NIMBY Notebook: Habitat For Hypocrisy
Housing advocates say Marin County's Bill Duane exemplifies a vexing irony: People support affordable housing with their labor, money, and votes?just so long as it's nowhere near them.
Mon Jul. 16, 2007 11:00 PM PDT
Bill Duane knows most people can't afford homes like his $1 million bungalow on a hill overlooking San Francisco Bay. That's why the Marin County attorney volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. Until recently, that is, when the group announced plans to build two affordable duplexes just down the street from him. "Habitat usually goes into a blighted neighborhood and enhances it," Duane says. "Here, they are coming into an enhanced neighborhood and blighting it." Housing advocates say Duane exemplifies a vexing irony: People support affordable housing with their labor, money, and votes—just so long as it's nowhere near them.
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Standing beside his garden of coastal succulents, Duane, who looks like a cashmere-clad Rodney Dangerfield, spoke in nervous bursts. He fretted about a note that a retired schoolteacher had sent him inside a Monet greeting card, which began, "You are a disgrace to the human race and should be ashamed of yourself." His research revealed that the teacher's home is worth almost as much as his own. "And it's surrounded by vacant lots," he exclaimed, "so why don't you build it there?"
That, too, might be easier said than done: Marin is among the most liberal (and expensive) counties in the nation, but Duane says all of his neighbors back him. Indeed, opposition to affordable housing in the county was so fierce in the 1990s that a Marin chapter of Habitat disbanded, former members say, after finding itself unable to get a single project built in five years. On the opposite coast, in wealthy, liberal Martha's Vineyard, 10 homeowners sued earlier this year—on environmental grounds—to block construction of an affordable house for a fisherman who'd been living with his wife and children in a tent. In Boulder, Colorado, affordable-housing advocate Joni Lynch says her most strident foes were button-wearing progressives. And in the gentrifying Edgewood neighborhood of Washington, D.C., one resident who fought the construction of the low-income St. Martin's apartments nearby actually worked for a company that builds low-income apartments.
But few development projects have been more enigmatically unpopular than the Marin project, where three luxury houses will be clumped onto a 17.5-acre hill in a way that preserves most of the land as open space. In accordance with county rules, the developer set aside an acre for low-income housing. There, Habitat will build four units, two melded together to look like one Craftsman-style home, which will be sold at below-market rates to families making $40,000 to $56,000 a year (a teacher in Marin earns on average $47,000).
Duane and I climbed into his Mercedes station wagon and drove to the project site, a hillside of chaparral and grass. He'd promised me it would be obvious that congestion was already bad. A lone Toyota Prius with a "Save Tibet" sticker silently cruised by. "Usually this whole area is packed with cars," he insisted. And if I researched the matter, he hinted, I might learn that the endangered Tiburon mariposa lily grows here (naturalists doubt it), and that an Indian burial spear discovered nearby might have belonged to the county's namesake, Chief Marin (a Marin anthropologist says Duane is "reporting things that are not there"). Duane next raised an environmental justice concern: Placing the affordable housing in the shadow of million-dollar homes fosters "a slave kind of mentality."
He restarted his car and pulled up the slope of Eagle Rock Drive, past gardens of salvia, agave, and bird-of-paradise, pointing out houses already owned by minorities; as if making a point, he waved to an Asian man checking his mail. "It's a very diverse community here," he said.
Too diverse for some. Duane's neighbor, 83-year-old Edward Sotelo, who bought his $1 million property for $3,000 long before Marin real estate boomed, still laments the construction of the nearby Krueger Pines senior citizens' home. "The characters in those units are not the best kind of people," he said as he glanced in the direction of its parking lot, home to a late-model bmw and a Porsche. "People say some of them go down to the street and beg."
The multiplicity of neighborly concerns raised by nimbyists can leave housing advocates guessing what the real issue is. A recent poll by the Citizens Housing and Planning Association in Massachusetts suggests that, across party lines, most opposition to affordable housing boils down to homeowner fear of lowered property values and higher school costs.
At any rate, Duane believes that housing working-class people in high-income areas goes beyond Habitat's mandate. "There seems to be a change in the idea of what Habitat is," he says. "It reminds me of what's happened with the American Civil Liberties Union, which used to be a great institution in the '30s, '40s, and '50s. But now the aclu is saying, 'Well, we're going to represent the Mexicans and illegal aliens, rather than Americans.' They've overstepped." Duane would rather see a new group build visionary, ecofriendly communes in Marin where low-income people can share appliances such as refrigerators. "They should be creating wireless areas of tribal habitats," he says. Not in his neighborhood, though. He recommends a spot owned by the Catholic Church, several exits down the freeway.
Comments
When did it become "required" that people get to live wherever they want without making the sacrafices or progress necessary to get there? I started in a 2BR/1BA 800 ft2 box that needed a LOT of work in a neighborhood that needed a LOT of work. I have worked hard for 25 years to get to where I now live. How am I unreasonable to expect that my neighbors make some of the same efforts? Putting a $75K house next to mine gets them into a nice area without effort while devaluing my efforts to improve myself and my neighborhood. I could not afford to purchase my house now even though I have a very good career. My neighbors and I have worked to improve our area over the years and I believe that we are not "bad people" to expect that others in our neighborhood have also worked to get here.
