High rent and Homelessness

Murrmurr

Murrmurr

SF VIP
Location
Sacramento, California
The average household in California lives on 2 to 4 thousand dollars a month.

If you look up "average monthly income, Calif" the number is much higher because a minority of Californians earn around 300 thousand a year, and working-age people receiving disability, unemployment, or other supplemental income aren't counted because that isn't earned income.

So, the numbers are skewed.

Most households in California have earnings of 2 to 4 thousand dollars a month; $2000 if only 1 person works, $4000 if 2 are working.

Unemployed households get from around $900 to $1400 a month.

Some of those households qualify for reduced utility bills, including internet, and a food allowance that all add up to around $300 a month.

But the average monthly rent is $1200 to $1500 for a studio apartment, $1800 to $2500 for a 1 or 2-br apartment, and upwards from $3000/mo for a 2 to 3-br house with 1 or 2 bathrooms and a yard.

So it's no wonder our homeless population keeps growing, and that our newest homeless populations are not addicts and the mentally ill (yet).

(In your average Los Angeles suburbs, rents are thousands of dollars higher, and in Simi Valley they're just ludicrous.)
 

And yet predatory Wall Street real estate corporation advertise across the world to those wealthy to invest in their USA funding so they can buy up our lower class and poor mobile home parks, then jack up space rents. In fact, some publicly advertise how poor folks are defenseless sitting ducks, like it is a shark feeding frenzy. And same thing for lower income neighborhood apartments. And large Wall Street banks are all to eager to loan money to a vast army of those small businesses also doing so in order to disconnect their sorry involvement in homelessness.

Of course our politicians while taking $$$ into their back pockets from the above just blabber "we need to build more housing". And what do Wall Street construction corps ever build? Expensive upper class housing even our working middle classes can no longer afford. When was the last time one ever read a news media real estate article praising possible lowering of housing costs? No, just occasional stories about how sad it is that housing costs dropped 1%. :mad:
 
California is a real mess. I would suggest firing the elected officials in charge and replacing them with new ones with a different philosophy but that is unlikely to happen.

I see people doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. Sometimes it’s rather amusing, other times I want to cry.
 
There is a NYCHA housing project here that hasn't had cooking gas since August and can't cook.......no heat either. The tenants were offered one hotplate and a $16. gift certificate to placate them. There is no word from the city on when this will be fixed, even with media interference. Someone, anyone, please find a way to blame this on the tenants. After all, don't the poor wreck everything?
 
Lewkat said:
I'd hate to describe what low-cost housing is done to by those homeless who finally are given a place to live.
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Lew, I lived in a low-income apartment complex here in Sacramento for several years, and while some of my neighbors where absolute pigs, most weren't, and they'd get all up in the faces of the ones who trashed the laundry rooms or barbecues or playgrounds.

Plus, if the maintenance guys report on specific people for being trashy or destructive, or even just excessively noisy, management doesn't hesitate to evict them. And these evictions aren't dragged through court. When the month's rent is up, they're out.

All the low-income housing is that way here in Sac. They're all managed by an agency called Mutual Housing, and they're really good about keeping the places clean and civil. But, if not for them, I agree, those places would probably go downhill quick.
 
Pepper said:
There is a NYCHA housing project here that hasn't had cooking gas since August and can't cook.......no heat either. The tenants were offered one hotplate and a $16. gift certificate to placate them.
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Can't roll my eyes hard enough.

One good thing about the state of Calif, it has very little tolerance for "slum lords". And that's about it for the *good things*. :p
 
Myrtle said:
California is a real mess. I would suggest firing the elected officials in charge and replacing them with new ones with a different philosophy but that is unlikely to happen.
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I'm a little more optimistic. Californians are fed up. Homeless activists erected their encampment as close to the Governor's Mansion as possible. They keep getting moved and then they move back. Police can't jail them for that, and none of them are going to pay the fine if they get ticketed.

Eventually, something's gonna give.
 
Pepper said:
Is this an example of a generalized statement?
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I'm gonna butt in.

