Seven Reasons To Reject The "Affordable Housing" Bond

By Walter Moore - July 31, 2006

The proposed "affordable housing" bond would increase your property taxes for 20 years in order to repay, with interest, a $1 billion bond. You should vote against it, and tell your friends to do the same, for seven reasons:

1. It's Robin Hood In Reverse

Should you be taxed to help someone who earns more money than you buy a home? If this bond passes, your money could be given to people with six-figure incomes to help them buy homes! Do you make a six-figure income?

Most government housing assistance programs are supposed to help the poor. Section 8 housing subsidies, for example, are given only to those families that make less than $34,500 per year.

The so-called "affordable housing" bond, by contrast, includes $250 million in subsidies for people who earn up to 150% of the AMI (i.e., the "area median income"). That means your money will go to a family of four that earns $103,968 per year!

Or how about this one: a young lawyer, who makes $46,189 a year working as a clerk for a federal judge, and her husband, while still in law school, could get your money to help pay for a new condo. Two years later, the two of them could be raking in $200,000 a year in private practice. Would it give you a warm, tingly feeling -- knowing that you've helped make "affordable housing" a reality for these needy kids? Let's hope so, because you'll be paying for this bond for 20 years.

2. No Bond Is Needed Since Revenues Are Up $700 Million Per Year

Let's put aside for a moment the question of whether we should use your money to help other people buy or rent housing here. Assuming we should, do we need a new bond to pay for it? The answer is "no."

The City's revenues are way up. The City is taking in $700 million more this year than it did last year. In other words, if you left all spending at the same levels as last year, you would have a $700 million surplus.

The "affordable housing" program to be funded by the proposed bond, however, will cost an additional $100 million per year, for 20 years -- the first 10 years is for the program itself, and the second 10 years is for the interest on the bond.

Hence, we took in enough extra revenues this year alone to pay for the first seven years of the proposed "affordable housing" program. So why not, say, just use $100 million of the extra $700 million this year, and avoid incurring any debt or paying any interest? After all, a $1 billion bond is really a $2 billion because you, the taxpayer, repay the principal plus the interest.

Put another way: since we just got a $700 million per year raise, we don't need to take out the City Hall credit card to pay for a $100 million per year purchase.

3. Eleven Fingers Is One Too Many

Another reason to vote against this bond is that we already have scores of federal, state, county and city programs to help people rent or buy housing. A partial list includes, for example, the following:

California Housing and Community Development (HCD)
California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA)
California Debt Allocation Committee (CDLAC)
California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC)
Federal Housing Programs
HUD Programs
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
Consolidated Plans
HOME Investment Partnerships Program
Homeless Assistance
HUD Subsidized Multifamily Programs
Public Housing | Conventional Housing
Public Housing Authority (PHA) Plans
Section 8 Programs
Shelter Plus Care
Rural Housing Services (FmHA)
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)

Los Angeles County's Community Development Commission has a Home Ownership Program ("HOP") that "provides loans up to $60,000 or 25% of the purchase price in designated target areas, or $50,000 or 20% of the purchase price in non-target areas, which ever is the least." And get this: "HOP loans are 0% interest loans. No repayment is required until home is sold, transferred, or refinanced." You can get such a loan, moreover, even if your income is $73,200 per year!

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), moreover, has more than 8,000 apartments in over 60 locations including large public housing projects and apartment buildings scattered throughout the City.

The City also has a program, called the "Mod 120 Homebuyer" program, to "loan" up to $105,000 to people making up to $109,000 per year -- and it's no interest, no payments until you sell or refinance.

And federal spending on housing assistance is up, up, up. In 2001, the federal government spent over $30 billion on housing assistance, and by 2005, that figure climbed to nearly $38 billion per year, according to a report released by the Heritage Foundation in February 2006.

So why should add yet another program, instead of "beefing up" one already in existence?

4. The Elevator Is Full

Nearly 4 million people already live in the City of Los Angeles: 3,819,951 as of 2003. Exactly how many more people do the proponents of this bond measure want to cram into the city?