This is not a matter of anything other than seeing benefit for sustained effort versus a sense of "entitlement" to have the same things for which others have worked without putting in the work.
It's interesting how Mr. Duane and those posting comments to the article are trying to avoid stating the truth because they fear appearing bigoted, racist, and elitist, or fear being accused of stereotyping. Well, stereotypes exist for a reason -- they are often accurate, whether we like it or not. The truth is that middle/upper-middle class people don't want the poor, minorities, immigrants, or uneducated (read that "white trash") living near them because of the damage these groups cause. Let's be honest, these groups move into a neighborhood and, inevitably, they destroy the property and drive up crime (vandalism, drug dealing, gangs, etc.). They have no respect for themselves, much less anyone/anything else. They also usually survive off of public assistance and have an entitlement mentality. No one who is well educated and hard-working wants to be near these destructive groups of people.
I agree with rycooter. I have worked hard all my life to live AWAY from people who require low-cost housing. Because of the problems they usually bring to the neighborhood, I try to avoid living near areas like that. Why the hell should anyone be subjected to this?
Since when are people who earn a teacher's wage considered undesirable?!
Wealth is not always a measure of how hard you work. More than money, I would like to leave my children with a sense that their value as citizens and individuals is not based on their wealth or the neighborhood they live in.
I did not like it at first when low income housing was built in my neighborhood, but when there was a community crisis I realized that it was good to have my neighbors.
People who feel NIMBY should be aware that there may always be someone wealthier than them who may come along and feel that they need to go.
Wow, a person who makes 40-56,000 is considered low income? I live in a working class neighborhood and I would be happy to have someone who makes that much living next door to me. These elitists who think of themselves as "liberal" and "progressive" have forgotten what it means to be liberal and progressive.
Hard to believe that Mr. Duane's and Mr. Sotelo's comments were not taken out of context. They reflect a not so subtle form of classism and racism. We live in Marin where the median home price has recently fluctuated between $900,000 and a million dollars. One has to wonder how any people in the service industry (teachers, police and fire, nurses, etc.) can afford to live here. The repercussions will only become more pronounced.
My only concern about the Habitat project is whether the inclusion of the affordable housing was an excuse to make the oversized and over priced homes on top of the parcel more palatable to the planners.
It is not about wealth or "undesireables." I would like to live in Marin myself; I cannot afford it. I also do not expect "affordable" housing to be mandated into the area simply so that I can "afford" to live there. Affordable housing is a worthy project. Put affordable housing where it is actually affordable to build and buy it. How is it "elitist" to expect others to work and sacrifice for their goals as I have done. I chose a starter house over a new car or Playstation or plasma TV, etc. Those are choices and it takes time to benefit from those choices. Delayed gratification has been replaced by the "I want; therefore, I am entitled to have - NOW!" mentality. Why, as I am paying for my home, should I also have to subsidize the "below market" home of my neighbor? Who then decides who is "worthy" of that generosity or opportunity? It took years of work and sacrafice to get into my current home and neighborhood. I earn too much to qualify for "affordable" Marin housing but FAR too little to be able to purchase at market prices. The difference is that I do not feel entitled to live there simply because it is nice and I would like it.
rycooter, speakthetruth,
To allay the fears of bigoted, racist, elitist people such as yourselves and Duane I propose three solutions:
1. Get away from the absurd and boneheaded idea of setting the value of
"houses" based on location rather than the house itself, regardless of how big or small it may be or whether they are adjacent or down the street from each other.
2. Property values can be set so that homes and/or apartments built in nice neighborhoods can be priced in order that occupants "own" the dwellings, which would make them less likely to destroy the properties and/or neighborhoods in question.
Third solution: Make more land available which would drive down the price of realestate. There is so much land being taken out of circulation by the state and especially the federal government which explains why homes that cost 35,000 forty years ago are now priced at well over 140,000 today. Case in point, how do you buy a home for 3,000 and now it be worth over 1 million dollars today? Simple, OVERVALUING OF PROPERTY, THAT'S HOW.
Either way, the selfishness of some people simply put, does not amaze me.
First refuge of those who do not think is still apparently name calling and insults. Anyone who disagrees must have a racist, bigoted cause and, because they do not agree, are obviously stupid. Two solutions only implementable by governmental fiat and a third decrying governmental interference - think about that. Expecting people to actually work, save and sacrifice for what they want does, in your estimation I guess, make me a racist, bigoted, elitist bonehead. I did not mention race, wealth or classism. All I wrote is: if you want it, work for it. To those who have written thoughtful comments, even if I disagree, thank you for your time and your thoughts. To the rest - "Doh!"
"How am I unreasonable to expect that my neighbors make some of the same efforts?"
This is an interesting question, and it was what compelled me to add my own comments.
Because, in a sense, you are quite right, Rycooter. It's not inherently unreasonable to expect that your neighbours are more or less as wealthy as you are. It's also not *entirely* unreasonable to expect that lower-income neighbours are necessarily worse ones.
