California's forty-year "just say no" anti-housing campaign simply cannot be sustained while retaining functional cities, towns, and a state as a whole.
Or to put a twist on the tired argument: propertyowners and banks have no right to an ever-accellerating rate of asset inflation if it renders both society and economy unsustainable.
(That housing is now a crisis across the US, and in numerous other countries, doesn't diminish this argument at all.)
The median home price is $800,000, over 10x the median income of $75,235 (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/CA)
This isn't 100,000 people, an entire city's worth of people, who would prefer a shorter commute. It's 100,000 people, an entire city's worth, 40,000 families, a generation of children, who need a roof over their head, a bathroom, a kitchen, places to study and rest.
Your comment utterly ignores and misrepresents the reality.
I understand that there is a huge worker shortage in the US, and that the bus leaves twice a day.
When my wife and I were getting started, we moved to a city with a lower cost of living. We renovated 2 fixer upper houses over almost 15 years. I did most of the work myself. Two years ago we finally had enough equity to get the house we really wanted. We paid $850k for a house on the east coast in a nice area. We don’t have ivy degrees or come from privilege. We worked really hard for a long time. There were times when it was really really hard. I’ve been on unemployment. I’ve been a single parent of two toddlers for months on end, multiple times, while my wife was away for work. I’ve worked shifts and barely saw my wife for months. I’ve had to grit my teeth and stay in a job for years with an abusive boss, who suffered from a personality disorder, because there were no other options to pay the bills…
My response to all those who have been priced out is: what have you done to move yourself forward? What have you tried? What have you sacrificed? Because if I can do it, it’s possible. And I don’t feel bad about opposing zoning changes so others can just coast in on what I had to earn.
Spars suburbs do no one any good other than those fortunate enough to be wealthy enough to live in places that end up being subsidised by high-density neighbourhoods, often home to poorer residents.
What?
