Housing Rights Issue

The problems that arise from housing are numerous. Housing takes up more than half of all real property tax. Not only that, it’s also the largest issue in a family’s budget. The federal government spent $38 billion in preferential subsidies and $2 trillion on housing in total in the year 2006. Rigid zoning codes prohibit certain types of housing from being built. This prevents some citizens from being provided with homes that fit their budget and ads to the chronic problem of homelessness our communities face. Too many houses can crowd neighborhoods and make transit difficult. They can also obstruct view and, when foreclosed upon, lead to plummeting property values.

Every New Yorker has the right to a safe and affordable place to live in. New York’s shortage of affordable housing has reached a crisis point. Poor and elderly people throughout New York City are at a greater risk of homelessness and forced low-income residents do not have food or medical care to stay in their homes. A sinful structure of homelessness in New York City is New York’s shortage of affordable housing. Millions of New Yorkers are desperate to find affordable housing and tens of thousands are forced to live either in dirty shelters or on the streets. Recent data indicates that nearly 60,000 people, including more than 23,000 children, stay in the city’s main homeless shelter system (Guelpa). A small amount of poor renter households received a housing subsidy from the local government. Little assistance is being provided which means that most poor families and individuals that seek assistance

Today, I am going to speak about the affordable housing in Pittsburgh .First let me tell about why the affordable housing is preferred. People who live in affordable housing today want safe, decent housing for the same reasons that we all do. The reasons are mainly to provide a nurturing environment to raise their children. Another reason is to remain in the community where they were raised or to become part of a community in which they want to settle. Finally, to live in an attractive, safe environment that they can afford. People who need affordable housing are ones that are employed as secretaries, school teachers, local government employees, restaurant workers and sales clerks. These workers need affordable housing because of the wide gap

“Supporters of strict laws barring behavior associated with the homeless argue that allowing large numbers of homeless people to commit quality-of-life offenses in urban neighborhoods is unfair to those who work, live, and play in those neighborhoods” (“Homelessness”).Allowing homeless people to linger in communities is unjust to the people who live there and work there. “Proponents of housing first note that the cost of providing homeless people with apartments is far less than the cost of letting them remain on the street” (“Homelessness”).It costs less to house the homeless rather than to let them stay on the street. “Housing first, they contend, has demonstrated that chronically homeless people are not beyond help but just require permanent housing before they can properly address mental or physical disabilities” (“Homelessness”).Housing first will help address a homeless person’s problems and will have permanent housing for the

The American dream, the right to own land, build a home, and start a family. Unfortunately this was not always the case as Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities were discriminated from the early 60’s to the late 80’s and even still today. Segregation plagued the U.S., placing minorities in lower classes than whites, restricting certain rights and freedoms that our constitution laid by our forefathers has been implemented to protect U.S. citizens.

One of the simplest pieces of knowledge we acquire in elementary school (for future growth and development) are the three basic needs a living organism requires for living: food, water, and shelter. However, not everyone has access to all of these essentials. Homeless people are faced with awful conditions and suffer more due to poor weather conditions, diseases, and lack of safety. There hasn’t been much progress on this issue, and if this continues, the number of homeless people will only increase. In a few states the topic is being named as a “statewide emergency”, but unfortunately this problem is national. Instead of focusing on state programs, local programs and non-profit organizations to fix the housing issue, we must all contribute to ending this epidemic. The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) released an article stating, “In January 2015, 564,708 people were homeless on a given night in the United States” (Snapshot of Homelessness). We must develop a solution to end long term homelessness immediately. The best way of solving this issue is to provide stable long-term housing, which is a term used to describe the home’s environment and financial status.

One of the causes of homelessness in Baltimore City is lack of affordable housing, this includes subsidized housing from the state. Lack of affordable housing in Baltimore City is due to an increase luxury housing and Baltimore’s decrease desire for rental housing (Mayor’s Office of Human Services, 2013). Available housing is not proportional to the wages of people living in Baltimore City. Nearly half of renters in Baltimore spend 35% of their income or more on their rent. The waiting list for Baltimore City opened in 2014 and 74,000 households applied for 25,000 available slots for up to six years to own a voucher (“Homelessness in Baltimore,” 2017). For the extremely poor population there are only 42 available homes for over 100 people who identify with the population (Public Justice Center, 2015). Therefore, Baltimore needs to make affordable housing for their population or there should be an increase in jobs and wages. However, the private sector is not interested in developing houses for the low-income population because it is not profitable compared to selling a building to a company to make luxury housing (Richman, 2015).