These views, however, do not in the least bit represent a liberal or 'progressive' way of thinking. Where is it divinely ordained that the wealthy are the ones who 'deserve' good neighbourhoods or that they are inherently 'better' people to live near? There's nothing reasonable about property values. Plenty of people who 'make efforts' at being successful can't afford good housing, and plenty of people who have never made an 'effort' of any kind will never have to worry about housing.
Rycooter, your complaints about 'entitlement' on the part of these poor people just ring hollow. None of the people who receive HfH feel 'entitled' to it, but rather, extraordinarily grateful for their good fortune. Whereas the people who devoted their entire lives to their careers certainly do seem to feel 'entitled' to exclusive access to decent communities.
There's nothing wrong with arguing that wealthy people deserve to live with nothing but other wealthy people, and that they are 'entitled' to better communities. It doesn't even necessarily make you, Rycooter, a bad person, nor does it make Bill Duane one. However, it does certainly make you one thing: not a liberal.
And, in case you missed it in your rush to bash the supposedly 'entitled' lower-middle class individuals who receive the benefits of HfH, that's the point of the article.
Where do the folks that take care of the million dollar homes and the people who live in them live? Do school teachers, firefighters, nurses, librarians, etc commute to work in Marin on public transport? Where do they live? $50,000/year doesn't buy a BMW and a small condo in California
Who told it first? The lie, I mean, that your money, your house, and your privilege, derive solely from the sum of your diligence and effort? For all the NIMBY protesters, how many people helped you to apply and get through college? Who connected you to your first job right out of school? Did you go it cold, with no referrals, no calls to people your family or neighbors knew?
And if you are so extraordinary, Duane, you are the exception, and I have more questions. Who helped you finance your first major piece of property? Buy your latest car? Are you white? Was the banker white? Are you a man? Did you grow up wearing miniature versions of a banker’s clothes? Have you ever broken a law and not been caught? Does that really make you and your neighbors just like you better?
Duane, who will teach your grandchildren how to identify that Tiburon mariposa lily? Who will walk those hills, uprooting invasive plants? Who will teach you yoga so you can find inner peace, you hypocritical muppet? Who will put out your fires, draw your blood, build your house, police the laws you cherish, paint the paintings in your living room? No private or public schoolteacher, no member of the Marin Conservation Corps, working well overtime, no yoga instructor, can live near you. First, your NIMBYism drives out people who are the real riches of any community, as others have said before me: teachers, librarians, firefighters, artists, nonprofit workers, nurses, carpenters, students, etc., etc., etc. And, too, the janitors, the service workers…Second, your NIMBYism forces people out to places like Tracy. What good is a Prius if Marin’s workforce spends five hours in the car everyday? Is your sense of privilege worth their time with their children?
Habitat for Humanity wants to dedicate its collective resources to helping people without your invisible privileges to a portion of what was given to you—not because you worked hard, Duane, for example, but because you were born an upper middle class white man. You can’t refuse them and be anything close to what you claim to be. Don’t gild the Tiburon mariposa lily, buster. You are a scared conservative emperor, and I am sending Michael Moore to your door. Wake up, Marin’s powerful, from your soy flaxseed smoothies. Wake up before your community turns into a white marble morgue of what California might have been.
I run an affordable housing organization, and my perspective is this.
The people we build housing for do work. In many cases, they work very, very hard, at jobs that would make many cossetted middle-class professionals run screaming. They don't need lectures on how they need to work harder to get into places like Marin: they're already working all the hours God sends them. Pretending it's all about personal effort cheapens the personal effort they put in.
If housing were truly allocated by one's personal merit in American society, then we would have to assume that people's personal merit has tripled and quadrupled over the last thirty years. You could get a decent starter home in the 1960s for four times an ordinary salary. Now you need four times an extraordinary one. There is nothing intrinsically fair or meritorious about that change.
Working people now deserve the same chance to better themselves as our parents and their parents had. American society is based on the idea that you can prosper if you work hard and do right. What happens when that's no longer true, and a hereditary elite become the only people able to own property or build wealth? Is that the society we really want to have?
On a personal level, I understand why people fear having affordable housing near them. That's why affordable housing should be well designed and should fit in with its surroundings. But democracy is about larger things than what the residents of one street want or don't want: it's about the active creation of a society that offers equal opportunity to all people.
Not In My Backyard:
Well, a lot of reasoned debate going on here.
First of all, have any of you ever heard of "Sweat Equity"? Or have any connection to or have volunteered for "Habitat for Humanity"?
For those of you who answered "No...", allow me to explain. When you are "given" an Habitat for Humanity house you are REQUIRED to work a certain number of hours toward its construction, or when not able to do so, in support of Habitat for Humanity. So, "rycooter", the "without effort" isn't without effort, after all, is it? I have worked for and volunteered for "Habitat for Humanity" and have worked with those who are "being given" HfH houses. They WORK for those houses, one way or the other.