City planners are aiming for a 30% population increase by the year 2030 -- which would be another 1,145,985 -- for a total of 4,965,936. Is that what we want for our city's future? More traffic, more demand for power, more demand for water?

Anyway, the bond's proponents say their goal is build 20,000 new units. If they put, say 4 people in each unit, that's 80,000 people -- less than 7% of the projected "need." So you can expect, if you approve this bond, to hear more pleas in the future, so that the city can be "affordable" to the remaining 93% of the additional 1.1 million they want to jam into our city.


5. Reality 101: Not Everyone Can Afford To Live Everywhere

The choices we make in life affect our housing options. Generally speaking, the more education you get, the harder you work, and the more carefully you select your parents, the better. Those circumstances influence how much money you'll make, and what housing options you will have.

Not everyone can live everywhere. Even well-educated, hard-working professionals who scrimp and save may never be able to afford to live in Beverly Hills, Malibu, or Palos Verdes. That circumstance, however, does not mean those cities have an "affordable housing" crisis. Rather, it is simply life.

Likewise, as noted above, nearly four million people manage to live here in L.A. But that does not mean everyone else who wants to live here can afford to do so, nor does it mean there's a public interest in trying to help them move here.

Those with more to spend may want to consider the 10 cities and communities with the highest median home prices in California during June 2006: Beverly Hills, $1,877,500; Burlingame, $1,725,000; Manhattan Beach, $1,575,000; Los Altos, $1,543,500; Newport Beach, $1,347,250; Saratoga, $1,309,000; Mill Valley, $1,294,500; Palos Verdes Estates, $1,225,000; Orinda, $1,207,500; La Canada Flintridge, $1,150,000.

Those with less to spend may want to consider the following counties, where the median prices are as indicated: Riverside County, $420,000; San Bernardino County, $365,000; Sacramento County, $370,000; Fresno County, $306,000; Kern County, $283,000; and Tulare County, $262,000.


6. L.A. Prices Are Par For The Course

The proponents of the "affordable housing" bond throw around a variety of numbers intended to show that housing prices in Los Angeles are exceptionally high. However, statistics from comparable cities and, indeed, from California at large, show that prices here are pretty much par for the course.

According to the California Association of Realtors, as of June 2006, the average price house of a house in California was $575,800, while the average price in Los Angeles was $580,140 -- a difference of just $4,430, less than 1%.

As for the percentage of people who rent rather than own their homes, census figures indicate that 61.4% of L.A. residents rent. The figure for New York is 69.8%, and the figure for Chicago is 56.2%

As for the cost of living, in June 2006, Mercer Human Resources Consulting reported the results of its survey, which "covers 144 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment."

Moscow was the most expensive big city, with a score of 123.9; New York was No. 10, with a score of 100. L.A., however, was behind Tokyo, London, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, Zurich, Milan, Rome, Beijing, Tel Aviv, Helsinki, Vienna, Sidney, Taipei -- you get the idea. Los Angeles was No. 25 on the list, with a score of 86.7.


7. "Nonprofit" My Hind Leg: The Proponents Want Your Money

You will hear at least $1 million worth of advertising, most of it from so-called "non-profit" groups, to convince you to vote for this bond. Indeed, one of the City Council Members supporting the bond says a political committee called "Homes for Los Angeles Families" has already raised over $600,000, and that backers expect to raise $3 million.

Well, people who can't afford an apartment likewise can't afford a $3 million advertising campaign. So don't fall for the old "non-profit" trick. The fact that an organization is "non-profit" does not mean there is any altruism involved. On the contrary, for-profit businesses often set up a "non-profit" organization to urge legislation from which they could profit.


With $2 billion at stake -- $1 billion in principal and another $1 billion in fees -- you can bet local businesses are hoping to profit significantly from the forced redistribution of your money for the next 20 years.

* * *

You're over-taxed as it is, and you're already paying for scores of programs to help your fellow citizens rent apartments and buy homes. This particular proposal, moreover, would tax you to help those who make more money than you do. The City already has $700 million more of our money this year than it did last year. So say "no" to this bond, and don't feel guilty about it for a nanosecond. Pay off your own mortgage, and let others pay off theirs.

