Friday's Strib classified ads had 584 vacant apartments listed: 157 renting for $599 or less and 290 renting for between $600 and $899. Sunday's paper will reflect even more. Every neighborhood has "for rent" signs displayed because many housing providers cannot afford to put ads in the newspaper.
The real problem is that we have too many people with no prospects for (or intentions of) earning money. We could build a thousand new housing units (adding to our incredible public debt) - and these people would still have no money. Many have criminal records, horrible credit histories, and/or prior evictions. No one will rent to them, not even public housing. Many young women with children have family members living in town who won't accommodate them. My sister is a nurse in the maternity ward at Fairview-University. I suggest every elected official in Minneapolis take a tour of that facility. It would break your heart to see who we are sending these newborn babies home with. Child neglect used to be a crime. What happened? Gregory Luce only tells part of the story. His example of a single mom with two children receiving $532 MFIP benefits and $269 in food stamps reflects only CASH benefits. This same woman could live in a 3 bedroom townhouse in Bloomington for $160 per month (Section 8 requires rent payments of 30% of income - no matter how small that income is.) The Federal government pays the balance. Then there is free medical care for the entire family, free transportation, free education, WIC subsidies, Headstart, and endless other publicly funded programs. A single person with no children making $8.25 per hour would take home $13,455.00 annually. A single person with four children making $8.25 per hour would take home approximately $20,000.00 annually because of the "earned income tax credit" - assuming the person filed a Federal tax return. Young women with children would have a much better life for themselves and their children if they lived with other family members, possibly friends, or Heaven forbid - one of the fathers! But they don't WANT to do that. They WANT their own place - at the expense of others. I've encountered several young women in similar circumstances looking for an apartment. They carry with them a list of available Section 8 apartments - located in Lakeville, St. Cloud, Aitkin County, even Edina. But they don't WANT to live there, they WANT to be near their buddies in Minneapolis. I say too bad. If they WANT someone else to pay their rent, they will have to live where the housing is available. Lack of affordable housing is a myth - though very profitable for some. The truth is that we have too many people with not enough money. Either we figure out a way to get them employed, or we agree to support them for the rest of their lives. Victoria Heller (30 years of accounting experience for subsidized and market rate apartments) Current apartment building owner - Ward 2 [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