Now, "speakthetruth", "stereotypes exist for a reason" is true. They exist to confirm and reinforce the preconceptions of an individual, group or society for some purpose. The "Evil Jew" idea of Germany in WW II served the purpose of allowing the Nazi party to ascend to power on a wave of fear. The "Mexicans are lazy and stupid." stereotype addresses the fear of a growing socio-economic and political power wielded by those who were brave enough to abandon all they had, to risk death - and worse - to make a better life for themselves and their families. And so on... I trust I make this point, "speakthetruth"? Now, as to address your second point, that "they have no respect for themselves, much less anyone/anything else." How does one earn self-respect? By accomplishment, by showing that you can make the right choices and do the right things. Those who participate in HfH end up as homeowners, they have a stake in where they live. This gives them a respect for their property that having it given to them cannot accomplish. The best example I have ever heard of this idea is what I call the "Teenager's First Car" principle. If you give a teenager a car, odds are, he will abuse the privilege; make him earn the money to buy the car, and boy will he take care of it. I have observed this principle all of my life. The energy you "invest" in anything determines how much effort you put into its upkeep, and this applies in any situation. And yes, "speakthetruth" , those who "survive off of public assistance and have an entitlement mentality" do exist: I live next to them. But they aren't the majority of the people I live around; they are the exception, not the rule. Oh, and one last thing: unless you are a pure-blood Native American, you are a descendant of an immigrant, yourself; and check the demographics of the U.S. - unless you are a "pure-blood" "White" person, you aren't in the majority, you too are a minority (and if you are, well, by 2050, you won't be in the majority, either.). As far as uneducated, there is a cure for that: education.
Ok, "ccrashh", "Why the hell should anyone be subjected to this?" Good question, but let me ask you this: why should "people who require low-cost housing" be subjected to this? Do they "deserve" it because they are poor? Uneducated? One TV show I love is "Heroes", and on that show is a character named "Mohinder Suresh". In his native India, he is a well-respected , well off genetics professor. When he comes to America? Cab driver living in a crappy apartment. Sure, he's just a fictional character, but he has all too real counterparts in reality, too. Does he deserve to live in a "bad" neighborhood?
"Eric Ferguson", you're forgiven, but don't be too hasty, these people need to be heard... so that they can be made to defend their positions, and see how truly they have "built their houses on sand".
"Matthew", in a neighborhood where people can afford million-dollar houses, those who make "$40,000 to $56,000 a year" ARE the poor.
"David Guggenhime", yes, just like enabling an alcoholic.
Ah, "rycooter", it's not about being "entitled" to live there, it's about having affordable housing. I'm happy you have found affordable housing, I wish I could afford a house myself. I can't. I don't own a PlayStation, plasma TV, or even a computer; but I still can't afford a house of my own.
"Reed Richards", you bring up a good point, but why blame the government? Where is this land you speak of being taken? Sorry, but I must disagree with you on that point. The reason that people are paying more today for homes is that they are WILLING to do so, in far greater numbers. As far as uncoupling "price" from "location", well, we are talking about real estate. Where it is, IS the primary concern; if it wasn't, I'd be selling people tracts of Martian (or Three Mile Island)farmland.
Hi again, "rycooter", and no you didn't mention those points outright, but the "subtext" of your comments alludes to them: "...I believe that we are not "bad people"", "I could not afford to purchase my house now even though I have a very good career."," Put affordable housing where it is actually affordable to build and buy it. ", etc.
Ah, "tweaked", nail on the head. Thank you. However, like anything else, blanket statements are dangerous: "None of the people who receive HfH feel 'entitled' to it, but rather, extraordinarily grateful for their good fortune." I personally know a person who lives in a HfH home, and does feel 'entitled' to it and not the least bit grateful. That is: a) more a reflection of the person, as are most emotional responses, than of the situation, and b) the exception that proves the rule.
"YIMBY", well said. As much as we like to like to see ourselves as accomplishing everything solely based on "the sweat of our [own] brow", in reality, we are interdependent.
"Posted by:marthews onJuly 31, 2007 8:22:47 PM " Damn, I started writing this before you posted this, and I wish I'd waited a little bit longer; you made every point I wanted to get to at the end of my post.
I mean that do any of us think we work harder than, say an Amish farmer everyday? Or a construction worker? But a lot of us get paid more than they do; does this mean we really do "work" harder than they do? Or that what we do is more valuable than those people? Or were we given abilities and talents that these people don't have - or choose not to (or can't) pursue? For all we know, the next great genius is working in a meatpacking plant in Nebraska - is it realistic to believe that he (or society, for that matter) will benefit from his genius when he doesn't have access to the tools he needs to make use of those talents? When did how much money one earns become the de facto standard for one's worth as a person? The cost of one's house determine what level of safety and security a person is allowed to live in? Are we doomed to live our lives based on fear? Is it always going to be: "Achieve, by the standards of those in power, or else!"? Yes, I know it's "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" not "life, liberty and the guarantee of happiness" but what good is life and liberty when you live in fear all the time?
Sorry, a little off topic there... back to the matter at hand: real estate. I have never understood the whole "Oh, my God! If (x) moves in next door, our property values will go down!" Aren't a home owner's taxes based on the property's "value"? Shouldn't that be "Cool, a tax break is moving in next door!" When did we go from "A house is a place to live" to "A house is an investment that must be guarded at all costs"?
