Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted
33 minutes ago, Iceman said:

OK.  I'll quit fucking around>  I have discussed before being in subsidized housing when I was a kid.  We lived there 4 years until my mom got situated( she had been out of the job market for 20 years and then suddenly was a single mom with 3 kids.)  Every  day was an effort to get the fuck out of there and they were decent apartments in a decent part of town, as in, there weren't crime issues or whatever.  IMHO, that is what "affordable housing" or subsidies should be for, even if there was no defined time limit, it should not run into perpetuity either.

As a taxpayer, I'm cool with that premise. Defined timelines with progress towards independence.  Crazy, I know...  The approach does not need to originate from "the gubmint has an endless supply of money."  What's reasonable?  10 years?  I know 4 isn't the answer.

I don't generally disagree with this.  And I have a similar story, except it was my mom and her mother, fleeing an abusive alcoholic.  In 1950, she had to find a way to survive, and gov't subsidized housing in S. Texas was key to that.  Not forever, but for a few years.  Once she could dig her way out, they moved on.  And the thing is, society as a WHOLE actually benefited from my mom and grandma having that safety net.  My mother was fed, sheltered, got an education, and went on to live a good life and raise a successful and productive son....who also posts on Surly (so that part is probably a wash).

Yes, there are always the stories of people who take it all for granted, stay too long, etc.  There are also counter-stories of deserving people who are just going through some shit and need an option for a time, and none is available.  No system is perfect, and we should never let perfect be the enemy of good enough.

  • Like 3
Posted

I don't know about you guys, but in an ideal case, I would like to live as far away from affordable housing as I personally can afford. Which today isn't very far judging by the new apartments going up every other block.

Because I'm a poor.

So, YIMBY! Why not?

Posted
13 hours ago, Larry T. Spider said:

Was down to 400 last time I checked. My extended family all lived there and it’s where my grandmother was raised. Don’t think I have any living relatives left there.

And to make this on topic. There’s plenty of cheap housing in the US. It’s just in the south and Midwest. Desirable places like southern Cali are always going to be expensive. People like me would move there as soon as it got cheaper and drive the prices right back up.

I had a lot of family just up the road in Spur, but there are only a couple left now.  Grandma grew up with Red McCombs there, and they dated in their youth.  When she was still with us, I used to gently tease her about what might have been had she not dumped him and married my granddad.  She was always quick to let me know that I wouldn't be around had she made that choice. 

Posted

My new thing is pro-SROs. My brother in undiagnosed mentally ill, living on the streets (in a car). I cant afford to rent him an apartment. But if a SRO were maybe $500/mo he wouldn't be on the street. And that, I believe, is better for everyone. Nobody wants an SRO around them - and I get that. So out it in some industrial zone with a bus stop. 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...