Hatfield's - Re-building the Illusion

Hatfield's
7458 Beverly Blvd (@ N. Vista)
Los Angeles, 90036
323.935.2977
www.hatfieldsrestaurant.com

** a year ago today, chameau went north, south, eat west **

tags :: food : and drink : american california french : restaurants : reviews : los angeles

Sunday Evening Sena

The governor of California , Arnold Schwarzenegger , is pushing for a drug discount plan , is this all talk or is this something coming in the works?

The City Council's proposal for the November ballot to increase their term limits is being called the 1 million dollar term by the daily news.

The Governor of California and Antonio Villaraigosa attend a pro-isreal rally- Antonio Villaraigosa saying" We are here to support Isreal's right to exist". There were counter protestors . I will post if there were any discrepencies in tretment of counter protoestors if they become available on the blogger circuit.

In local blogging news : Emergency workers were out in force today to help keep the homeless hydrated and cool.

Valeri Godines Speaks and writes baout her MAnic Depression

Fishbowl LA gives us some insight into the writing of a manic depressive pulitzer prize Runner Up who found out she had MAnic Depression and tells it like it is in her series on suffering with Mental Illness.

Now , didn't I tell you that even Journalists can suffer with MEntal Illness. Especially in my posts about our friend from the LA Times who has a form of diminished capacity in relation to that word arrogance which I think needs to be added to the DSM-IV. After reading his articles and the interactions I have had with him.

Anyway, I will be reading her articles on the situation. No need to be ahsamed if we have a mental illness. For those of us who are comforatble with it and are not ashamed to speak about it so others can come to terms with it ; I think it is important to continue to speak out about it.

It seems to me that just because we have a mental illness doesn't mean we are considered not to be credible sources of infomation her sources thus far have not questioned her abilities to write.

Another photo to Identify the Sexual Predator in Downtown Los ...

This photo was posted at his flickr page.

the things that Jaime Green does:

1. He has no shame in posting that he goes to angels flight park or what others call it bunker hill park below California Plaza to pick up young homeless Latino males .

2. Buys weed and other drugs and lures young Latino males into the Southern Hotel at 412 E. 5th street where he lives to get them high and inebriated so he can take advantage of them.

3. Buys weed and other illicit drugs to give to the many young Latino men he meets and becomes their supplier , selling from out of his room 103 in the Southern Hotel at 412 E. 5th street ,Los Angeles , California 90013.

4. Before I knew what my rights were and reported him to SRO housing Corporation, and the LAPD, for touching me and harassing me by touching me in my privates and then claiming that I was mentally ill. so who would believe me;he stopped , but he still tries to pick up my friends who visit the Hotel . He finally stopped trying to talk to me and trying to show me filthy pictures of male on male sex. He showed me many pictures of young Latino men who he would get high and then take pictures of their genitals . He even has a picture of himself inserting his penis into one of them on his supposed art work at his flickr photo page. After he showed me these things and then he tried to give me drugs , he didn't know I don't use drugs , I no longer wanted anything to do with him. The LAPD have been notified and are watching him. Be careful out there.

His MO is to pretend to be an upstanding member of the community in order to make people think he is a nice person , he has been known to tell others that those, such as myself, who have complained about him, have threatened the lives of others whom he tries to get to be on his side and defend him. He displays all of the characteristics of a sexual predator with anti-social and psychopathic behavior. He has no conscience . He is only afraid of one thing: gettig caught. Once he is caught he begins to claim he is older than he is and injures himself and claims he has some sort of terminal illness; This is called malingering , probably a trait he has had for a very long time.

these include :

Terminal Prostate Cancer-told many people on Newdowntown he had to go to the hospital for a whole weekend for surgery but was here the whole weekend


Kidney Disease and dialysis -
told another group he had to go to dialysis when he does not have dialysis.

Immune response from chemo tratments- after I had exposed him on my blog for the first time , he followed me around showing me his back and saying the peeling skin was as a result of chemo treatment for cancer- it was bad sunburn.


