Heller writes: > Everything that is subsidized is regulated by someone. > Everything that is subsidized has limited availability.
This blatantly NOT true. Cities, States and Feds subsidize corporations at obscene rates and none of it is regulated, and when we attempt to do so, the seek and get waivers from those regulations. I will not put a litany here of the examples, but downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul are rife with them. Ethanol subsidies, petroleum subsidies, farm subsidies, development subsidies are all handed out nothing by way of regulation. Even when we have regulated monopolies, like NSP (Xcel) and Reliant Energies (Minnegasco), ratepayers are saddled with capital expenses incurred in facilities expansion when stockholders are let off the hook for what should be their investment. Then there's Qwest. There is nothing curtailing the availability of these subsidized industries save the availability of decent customer service. I'm amazed at this presumption. Subsidized housing is a pittance as a drain on the public pocketbook that these trillion-dollar corporations are; yet the screaming by conservatives diverting our attention from those massive trough-eaters is ignored while the mantra of jobs, jobs, jobs is chanted to justify that pocket-picking behavior. Our cities are in dire need of housing that provides more than simple shelter: it needs to provide dignified places to live, rear a family in a healthy climate and feel the same sense of safety the rest of us feel in our comfortable middle to upper class homes. Millions have been made by private landlords who receive the subsidies Ms. Heller cites. The words affordable and housing together now serve as code words for people of color occupying housing built with public help. And that is a no-no for many communities who want "those people" out of their neighborhoods and towns. The same people who suggest that good schools and low taxes are necessary have been unwilling to provide either. "Good schools" too often means subsidizing private schools and education not adequately funding public school and education, and yet it's the public school realtors cite as the drawing card for their sale pitch, and the condition and quality of those schools are the ones cited as reason to buy in a community or neighborhood. Low taxes by themselves are not the reason people make decisions to live somewhere. Property taxes go up mostly when values go up, not when rates are set. If values are going up it's because neighborhoods/communities are in demand. Andy Driscoll Saint Paul ------ "The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, remain neutral" --Dante > From: "Victoria Heller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2001 11:38:52 -0600 > To: "Mpls Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [Mpls] Land Trusts - Freedom rather than serfdom > > > In other words, only a few people get the goodies, and their future is > determined by political whim. > > I would rather find a way to help people AND give them freedom of choice. > > For example: Providing down payments that would be repaid without interest > when the house is sold. The bookkeeping for this could be simple - it > would just appear as a deferred property tax lien. > > In the case of people needing apartments, we could provide "a performance > deposit" so that private sector housing providers wouldn't be afraid to take > a chance. This would help people get housing immediately and help our small > businesses fill up a lot of nice vacant apartments. > > The formula for attracting private investment into the Minneapolis housing > market is simple and has three components: Low taxes, good schools, safe > streets. > > Vicky Heller > St. Paul > > _______________________________________ > 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 > _______________________________________ 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
