Mark Snyder said: >So how do you sell folks on these ideas? The numbers alone won't do it. >You'll need to come up with an argument that is good enough to overcome the >cynical reactions, the emotional responses and the NIMBY syndrome.
Bill Cullen Responds: The answer is two fold: 1) Jim Graham is right. Help low income families purchase houses. Their investment will help them escape poverty and give them emotional investment in the neighborhood. It will cost less than $158,828. 2) For the low income families that do not want to (or can't) purchase a home, help them pay for rent in the form of "rent stamps." In that case, there is no NIMBY because there is no government identified locations. The contract is between the landlord and the tenant (with partial payments from the city). The waiting list for a section 8 voucher is so long that they no longer even put names on the list. But instead of increasing funding to a program like section 8 (or "rent stamps"), we fund poverty pimps to build "affordable housing" that concentrate poverty and require on-going subsidies. Remember this: If we subsidize the rent for a low income family, then ALL RENTAL HOUSING IS AFFORDABLE. It opens up EVERY neighborhood. Bill Cullen Hopkins & Uptown. P.S. Thanks to Jim Graham for the "Poverty Pimps" name. I like it. :) TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