He will also claim that those who speak up about him are being homophobic. He has been known to tell people that I am in love with him and since he spurned my love this is my way of getting back at him. Which is totally erroneous.


5. He will continue to do these things as long as no one speaks up about his proclivities for the perverse and claiming that since he is a senior citizen he can do whatever he wants.

6. Central City East / Skid row is full of sexual predators who prey on the mentally ill and those in Recovery. It is malicious. Both men and women are targets of these perverts. Many are not registered and because of the way they are allowed to do prey openly here -in this community- there are many registered sex offenders , but many still live here for only one reason ; the easy pickings for their perversions.

summary:

We must get the Children out of Skid Row. Jan Perry and the Board of supervisors are correct. If a big strong veteran such as myself has been preyed upon think about how vulnerable the children are.

Another photo to Identify the Sexual Predator in Downtown Los ...

This photo was posted at his flickr page.

the things that Jaime Green does:

1. He has no shame in posting that he goes to angels flight park or what others call it bunker hill park below California Plaza to pick up young homeless Latino males .

2. Buys weed and other drugs and lures young Latino males into the Southern Hotel at 412 E. 5th street where he lives to get them high and inebriated so he can take advantage of them.

3. Buys weed and other illicit drugs to give to the many young Latino men he meets and becomes their supplier , selling from out of his room 103 in the Southern Hotel at 412 E. 5th street ,Los Angeles , California 90013.

4. Before I knew what my rights were and reported him to SRO housing Corporation, and the LAPD, for touching me and harassing me by touching me in my privates and then claiming that I was mentally ill. so who would believe me;he stopped , but he still tries to pick up my friends who visit the Hotel . He finally stopped trying to talk to me and trying to show me filthy pictures of male on male sex. He showed me many pictures of young Latino men who he would get high and then take pictures of their genitals . He even has a picture of himself inserting his penis into one of them on his supposed art work at his flickr photo page. After he showed me these things and then he tried to give me drugs , he didn't know I don't use drugs , I no longer wanted anything to do with him. The LAPD have been notified and are watching him. Be careful out there.

His MO is to pretend to be an upstanding member of the community in order to make people think he is a nice person , he has been known to tell others that those, such as myself, who have complained about him, have threatened the lives of others whom he tries to get to be on his side and defend him. He displays all of the characteristics of a sexual predator with anti-social and psychopathic behavior. He has no conscience . He is only afraid of one thing: gettig caught. Once he is caught he begins to claim he is older than he is and injures himself and claims he has some sort of terminal illness; This is called malingering , probably a trait he has had for a very long time.

these include :

Terminal Prostate Cancer-told many people on Newdowntown he had to go to the hospital for a whole weekend for surgery but was here the whole weekend


Kidney Disease and dialysis -
told another group he had to go to dialysis when he does not have dialysis.

Immune response from chemo tratments- after I had exposed him on my blog for the first time , he followed me around showing me his back and saying the peeling skin was as a result of chemo treatment for cancer- it was bad sunburn.


He will also claim that those who speak up about him are being homophobic. He has been known to tell people that I am in love with him and since he spurned my love this is my way of getting back at him. Which is totally erroneous.


5. He will continue to do these things as long as no one speaks up about his proclivities for the perverse and claiming that since he is a senior citizen he can do whatever he wants.

6. Central City East / Skid row is full of sexual predators who prey on the mentally ill and those in Recovery. It is malicious. Both men and women are targets of these perverts. Many are not registered and because of the way they are allowed to do prey openly here -in this community- there are many registered sex offenders , but many still live here for only one reason ; the easy pickings for their perversions.

summary:

We must get the Children out of Skid Row. Jan Perry and the Board of supervisors are correct. If a big strong veteran such as myself has been preyed upon think about how vulnerable the children are.

Another photo to Identify the Sexual Predator in Downtown Los ...

This photo was posted at his flickr page.

the things that Jaime Green does:

1. He has no shame in posting that he goes to angels flight park or what others call it bunker hill park below California Plaza to pick up young homeless Latino males .