Anyway, I could go on about the presumptions of modern real estate, but I must be up tomorrow to "earn my bread" , so to speak. I'll leave you with this thought: what have each of us done to make our fellow man's journey in life easier? Or harder?
My answer?
"Not nearly enough..."
Sorry, my last post lost all formatting.
Let me try it again...
Not In My Backyard:
Well, a lot of reasoned debate going on here.
First of all, have any of you ever heard of "Sweat Equity"? Or have any connection to or have volunteered for "Habitat for Humanity"?
For those of you who answered "No...", allow me to explain. When you are "given" an Habitat for Humanity house you are REQUIRED to work a certain number of hours toward its construction, or when not able to do so, in support of Habitat for Humanity. So, "rycooter", the "without effort" isn't without effort, after all, is it? I have worked for and volunteered for "Habitat for Humanity" and have worked with those who are "being given" HfH houses. They WORK for those houses, one way or the other.
Now, "speakthetruth", "stereotypes exist for a reason" is true. They exist to confirm and reinforce the preconceptions of an individual, group or society for some purpose. The "Evil Jew" idea of Germany in WW II served the purpose of allowing the Nazi party to ascend to power on a wave of fear. The "Mexicans are lazy and stupid." stereotype addresses the fear of a growing socio-economic and political power wielded by those who were brave enough to abandon all they had, to risk death - and worse - to make a better life for themselves and their families. And so on... I trust I make this point, "speakthetruth"? Now, as to address your second point, that "they have no respect for themselves, much less anyone/anything else." How does one earn self-respect? By accomplishment, by showing that you can make the right choices and do the right things. Those who participate in HfH end up as homeowners, they have a stake in where they live. This gives them a respect for their property that having it given to them cannot accomplish. The best example I have ever heard of this idea is what I call the "Teenager's First Car" principle. If you give a teenager a car, odds are, he will abuse the privilege; make him earn the money to buy the car, and boy will he take care of it. I have observed this principle all of my life. The energy you "invest" in anything determines how much effort you put into its upkeep, and this applies in any situation. And yes, "speakthetruth" , those who "survive off of public assistance and have an entitlement mentality" do exist: I live next to them. But they aren't the majority of the people I live around; they are the exception, not the rule. Oh, and one last thing: unless you are a pure-blood Native American, you are a descendant of an immigrant, yourself; and check the demographics of the U.S. - unless you are a "pure-blood" "White" person, you aren't in the majority, you too are a minority (and if you are, well, by 2050, you won't be in the majority, either.). As far as uneducated, there is a cure for that: education.
Ok, "ccrashh", "Why the hell should anyone be subjected to this?" Good question, but let me ask you this: why should "people who require low-cost housing" be subjected to this? Do they "deserve" it because they are poor? Uneducated? One TV show I love is "Heroes", and on that show is a character named "Mohinder Suresh". In his native India, he is a well-respected , well off genetics professor. When he comes to America? Cab driver living in a crappy apartment. Sure, he's just a fictional character, but he has all too real counterparts in reality, too. Does he deserve to live in a "bad" neighborhood?
"Eric Ferguson", you're forgiven, but don't be too hasty, these people need to be heard... so that they can be made to defend their positions, and see how truly they have "built their houses on sand".
"Matthew", in a neighborhood where people can afford million-dollar houses, those who make "$40,000 to $56,000 a year" ARE the poor.
"David Guggenhime", yes, just like enabling an alcoholic.
Ah, "rycooter", it's not about being "entitled" to live there, it's about having affordable housing. I'm happy you have found affordable housing, I wish I could afford a house myself. I can't. I don't own a PlayStation, plasma TV, or even a computer; but I still can't afford a house of my own.
"Reed Richards", you bring up a good point, but why blame the government? Where is this land you speak of being taken? Sorry, but I must disagree with you on that point. The reason that people are paying more today for homes is that they are WILLING to do so, in far greater numbers. As far as uncoupling "price" from "location", well, we are talking about real estate. Where it is, IS the primary concern; if it wasn't, I'd be selling people tracts of Martian (or Three Mile Island)farmland.
Hi again, "rycooter", and no you didn't mention those points outright, but the "subtext" of your comments alludes to them: "...I believe that we are not "bad people"", "I could not afford to purchase my house now even though I have a very good career."," Put affordable housing where it is actually affordable to build and buy it. ", etc.
Ah, "tweaked", nail on the head. Thank you. However, like anything else, blanket statements are dangerous: "None of the people who receive HfH feel 'entitled' to it, but rather, extraordinarily grateful for their good fortune." I personally know a person who lives in a HfH home, and does feel 'entitled' to it and not the least bit grateful. That is: a) more a reflection of the person, as are most emotional responses, than of the situation, and b) the exception that proves the rule.
"YIMBY", well said. As much as we like to like to see ourselves as accomplishing everything solely based on "the sweat of our [own] brow", in reality, we are interdependent.
"Posted by:marthews onJuly 31, 2007 8:22:47 PM " Damn, I started writing this before you posted this, and I wish I'd waited a little bit longer; you made every point I wanted to get to at the end of my post.
