A key form of storing that wealth (and removing it from the cyclical economy) is property. Often the family home is a key asset, because typically it won’t attract capital gains tax – it my home, not an investment!

So in many districts of the US, zoning laws are in place to make sure that only expensive, single family buildings can exist, even when multi-family buildings – apartment buildings of any size – would be economically viable. This is against the nature of free capitalism, and more akin to authoritarianism.

The American Prospect reports:

Exhibit A is exclusionary zoning, which outlaws the construction of duplexes, triplexes, and apartment buildings—housing that is more affordable for working-class families, many of them families of color—in affluent areas.

…In the 1970s, residents of Boston made national headlines for violently resisting school desegregation.

…Almost 50 years later, exclusion remains pervasive in the Boston area. In Wellesley, for example, which was home to the federal judge who ordered school desegregation, and where three-quarters of voters supported Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020, the population remains just 2.9 percent Black and 5.1 percent Hispanic. The median household income is $197,132.

…In the relatively diverse city of Cambridge (median household income of $103,154), for example, the zoning code states that the minimum lot size for multifamily housing is 900 square feet, while 15 miles away, in Weston (median household income of $207,702), the multifamily minimum lot size has been set at 240,000 square feet, some 267 times higher than Cambridge’s.

That’s 5.5 acres. There’s no logic behind such a rule.

The article cites other examples. Thankfully there is a chance that Biden can improve things, as the US slowly removes barriers to equality:

The House-passed version of the Build Back Better Act provides $1.75 billion for Unlocking Possibilities, a first-ever federal race-to-the-top program to provide incentives for states and localities to remove the exclusionary zoning policies that segregate Americans by race and class and make housing less affordable for everyone.

The post The Rich Cheat – Zoning Laws appeared first on Evryone.

The headline says:

People Working A Minimum Wage Job Can’t Afford Rent Anywhere In The U.S.

At local minimum wage rates, a worker would have to put in 79 hours a week, nearly two full-time jobs, to afford a modest one-bedroom rental, a report finds.

First off, the “can’t afford” is based on the concept that accommodation should never cost more than 30% of your income. As inequality shifts, this is no longer a reality – the 30% rule dates back 50 years.

Secondly, they only take into account the low income of minimum wage earners. In reality, the US is actually a quite socialist country, and the state contributes to low wage earners in numerous ways, from food stamps, to school meals, to tax credits to subsidised housing.

The study is based on minimum wage, not actual income. Many people on minimum wage receive tips, for example.

Thirdly, the study refers to “modest housing”.

The Housing Wage is based on HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), which are estimates of what a family moving today can expect to pay for a modest rental home, not what all renters are currently paying… The FMR is usually set at the 40th percentile of rents for typical homes
occupied by recent movers in an area.

40th percentile is high, and far from the cheapest available rental properties. Clearly 40% of people are paying less, however the standards might not qualify as “modest”.

And finally, it is based on people living alone. The reality is that a lot of Americans don’t leave home until their late-20s. Those that do tend to be in a relationship (shared rent costs), in college dorms, or sharing a house.

Inequality is terrible. The lowest paid are vastly underpaid. Housing is too expensive relative to income. These are inarguable.

But make sure you get the full facts when discussing this.

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