2. Buys weed and other drugs and lures young Latino males into the Southern Hotel at 412 E. 5th street where he lives to get them high and inebriated so he can take advantage of them.

3. Buys weed and other illicit drugs to give to the many young Latino men he meets and becomes their supplier , selling from out of his room 103 in the Southern Hotel at 412 E. 5th street ,Los Angeles , California 90013.

4. Before I knew what my rights were and reported him to SRO housing Corporation, and the LAPD, for touching me and harassing me by touching me in my privates and then claiming that I was mentally ill. so who would believe me;he stopped , but he still tries to pick up my friends who visit the Hotel . He finally stopped trying to talk to me and trying to show me filthy pictures of male on male sex. He showed me many pictures of young Latino men who he would get high and then take pictures of their genitals . He even has a picture of himself inserting his penis into one of them on his supposed art work at his flickr photo page. After he showed me these things and then he tried to give me drugs , he didn't know I don't use drugs , I no longer wanted anything to do with him. The LAPD have been notified and are watching him. Be careful out there.

His MO is to pretend to be an upstanding member of the community in order to make people think he is a nice person , he has been known to tell others that those, such as myself, who have complained about him, have threatened the lives of others whom he tries to get to be on his side and defend him. He displays all of the characteristics of a sexual predator with anti-social and psychopathic behavior. He has no conscience . He is only afraid of one thing: gettig caught. Once he is caught he begins to claim he is older than he is and injures himself and claims he has some sort of terminal illness; This is called malingering , probably a trait he has had for a very long time.

these include :

Terminal Prostate Cancer-told many people on Newdowntown he had to go to the hospital for a whole weekend for surgery but was here the whole weekend


Kidney Disease and dialysis -
told another group he had to go to dialysis when he does not have dialysis.

Immune response from chemo tratments- after I had exposed him on my blog for the first time , he followed me around showing me his back and saying the peeling skin was as a result of chemo treatment for cancer- it was bad sunburn.


He will also claim that those who speak up about him are being homophobic. He has been known to tell people that I am in love with him and since he spurned my love this is my way of getting back at him. Which is totally erroneous.


5. He will continue to do these things as long as no one speaks up about his proclivities for the perverse and claiming that since he is a senior citizen he can do whatever he wants.

6. Central City East / Skid row is full of sexual predators who prey on the mentally ill and those in Recovery. It is malicious. Both men and women are targets of these perverts. Many are not registered and because of the way they are allowed to do prey openly here -in this community- there are many registered sex offenders , but many still live here for only one reason ; the easy pickings for their perversions.

summary:

We must get the Children out of Skid Row. Jan Perry and the Board of supervisors are correct. If a big strong veteran such as myself has been preyed upon think about how vulnerable the children are.

CRA approves Gateway Project

Today at the Memorial Coliseum the CRA approved the Gateway Project which Urban Partners is in the process of building.

In a hearing that pitted Conquest and Urban Partners Shammas group against each other', accusations of Urban Partners receiving special treatment with not having to abide by creation of more parking , height requirments etc being hurled .

It seems that the people at Urban PArtners , a contractor accused Conquest of having a vendetta and lying about what they were presenting.

Bernard PArks was present to present his case for the Gateway project as well as representatives from Antonio Villaraigosa's office were also there to show their support for the project .

To me it was like watching a feud between the developers , both being members of the CCA. The CCA also supports the project. The competing developer accusing the Shammas Group of getting special treatment while the developer of the Tuscany had to abide by all of the rules set in place by the CRA.

The CRA used what it called an overiding consideration balancing the benefit to the community over the detrimental effects in the EIR as their way of approving the project. One Commision member stating that it was not the fault of the Developer for the parking problems and that they should not have to bear the burden for the parking problems of a whole community , but that it was the fault of the City of Los ANgeles for not having a parking policy in place.

Another point of contention was the living wage versus prevailing wage in the voluntary conditions that the Developer was agreeable to.

