15 June 2018

Don't Complain If You Don't Ask or Don't Get Active + Don't Get Involved

We don’t lack the data, the resources, or the solutions to solve the affordable housing crisis,” . . .  We lack only the political will to fund the solutions at the scale necessary, and ensuring that all families have a safe and stable place to call home by expanding the supply of affordable housing should be a public policy priority.” . . it’s not just minimum-wage workers who are struggling with rents.
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Here's your opportunity to find and support leaders who do have the will: Who?
> In Mesa:
   4 seats on the City Council
> In the Arizona State House:
   State Senate:
   State Legislature:
> In the U.S. Congress:
   The Senate:
   The House:
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The average renter in the country earns enough to afford a two-bedroom apartment in just 11% of the nation’s counties.
“This will be an issue for the foreseeable future,. . . Seven of the 10 occupations projected to add the greatest number of new jobs by 2026 provide a median wage that’s less than the one-bedroom housing wage.” These jobs include medical assistants, personal-care aides, janitors, and waiters.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE
Housing Moves Further Out of Reach of Low-Wage Workers
A worker must earn $22.10 per hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
By  June 13. 2018 http://www.housingfinance.com

National Low Income Housing Coalition
The gap between wages and rents across the country continues to grow and will be an issue for years to come

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Wonkblog
A minimum-wage worker can’t afford a 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S.
"The economy’s booming. Some states have raised minimum wages. But even with recent wage growth for the lowest-paid workers, there is still nowhere in the country where someone working a full-time minimum wage job could afford to rent a modest two-bedroom apartment, according to an annual report released Wednesday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
. . . Even the $15 living wage championed by Democrats would not make a dent in the vast majority of states. . . Downsizing to a one-bedroom apartment will only help so much.
According to the report, a one-bedroom is affordable for minimum-wage workers in only 22 counties in five states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Those states all set their minimum wages higher than the federal minimum of $7.25.
The low-wage workforce is projected to grow over the next decade, particularly in service-sector jobs such as personal-care aides and food-preparation workers.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has tried cutting federal housing subsidies for the lowest-income Americans. As it stands, only 1 in 4 households eligible for federal rent assistance gets any help, the report said. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson recently proposed tripling rent for the poorest households and making it easier for housing authorities to impose work requirements on those receiving rent subsidies.
Here is how your state stacks up in terms of housing costs:
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