I mean that do any of us think we work harder than, say an Amish farmer everyday? Or a construction worker? But a lot of us get paid more than they do; does this mean we really do "work" harder than they do? Or that what we do is more valuable than those people? Or were we given abilities and talents that these people don't have - or choose not to (or can't) pursue? For all we know, the next great genius is working in a meatpacking plant in Nebraska - is it realistic to believe that he (or society, for that matter) will benefit from his genius when he doesn't have access to the tools he needs to make use of those talents? When did how much money one earns become the de facto standard for one's worth as a person? The cost of one's house determine what level of safety and security a person is allowed to live in? Are we doomed to live our lives based on fear? Is it always going to be: "Achieve, by the standards of those in power, or else!"? Yes, I know it's "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" not "life, liberty and the guarantee of happiness" but what good is life and liberty when you live in fear all the time?
Sorry, a little off topic there... back to the matter at hand: real estate. I have never understood the whole "Oh, my God! If (x) moves in next door, our property values will go down!" Aren't a home owner's taxes based on the property's "value"? Shouldn't that be "Cool, a tax break is moving in next door!" When did we go from "A house is a place to live" to "A house is an investment that must be guarded at all costs"? Anyway, I could go on about the presumptions of modern real estate, but I must be up tomorrow to "earn my bread" , so to speak. I'll leave you with this thought: what have each of us done to make our fellow man's journey in life easier? Or harder?
My answer?
"Not nearly enough..."
I've spent years working in nonprofit housing organizations. People who need low-income housing tend to fall into two categories: (1) those who are elderly, diasbled, or otherwise UNABLE to earn more than the pittance the government gives them (2) the aforementioned teachers, government workers, etc. who earn what would elsewhere be a decent living, but in the Bay Area is not. There was a time when middle-class families could buy homes. That's not true in this area anymore. Increasing home-ownership, decreasing homelessness, and diversifying neighborhoods (by both race AND income) benefits all of us. Those who block this progress are selfish and nearsighted.
Another problem that needs addressing is that these habitat houses are not wheelchair accessible, and the builders do not even use Universal Design guidelines, which not only make these houses still liveable if a household member lands up in a wheelchair, but let's homeowners stay in their home as they age and need accessible entries and bath facilities. It is a lot less expensive to build houses with Universal Design standards at the beginning, not retrofitting existing houses after a family member needs to use a wheelchair. Why is something so elemental and simple so difficult to get Habitat's planners to understand? Every single home built by habitat should be wheelchair accessible, or easily modified. There is nothing inherently aesthetic about stairs, and even houses build in flood plains can have entrances designed appropriately.
hmmm i am trying to e mail this to myself and friends who are into habitat but cant do it why??? in nyc working poor still have dignity and often live very near filthy rich big deal. why cant habitat help, they dont give these homes away you know and the local economy does need workers no???
Wow. I live in Marin. I wonder if Duane is my neighbor! If so, let me apologize for all of us.
What horrible ignorance and prejudice I'm reading from those who have toward those who have less, or have not! It's embarrassing. But it also represents an ugly cruelty. At least conservatives are upfront with their bigotry. I was once told it was the snakes in the grass you should fear the most, not the ones you see in the open.
NIMBYism lives. Until the haves will open up our own neighborhoods to well constructed affordable housing, the classism of the nation will continue, and the revelations of Katrina will go on unabated, rarely recognized.
Quality affordable housing is not blight. Poverty is not a synonym for laziness. And the working class is not one to be shunned or feared.
Just something to think about.... I am a psychosocial medical research study coordinator, with a PhD and am an ordained minister as well. Last year, I was offered a job at a well-known research center in California, for a very reasonable salary considering what I do. I am coming from a very well respected cancer research hospital in Texas, so the job was comparable. The cost of living in California was substantially higher, so my salary offer from the place in California was also a lot higher than I am making here, putting it in to the 6-digit range.
I did not take the job in California. Why, you ask, when it was clearly a lot more money than where I am now? Well, the answer is that I have a teenage daughter, and we visited California looking for an apartment, condo, townhome, or house in which to live, that I could afford on the new salary, while still doing the things for my daughter that are very nice when you're a senior... like covering applications for college, prom gowns, senior portraits, etc. (Nothing extravagant -- just the normal things that someone who has made it through high school might really like to have as part of that Senior year.) With a 6-digit income, I could not find a SINGLE place that I could afford under the classical terms of home ownership (that a home should not cost more than 1.5 times your annual salary, or rent not more than 3x your monthly gross income). Without a home, the job seemed like a much less viable offer, and I decided to stay where I am -- now even the housing in OUR neighborhood here in Texas (in an inner-city, but well-kept neighborhood) is running more than twice what I should reasonably expect to have to pay for a 2BR house (and many of the builders are saying that they're no longer offering 2 BR offerings, because "nobody" buys a 2BR house when they can get a 4 or 5 BR house.... what does a single person or childless couple need with all that space? Talk about waste.)
