiest people and corporations, and support tax incentives for corporate programs with substantial public benefit. America must find a way to increase manufacturing exports since service jobs add less to the economy in the long term. We support a shorter, smarter work-week for all Americans. Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
Friday, May 11, 2007
9:44 PM
The construction work employs a lot of people, but always at the expense of a small group of disenfranchised who become cast out, in a sense economically untouchable. New condos were unrealistic for most people, and rent went out of sight. (Man, and the Padres got this great "deal" where cable couldn't televise games unless the stadium sold out, so the city always picked up the tab for all the extra seats so we could see the games on T.V.)
In Los Angeles only about the top 12% of the income bracket is qualified to buy real estate. But all the surrounding cities have gone way up, and then traffic from distant cities multiplies the time people spend in cars. The distances are too great to make trains convenient unless you get lucky, besides which, the earth there is full of methane pockets, and the land is already too expensive to buy back for a large surface train system. And let me tell you, getting across L.A. on the bus takes a whole long time, even though it is the best bus system in the country.
A fully free competition model for real estate with an ever-growing land value is not feasible without greatly raising the minimum wage or subsidized housing, because there isn't anywhere to live for working people who drive the trucks and cook the food and clean up afterward. In California at any rate, it seems like the housing cost has gone so far beyond the minimum wage that no one stuck at that wage can get out. The system makes an eddy, a whirlpool at the bottom level that greatly increases the obstacles set in the way of getting out.
People of conscience ought to ask themselves if together we can provide people a way out when we refresh our urban centers with redevelopment construction. The success of our economy does not depend on working a small group of people to death, and we shouldn't punish people more who were trying to get their lives back together and get into houses.
redevelopment and gentrification
In San Diego the new stadium in the 1990's was used to redevelop one of the worst neighborhoods downtown, but the few poor people who had managed to get themselves an apartment down there were pushed right back onto the streets as the new projects went in... the new door was slammed in the face of anyone who had been trying to do right.The construction work employs a lot of people, but always at the expense of a small group of disenfranchised who become cast out, in a sense economically untouchable. New condos were unrealistic for most people, and rent went out of sight. (Man, and the Padres got this great "deal" where cable couldn't televise games unless the stadium sold out, so the city always picked up the tab for all the extra seats so we could see the games on T.V.)
In Los Angeles only about the top 12% of the income bracket is qualified to buy real estate. But all the surrounding cities have gone way up, and then traffic from distant cities multiplies the time people spend in cars. The distances are too great to make trains convenient unless you get lucky, besides which, the earth there is full of methane pockets, and the land is already too expensive to buy back for a large surface train system. And let me tell you, getting across L.A. on the bus takes a whole long time, even though it is the best bus system in the country.
A fully free competition model for real estate with an ever-growing land value is not feasible without greatly raising the minimum wage or subsidized housing, because there isn't anywhere to live for working people who drive the trucks and cook the food and clean up afterward. In California at any rate, it seems like the housing cost has gone so far beyond the minimum wage that no one stuck at that wage can get out. The system makes an eddy, a whirlpool at the bottom level that greatly increases the obstacles set in the way of getting out.
People of conscience ought to ask themselves if together we can provide people a way out when we refresh our urban centers with redevelopment construction. The success of our economy does not depend on working a small group of people to death, and we shouldn't punish people more who were trying to get their lives back together and get into houses.
> detail, links and comments >>
Comments:
Links to this post:
<< HomeArchives May 2007 / September 2008 / October 2008 / November 2008 / December 2008 / February 2009 / September 2009 /