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ahtasva t1_j1mgoci wrote

Reply to comment by Echos_myron123 in New push aims to end homelessness in Newark, NJ within 3 years by madsheb

The level of cognitive dissonance required to make sense of the prevailing wisdom surrounding housing is staggering.

How will we give the homeless something that does not exist? Perhaps you are not aware that there is an acute housing shortage in the urban centers of America.

50 % of the members on this board oppose private development based on bigotry against the people who will live in these new developments. The city does not want to build public housing and is actively trying to put what little public housing there is in the hands of developers.

If there are no net units added; where are the magical housing units to give to homeless people going to come from?

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Echos_myron123 t1_j1q3u6r wrote

There is no such thing as bigotry against people in luxury housing. That is ridiculous. Everyone wants more housing - we just want apartments that are affordable to everyone. 100% luxury developments are not goot for neighborhoods.

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ahtasva t1_j1u2c20 wrote

You evade the core question ; why is 100% “luxury” housing “bad” for the neighborhood? If you concede that the problem is fundamentally one of supply; then any net new units should be welcomed.

I know some of the new transplants who live in the “luxury” units personally; contrary to the prevailing wisdom on this sub; they are ordinarily Americans who took out student loans to go to collage and got a degree that enabled them to get good paying jobs. They want to be financially responsible and choose to live in Newark vs. other higher cost of living cities in the area. According to you, these people are not welcome in Newark! They should seek housing elsewhere! How is this not bigotry? wanting them to be excluded not because of anything they have done as individuals, but based on their membership of a group ( those who can afford more in rent) ; that is the textbook definition of bigotry!

Housing built to cater to this group is somehow reducing affordability; how? Either affordability is a function of supply or it is not, if it is, then any addition to the supply will help ease costs over time. If it is not, then is bigotry really the answer? I contend that it is not! My answer is to build more housing at every price point including subsidized housing for those who can’t afford current prices. Private developers say they can’t build affordable units because the economics don’t work. The state has to either call their bluff and build the units themselves or put up and subsidize the builds. It’s as simple as that! Instead, an entire industry has been build around encouraging people to hate and blame their neighbors.

Instead of holding elected officials accountable for the decades of corruption and policy failures that got us here, you want the Amazon truck driver who makes 45k a year to hate the Amazon programmer who makes 100k a year. Has it never occurred to you that both are workers, subject to the same insecurities and market forces? That both of them have more in common with each other than Jeff Bezos or his C-suite?

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Echos_myron123 t1_j1uxnw4 wrote

I can't take this seriously.

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ahtasva t1_j1uzhjq wrote

Not surprised; bigots tend to deflect when in a tight spot 😂🤣

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Echos_myron123 t1_j1v6x7n wrote

Extremely funny that you have redefined the word bigotry to mean anyone opposed to flooding neighborhoods with luxury housing.

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ahtasva t1_j1v7f74 wrote

You oppose the building of housing based on a desire to exclude those who would potentially live there. That is the text book definition of bigotry ; no redefinition required 🤣. Look it up

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