What seems more sad to me than the fact that the homeowners of Marin County can't get off their high horse to allow housing to be built for some of the service and trade workers that serve their community (you know -- their teachers, firemen, policemen, etc.) to have a home in the area so they don't have to commute 3 hrs rt to work is that a home for people with incomes in the 40-mid 50 thousands range is considered "LOW INCOME housing"!!! Something is seriously wrong here.
I came to US in 2001 - got myself through all the hoops of INS/USCIS process. Got my green card in 2005 - I am well over 40 years old, East European. Last week I closed the deal - bought my first house. I still beleive that America is the land of opportunity
for the hard working and smart people. Without false modesty - I think I am much better educated and have better skills than some of my Ivy Leguae educated overpaid co-workers. I will nebvber get their salaries though being an "alien. Hard reality but once one is deciding to emigrate he/she must accept that. That is how the "system" works and I don't dream to live in Fairfield County, CT... I am happy to be starting in cheaper and mor colorful neighbourhood - but I lock my door for the night and do not leave the bicycle unlocked.
Looking around my neighborhood I see that indigenous American born citizens are much more trouble for society than the feared "immigrants". Would I move from my "hood" to a nice safe suburban community - hell NO! I would die there from boredom...
Here's the problem with stereotypes: when you categorize whole groups of individuals on the basis of a group characteristic (i.e., "those people") you remove their humanity and individuality. "Those people don't respect themselves." "Those people don't work hard." "Those people will only bring crime and trouble." Well, certainly, some of "those people" will, but some will not. They are, after all, individual human beings. Some rich people have no respect for others, especially those who are "beneath" them economically. Some rich people have a sense of entitlement, and some are devoid of basic human decency. Some are hypocritical, too. But, many are not. Same with the "poor." By the way, I wonder where I fit in. I am a university professor, but I make way less than $100,000 a year. I couldn't afford to live in Marin and I couldn't even afford my current house now. I think I would be one of "those undesirable people" from an economic standpoint, but not necessarily from a social standpoint. After all, the stereotype of college professors is that they are interested in pursuits of the mind. They aren't criminals and they don't engage in vandalism, etc. Of course, I'm Asian, too, which means that I must be a bad driver, cook smelly food, have too many relatives, be rude, speak noisily, and so on. So, which stereotypes apply? Which group characteristics necessarily identify who I am supposed to be or how I am supposed to behave?
I might say, I grew up in Berkeley (so I must be a wacko liberal), but now I live in Los Angeles (so I must be devoid of culture).
Do you get it?
There is only one addiction specifically mentioned in the Bible. All addictions are covered in "You shall have no gods before me". The only one specifically mentioned is addiction to wealth and power. And yes, we tend to measure people by that sole standard - whether it is by candidate ability to raise lots of campaign cash or the quality of people as neighbors. Getting to heaven with this attitude is possible - but it's like trying to get a camel through the eye of a needle.
Bigotry as a way of life. What can you expect from people who vote for "The Terminator" and "Dubya"? I feel ashamed to live in an era where there is no solidarity, no tolerance. I agree wholeheartedly with Eric Ferguson. Do you have to be rich to be real humans?
The real rycooder (sp) recorded the great Wooody Guthrie song "If You Ain't Got The Do Re Mi". I suggest Y'all read the lyrics. Here is the chorus.
If you ain’t got the do re mi boy
If you ain’t got the do re mi
You better go back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma,
Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee
By the way, I just built a new 400K house in rural TN next to some under 100K places and while they were starting, the neighbors came 'round tryin' find out if we might be making a place for trailers that might run down the neighborhood. Boy are they happy now.
I bet rycooter likes the National Review.
What gets me most is that the people who would get these houses are not uber-poor, low class. These are not people who are going to "lower property values." These are teachers, police personnel--college educated, not even blue collar. The hypocrites of Marin County are against SCHOOL TEACHERS? Yes, because in Marin County, school teachers and policemen are "low income" and can't afford to live there. To say nothing of the even lower paid people who type their memos, serve their fast food and clean their houses. Yes, when a 3br 2 ba brick ranch house costs a million dollars, even school teachers are "undesirable" poor.
For folks who know me, please excuse my commenting in this prototypically inflamed swath of remarks replying to a charming snatch of cyberjournalism which dug only sufficiently deep into the topic and locale to discuss it in sensationalized terms.
Suffice it to observe that the local building politics in that neighborhood stereotyped as nimby-ist long has cornered the real estate market for profit-making construction; the town ordinance prohibits granny units in the back yard. Drive thru that neighborhood or any side street over the nearby two miles of Tiburon, and observe the hundreds of servants who are pedestrians. Folks in those neighborhoods who might afford building a cottage for a sick elder in the family to live in alongside the main house are banned from doing so by town regulatory structures.
I understand the article is more about attacking liberals as disingenuous; that makes for good blog copy. But the issue in Tiburon is way far different from that. Do a survey of the closest 1,000 homes; interview owners, and ask what they think of the socioeconomic disparity between their hirelings and themselves, and whether zoning regulations are suitably modernized in that part of CA suburbs.
Or travel to the old South and ask how the servant problem was solved in the 1940s. If there is anything Marin represents it is openness to dissolve caste, innovatively.
