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There
is a movement afoot in Tidewater to have local
government force developers into building
residential housing for those in lower income
brackets. In Virginia Beach there is even talk of
freezing assessments of those living in affordable
housing. All of these absurd notions point to
socialism and subsidized housing.
What
does this mean to the current homeowners who pay
the bulk of the bills to Virginia Beach? It means
that the proponents of this movement, well meaning
as they try to be, have lost sight of the fact
that what they want is for the city to transfer
wealth at the point of a gun from your pocket to
someone else who cannot afford a home.
Would
someone from Empower Hampton Roads who has read
the U.S. Constitution please point out to me where
it states that anyone is entitled to a house? The
provisions of the Constitution state that all
people have a right to earn a living to purchase a
home, but at the same time the Constitution
protects workers from taking the sweat of their
brow and wringing on the head of another who may
for some reason or another, not have the same
level of schooling, work ethics or desire to
achieve a quality of life.
The
great thing about the Constitution is that it
provides all people the same rights -- and allows
people to make stupid mistakes. Making individual
mistakes should not require others to bear the
burden of those making the errors. If you smoke
and develop lung cancer, who is to blame? If you
drink and drive and kill someone, who is to blame?
If you take a trip to Reno and lose your
retirement nest egg on those fuzzy green tables,
who is to blame? If you failed to prepare yourself
for the difficulties that life can throw in your
path, who’s to blame?
That
you failed to get an education paid for by
productive taxpayers, that was your decision. If
you decided to purchase a top-of-the-line
automobile with high interest rates and monthly
payments, who is to blame?
Instant
gratification is the culprit that prevents many
from planning their financial future wisely. So
many of this generation and the last two, left
home and entered the workforce wanting the same
level of income and living standards as their
parents, but failed to realize that that wealth
was accumulated over several decades. The first
thing they accumulated after getting into the
workforce was debt. And more debt. And the higher
the debt, the higher the interest rate. Ask any
credit card company.
As
consumers outstrip their income with additional
financial burden, an important key to the home
buying dilemma surfaces: People discover an empty
savings account. Who is to blame? Sorry chump, but
your mistakes aren't my responsibility to correct.
I would suggest that you seek a financial planner
and start over, this time using discipline as a
governor to your spending habits.
Here's
what else gets lost in the subsidized housing
mire: The ability of the recipient of selective
welfare to afford to take care of the home once
the closing is completed and the first payment
comes due. Homeowners must be able to maintain the
home and all associated expenses. The monthly
principle and interest payments are just the
start. Let's not forget escrow accounts that cover
hazard insurance -- property taxes that have
risen nearly three time the rate of personal
income, so unless the homeowner's work performance
is at the top of the scale, they'll be going in
the hole the first year in that home.
Did
I fail to mention the monthly expenses to live in
that home? An outrageous stormwater fee (rain
tax), electric, water, sewage and phone bills due
each and every month. Miss the payment and get
shut off. Then it's off to social services for
more subsidies courtesy of the taxpayer. Oh, don't
forget the maintenance of the exterior to prevent
it from becoming blighted, and that lawn mower
needed to so the city won't cite you for failing
to live up to community standards.
In
all of the recent articles written on the housing
stock and its affordability, public workers are
always mentioned as the most affected. School
teachers, fire and police seem to be the ones we
should bail out first, even though their beginning
incomes are far above the average worker in the
private sector. Why aren't the shipyard
pipe-fitters, secretaries, small business owners,
retail workers, bakery truck drivers, cab drivers,
house painters and shoe repairmen ever mentioned
first in the lineup of society sufferers?
According
to a study by the Center for Housing Policy, the
median price of a home in Richmond was $177,000,
up from $163,000 a year earlier, nearly a 9
percent increase. How many employers rewarded
their workers a pay increase three times the
current level of inflation? You know the answer.
According
to the article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch,
a licensed practical nurse in the Richmond area
makes an average of $36,495 a year, an elementary
school teacher brings home $45,275, a firefighter
makes $36,352 and a police officer makes $43,814.
In Virginia Beach, according to an editorial by
the Virginian-Pilot, the median income is
about $50,000 a year, which can cover payments on
a $150,000 house. The article went on to say the
19 of the area's 20 largest occupations pay less
than $50,000. Please don't confuse per capita
income with median income. Per capita is all
income, divided by all residents. Median income is
the range in the middle of the pack, with half
being higher and half being lower.
So,
a married couple bringing in $50K can afford a
home, but the single average wage earner cannot.
So who's to blame? No one. It's just part of life
and this wonderful system we call a Republic and
the freedom it provides for each to achieve
according to their desire and ability.
Capitalism
and free enterprise is the engine that provides
our quality of life, but it needs fuel in the form
of workers. Sometimes those workers must work two
jobs in order to survive. That's part of life. No
one has ever said that government's role was to
provide anyone success, just the freedom to
achieve it. No one ever said that the private
business sector should provide us with anything,
other than the best possible product, at the best
possible price, and when we want it. Have
government tinker with this greatest system in the
history of mankind, and it will lead to the ruin
of this nation. It will lead to price controls and
socialism.
What
can we expect next from proponents of affordable
housing who are wringing their hands and blaming
the housing market for the misfortune of others?
What about specially priced affordable cars, that
take them to affordable grocery stores where they
will pay lower prices than the rest of us? What
about a special consideration for clothing in the
local Nordstrom's department store, or food in
restaurants, haircuts, movies and health care?
Should
the affordable housing recipients be issued a
special discount card that upon flashing, will
entitle the bearer to a discount on gasoline for
their discounted cars that will take them to the
local audio-video store for a discounted
television or stereo system? I wonder if the vice
mayor of Virginia Beach will offer high-quality
bronze caskets at affordable prices or full-range
TV cable service at an affordable price. The fact
that developers and builders expect a certain
level of profit margin as a return on their
investment is part of the capitalism and free
enterprise system that needs no tinkering.
If
the fair housing advocates think their solution is
better, they need but to look in the direction the
former Soviet Union or the Great Wall of China.
Wage and price controls by government bureaucrats
who never have produced a profit or created wealth
can only lead to Marxism, a tried and true
failure. For those who still don't get the
message, the Constitution still provides you the
freedom to open your checkbook every month and
stroke a check to your church, temple or synagogue
to cover the shortfall for the unaffordable house.
Or,
if you know someone personally, give them your
check directly, but keep your hands and the hands
of government out of my pocket and away from my
checkbook.
It's
not yours to give.
--
September 11, 2006
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