I lived in a low-income apartment for several years. It was in South Sac, a poor, predominantly minority area where gangs rule the streets. If those apartments weren't run by an organization that demands civil behavior and compliance with a long, very specific list of rules, that place would have been trashed within a year after opening.

Now, maybe that's just typical for South Sac, but I don't think so. Generational dependence on social services makes people get to feeling entitled....to a lot. My kids are more entitled to the playground than your kids. I can toss my trash wherever I want because maintenance is PAID to pick it up. I can trash the laundry room because, same reason, plus I feel like it.

I had neighbors like that. Lots of them. Fortunately, management always bothered to evict them.
 
Murrmurr said:
The average household in California lives on 2 to 4 thousand dollars a month.

If you look up "average monthly income, Calif" the number is much higher because a minority of Californians earn around 300 thousand a year, and working-age people receiving disability, unemployment, or other supplemental income aren't counted because that isn't earned income.

So, the numbers are skewed.

Most households in California have earnings of 2 to 4 thousand dollars a month; $2000 if only 1 person works, $4000 if 2 are working.

Unemployed households get from around $900 to $1400 a month.

Some of those households qualify for reduced utility bills, including internet, and a food allowance that all add up to around $300 a month.

But the average monthly rent is $1200 to $1500 for a studio apartment, $1800 to $2500 for a 1 or 2-br apartment, and upwards from $3000/mo for a 2 to 3-br house with 1 or 2 bathrooms and a yard.

So it's no wonder our homeless population keeps growing, and that our newest homeless populations are not addicts and the mentally ill (yet).

(In your average Los Angeles suburbs, rents are thousands of dollars higher, and in Simi Valley they're just ludicrous.)
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It’s truly outrageous that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It’s like the government knows who’s back to scratch.
Greed of money and power is definitely man’s worst character which leads to mega unfairness. I wish I had an answer that would actually matter but unfortunately I don’t.
 
hollydolly said:
same thing happens here often-times... many people don't treat things with respect if they haven't had to pay for it themselves..
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Just to clarify, low-cost housing in the US is not free. The rent is reduced, but it's never zero.

Reduced rent used to be set at 25% of the household's income. Then it went up to 35%. Now it isn't based on your income, it's just reduced a few hundred bucks (in Calif, anyway), and it increases when rents in general increase.

My rent for a low-income 1-br apt was $300/mo in 2016. It had gone up to $475 when I moved out early this year.

The new tenant pays $630, and her income is the same as mine. I don't know how she manages it but I know it's tough.
 
I'm not going to play the we are poorer than you card..or debate about it on this thread..I just want to say London.. and in fact so many places in the UK are very expensive places to live.... the minimum wage here is £10.42 PH and a huge part of the working poor are earning that .... you would be hard pressed to get a rented property 2/3 beds for less than £1500.. per month, and that wouldn't necessarily be in a very nice area... our Utility prices are through the roof... you can tell and that's before car costs.. food, or anything else is considered...that housing is out of reach of minimum wage earners
 
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Murrmurr said:
The average household in California lives on 2 to 4 thousand dollars a month.

If you look up "average monthly income, Calif" the number is much higher because a minority of Californians earn around 300 thousand a year, and working-age people receiving disability, unemployment, or other supplemental income aren't counted because that isn't earned income.

So, the numbers are skewed.

Most households in California have earnings of 2 to 4 thousand dollars a month; $2000 if only 1 person works, $4000 if 2 are working.

Unemployed households get from around $900 to $1400 a month.

Some of those households qualify for reduced utility bills, including internet, and a food allowance that all add up to around $300 a month.

But the average monthly rent is $1200 to $1500 for a studio apartment, $1800 to $2500 for a 1 or 2-br apartment, and upwards from $3000/mo for a 2 to 3-br house with 1 or 2 bathrooms and a yard.

So it's no wonder our homeless population keeps growing, and that our newest homeless populations are not addicts and the mentally ill (yet).