What we should really be mourning is the co-optation of Habitat by the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition; its abandonment of ecumenically-based urban renewal; and the founding of its schismatic off shoot Fuller Enterprises, the bastard child of disgraced former CEO Millard Fuller....Marin County will obviously survive its NIMBY attack...
I have really appreciated all the comments on this article; they were informative and/or thought-provoking. Whether I agreed or disagreed with the comments, they were still very revealing about how many people view this subject. Thank you
I have a degree in architecture and have volunteered with habitat in the past - both doing designs for tiny oddly shaped lots and with a hammer and nails myself putting up homes. I wanted to comment specifically on the person "John" who griped that habitat had "lost it's inner city origins" or some such:
NEWSFLASH the poor don't just live and work in the inner city, in case you haven't read any real news lately. In fact, the rate of suburban poor is at or passing the number of urban poor, since the urban areas are being re-done into high end condos. There aren't that many "odd" or "cheap" or "underutilized" lots left in the inner cities for habitat to use - and the poor are also being driven to the suburbs by gentrification. So sorry to rain on your arrogant parade, "John" but poverty is "confined" to those places "far away from you" anymore.
And God forbid you or your kids should have contact with "those people" who ONLY make 50+ thou a year, and work those "low-end" service jobs, since, you know, they all are just so far beneath you - the teachers and nurses who are TOO STUPID to make that much money or didn't have rich parents like your kids do. Of course, we all know having rich parents makes you so much better people, why, isn't Paris Hilton what we all want our daughters to be like?
In case it hasn't occurred to you, though, the market WILL correct itself - either your property taxes will QUADRUPLE+ in order to pay a "real" salary to teachers, policemen, nurses and firemen, or your home value will crash through the floor when you no longer have fire police or ambulance service - pick one, genius.
This view of who-lives-where is completely racist. For all he knows, one of those residents could have a natural cure for a health problem of his. We are all human and all need somewhere to live. I find it ridiculous that people with money go into poor neighborhoods to build million dollar homes (Austin, Texas). How about you rich people stay out of my city so I can actually afford to live? Or better yet, why don't you all raise the minimum wage or institute a living wage so us "poor" blue-collars that operate your city day-to-day can finally pay our bills AND go to the doctor?
Thanks for not being a part of the solution.
Wow, that last paragraph was a killer!!
I read the exact same thing when I was staying in shelter (sleeping on a mat on a church basement floor but only during the hours of 6 to 7----no daytime inside for us.) I read the proposed 'end homelessness' for Minneapolis, MN mandate which perhaps you don't know is mandated by the feds primarily to force each county to provide housing for its low income (homeless) inhabitants so they don't continue to migrate to the bigger cities.
Inside that mandate was the proviso that homeless people "prefer" shared facilities like bathrooms and kitchens. They didn't ask me that. I prefer living like everyone else with a separate bathroom and kitchen.
I absolutely agree that the fear of lowered property values is the cause. I wonder just how Canada (that's our neighbor to the North) worked out their low income housing so that there are separate clusters of low income housing scattered among all manners of neighborhoods.
In my opinion it is a manifestation of our sick capitalistic system whereby our assets appreciate and create more wealth and causes a genuine fear that we cannot control our financial future when the stock market nose dives.
Would you believe that many cities, county and local governments are STILL sitting on massive debt created when they bribed gov workers to take early retirement? They have been hoping for over 10 years that the stock market would take off (see the war in Iraq and the gun-to-the-head attitude of the US in acquiring privatized oil leases.) as a solution to this vexing problem.
First it was spend, spend, spend; don't save. Then it was take out 2nd and 3 mortgages, and now that the taxpayer and property owner is between and rock and a hard place, it appears the actual goal of our government is continual warfare which produces just as much GDP as if we were actually producing things.
In one of the articles I read the author said from the point of view of a successful GDP, the most profit to be gained was that a rich man was being divorced while in the hospital undergoing cancer treatment.
Kind of scary, huh?
I was born in 1936, and from age 5, much to my luck, was raised in a economically mixed neighborhood. We rented our house, as did most of our neighbors. The landlords lived in the same neighborhood. I knew and talked with all of them, and went to the same school, and was best friends with their children.
I am now 71 and live in a gated community. With minor differences all the houses in the division(gated)are the same. I know all my neighbors, however most are lucky if they know the people next door. Poor America, poor us. I live here so the fault also is mine.
For the record, Habitat has a very strict selection process that makes it VERY different from any sort of governmental or public housing program. There's generally a committment to reside in the house for a certain amount of time, regulations on maintaining the property, and prospective owners are rigorously examined while waiting in a queue for what can be years sometimes.
Due to the process, these are not people ungratefully taking a handout or with no appreciation for what they have received, which is what sets Habitat apart from public housing efforts.
The chances that you'd have a pissy rock star millionaire moving into your neighborhood who'd have pool parties with strippers and loud music are much greater than having someone moving into a Habitat house that didn't work hard to maintain the precious gift of a house that they otherwise may not be able to afford.
Kudos to Habitat. May the richness of living near/with people of different incomes forever elude people like Duane. Amen.
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