100% prevailing wage for the constructuon workers with a union opt out , because the CRA can not impose a developer to accept and only hire Union Workers.

There is more , but i have to go. Interesting turn of events.

I will post later.

I put my name on a speaker card against so that the opposing team could have time to have their voices heard , I also wanted to hear what they had to say. So for today , I was actually on the other side of the table although Jan Perry and Bernard PArks apporved and support the project.

I do have some problems with the parking situation especially at night , and especially single women having to walk that far to get to the parking structure.

I will post later.

Lakers to aim higher next season

By JOHN NADEL
AP SPORTS WRITER

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The Phil & Kobe reunion worked out well, with no apparent glitches. And outside of an ugly finish, so did the Los Angeles Lakers' season.

As for the future, Lakers fans probably shouldn't expect much roster shuffling or a championship contender very soon. The hope is, a title shot isn't too far away.

"We were all about getting to the playoffs and make some noise in the playoffs. We met our goal," coach Phil Jackson said Monday during a break from conducting exit interviews with his players.

The Lakers went 45-37 for an 11-game improvement over the previous season, and took a 3-1 lead over the Phoenix Suns before losing the last three games to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

"We're pleased. We maintained from day one that was achievable," general manager Mitch Kupchak said of a return to the postseason.

But Game 7 was ugly from start to finish - a 121-90 victory by the Suns.



"They're holding themselves responsible," Jackson said of his players. "I have to make them let go of that. The first four games were pretty good."

And the last three weren't.

"We think our future is very bright," Kupchak said. "The good news, really, is this team is together. You cannot predict a major change.

"This is not a stellar year where you're going to see eight to 10 stellar free agents available. We're in the exact same boat as 25 or 26 other teams are in. We have a big window two years from now."

That that might be when something big happens in free agency that makes the Lakers viable championship contenders.

"I wouldn't discount it a year or two down the road. I'm not prepared to say that, although I think that's a possibility," Kupchak said of returning to elite status.

Added Jackson: "Usually you have to go two or three rounds of the playoffs before you can compete for a championship. "We have some core ingredients that are pretty good."

The Lakers have three legitimate big men in Chris Mihm, Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum. Bryant is a superstar and Lamar Odom is an All-Star caliber player.

The biggest question mark is in the backcourt. Bryant's 35.4-point average was the NBA's best in 19 years, but the youth and inexperience of starter Smush Parker and top reserve Sasha Vujacic hurt the Lakers against the Suns.

"The question is, are we good enough at that position? Are we experienced enough? Both of them made strides this season," Jackson said. "We don't believe we have to have a superstar come in for us to advance (in the playoffs). We know we have enough physical talent, we have enough size, we have enough expertise to compete."

Kupchak said he didn't anticipate a major trade this offseason, but did acknowledge a possible need for an upgrade in the backcourt.

The Lakers, well over the salary cap, have only three unrestricted free agents on their roster - veterans Devean George and Jimmy Jackson and rookie Devin Green. George was a key reserve on this team.

"He's probably the one challenge we have during the offseason," Kupchak said. "Basically, the core of this team is intact."

George said he was going to explore free agency.

"I just let them know that I enjoyed being here and I'm open to coming back," he said.

Jackson, who coached the Lakers to three championships in five years, returned this season after a year off. He wrote a book slamming Bryant while he was gone, so there was intrigue upon his return. When training camp started, all eyes were in the record-setting coach and his star player. But no problems surfaced.

"We worked together really well this season," Jackson said. "It was remarkable, from Hawaii on. I think at first, it was like, `How's this going to work?' He really took to the offense, where he was going to play in it. It was a remarkable year for him."

Jackson said Bryant did an especially good job with leadership.

"Kobe was a lot more personable for us this year, was great as a leader," teammate Brian Cook said. "A lot of people did a lot of growing up. Everybody got along from the standpoint of off the court - just a great group of guys."

Bryant said he believes the Lakers grew up.

"When you go through a season like we went through and a playoff series like we went through, those are big steps in our development process," he said. "When we come back next season, you'll see a team that executes better, understands better, is better in pressure situations, is just mature."