Although most American citizens do not typically notice government programs in their daily lives, implemented policies have major effects on American citizens. It is estimated that around 1.35 million children suffer from homelessness due to their families living on the streets (Crook). With this massive housing conundrum, the United States government should increase funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Increased funding would decrease homelessness by lowering the crime rate, educating students, and improving American living conditions.

Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts that housing is a fundamental component to a decent standard of living, yet few city governments--even in the most developed economies--have proven themselves capable of ensuring such a basic right to their constituents (United Nations, General Assembly). Ranked 49th among the 50 U.S. states for its number of housing units per capita, California has notoriously struggled with chronic shortages in its urban housing market. With 118,142 homeless people recorded in 2016, California holds almost 22% of the nation’s homeless population (Fact Sheet: Homelessness in California 1).

This would prevent potential black homeowners from applying for loans, having mortgages etc. thus allowing highwaymen to prey on black families forcing them to pay the cost of buying with all the downsides of renting. Coates also points out that these racist housing practices of the decided “past” have forced North Lawndale to be “on the wrong end of virtually every socioeconomic indicator.” This has lead to a wealth gap in Chicago where “the average per capita income of Chicago’s white neighborhoods is almost three times that of its black neighborhoods.” Coates does acknowledge that life is better for blacks now but it “rests on a shaky foundation, and fault lines are everywhere.” Lastly, Coates acknowledges the impact Jim Crow has had on the lives of blacks in the states and how it furthered whites disregard for black well-being. Recounting the stories of angry, white mobs descending upon blacks in predetermined white neighborhoods, Coates displays how deeply ingrained both white supremacy and white entitlement are in society. As for Landrieu, do I think he would personally agree with

Limited access to housing, according to race and ethnicity has been around for ages. In the early years, when African Americans and Hispanic immigrants began moving into the cities, realtors would start to urge the current white owners to move out. In response the white owners would move out in fear of the new arriving people due to their race. That still, to this day, shapes the way cities are built. The problem of racism affecting housing issues is still very much relevant to this day, and may continue to be relevant until something is done.

“The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep, somewhere else another stops. The same is true of the laugh.” Samuel Beckett’s existentialist play Waiting for Godot is the perfect analogy for American citizens living in public housing. Their tears remove the tears of so many other Americans. Their tears provide jobs, housing, and a sense of superiority for so many Americans. American tax policy does not have an infrastructure that promotes positive public policy initiatives for housing Americans. Tax policies for affordable housing should be founded on efficiency in spending and effectiveness in creating good public policy. Affordable housing tax policies should encourage housing privatization. In order to create good public policy, government must understand the underlying needs of the public and must be able to adapt quicker to economic fluctuations.

The cost of real estate in America for individuals with low income have constantly been inclining due to inflation and economic discrimination. Within the urban and suburban America, members of the African-American, Mexican and Puerto Rican communities are often heavy targets from Burroughs which are comprised of low-income housing. There is a racial fix to inflate the value within the market by cheapening specific low-income housing and later inflating the price for investment by the white population (Hymonitz, 2015). Through gentrification: capital, social status, the constructed circulation of community based wealth and status, these occurrences have a profound impact on people of color.

The lack of affordable housing in the United States is a problem that doesn 't receive nearly the attention that it necessitates. This absence of affordable housing became especially prevalent following World War II when suburbanization spread across the country like wildfire. Although the sheer number of homes increased, Jim Crow segregation influenced housing policy, meaning that white institutions prevented blacks from obtaining the mortgages needed to afford such homes. Therefore, rather than accept subprime loans, which often result in foreclosure, many black people have been pigeonholed into paying exorbitant rates for dilapidated rental properties located in inner-cities, thereby creating the affordable housing problem. Although the situation seems bleak, with careful planning and execution, we can solve the affordable housing problem. Specifically, my proposal involves the following two components: the government must first revise and draft three forms of legislation that create strict yet concise standards that landlords must follow, and then allocate federal funding to health and wellness programs within poor communities. By examining the contributing societal factors to the lack of affordable housing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and then implementing the proposal mentioned above, one could potentially solve the affordable housing problem there and transpose the plan to other impoverished cities across the country.

Owning a home is a right, everyone can own one, including the homeless. These people are homeless because they were forced out or they could not afford to keep paying the bills or rent. We can make these people have a home and give them the care they need. We don’t deserve to live on the streets, we need a home to live in and relax.