(In your average Los Angeles suburbs, rents are thousands of dollars higher, and in Simi Valley they're just ludicrous.)
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I know, it is ridiculous, and outrageous! In 2018 I started renting a nicer 2Bd apartment for $935 a month. I am on the low pay scale. That went up to $1126 a month in 2023 if we were to move out. Well, that made up my mind. I checked into lower income housing and the roof of my income had to be less than $30,000 a year to live there and pay $650 a month! I had never heard of that. I earned a little above that, but that didn't matter. Well, I found one $849 a month and I moved.
 
Murrmurr said:
Just to clarify, low-cost housing in the US is not free. The rent is reduced, but it's never zero.

Reduced rent used to be set at 25% of the household's income. Then it went up to 35%. Now it isn't based on your income, it's just reduced a few hundred bucks (in Calif, anyway), and it increases when rents in general increase.

My rent for a low-income 1-br apt was $300/mo in 2016. It had gone up to $475 when I moved out early this year.

The new tenant pays $630, and her income is the same as mine. I don't know how she manages it but I know it's tough.
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yes same here... unless people are claiming unemployment benefits, in which case they do not pay rent .. it's paid for them by the DWP

Those who work can claim some rent and council tax reductions but it's a drop in the ocean..

It's those who never worked for their home.. who are given it for free.. and don't or never have paid rent who abuse and destroy the property, knowing that if they are evicted and they have children the council has to rehome them.. again for no payment from them but a major cost to the tax payer.. and so the circle goes on. It's quite a problem in the council housing section...in certain parts of the UK
 
hollydolly said:
I'm not going to play the we are poorer than you card..or debate about it on this thread..I just want to say London.. and in fact so many places in the UK are very expensive places to live.... the minimum wage here is £10.42 PH and a huge part of the working poor are earning that .... you would be hard pressed to get a rented property 2/3 beds for less than £1500.. per month, and that wouldn't necessarily be in a very nice area... our Utility prices are through the roof... you can tell and that's before car costs.. food, or anything else is considered...
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And speaking of utilities, the average working American's rates are high because they're covering the balance of the discounts that low-income people get. Not sure I said that right but I'm sure you know what I mean.
 
Murrmurr said:
And speaking of utilities, the average working American's rates are high because they're covering the balance of the discounts that low-income people get. Not sure I said that right but I'm sure you know what I mean.
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I got on a lower payment for electricity on a monthly basis for a year and it is with a local electric company. A lot lower too! Have to do it yearly.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
It’s truly outrageous that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It’s like the government knows who’s back to scratch.
Greed of money and power is definitely man’s worst character which leads to mega unfairness. I wish I had an answer that would actually matter but unfortunately I don’t.
Click to expand...
Poor Americans are the "wealthiest" poor on the planet.

The gov't does indeed scratch the backs of successful corporations, but not successful individuals. I don't begrudge people the wealth they earn, and I don't blame them for the struggles of the poor. Blame for that rests solely with our gov't.

People do not lift themselves out of poverty by living off gov't funds, they do it through education or skills training and employment.

But even then the struggle doesn't end if rent on a simple little house is stupidly high.
 
Murrmurr said:
The average household in California lives on 2 to 4 thousand dollars a month.

If you look up "average monthly income, Calif" the number is much higher because a minority of Californians earn around 300 thousand a year, and working-age people receiving disability, unemployment, or other supplemental income aren't counted because that isn't earned income.

So, the numbers are skewed.

Most households in California have earnings of 2 to 4 thousand dollars a month; $2000 if only 1 person works, $4000 if 2 are working.

Unemployed households get from around $900 to $1400 a month.

Some of those households qualify for reduced utility bills, including internet, and a food allowance that all add up to around $300 a month.

But the average monthly rent is $1200 to $1500 for a studio apartment, $1800 to $2500 for a 1 or 2-br apartment, and upwards from $3000/mo for a 2 to 3-br house with 1 or 2 bathrooms and a yard.

So it's no wonder our homeless population keeps growing, and that our newest homeless populations are not addicts and the mentally ill (yet).

(In your average Los Angeles suburbs, rents are thousands of dollars higher, and in Simi Valley they're just ludicrous.)
Click to expand...
Going back to your original post what is your solution to the California problems that you posted?
 

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