Affordable Housing and its Importance

Some not-so-fun facts about affordable housing:

• Since 2000, income has either decreased or stayed the same for all households except those in the highest income bracket. Those with the lowest incomes have experienced the greatest decline
• Housing prices are drastically rising
• The number of households paying over 30% of their income for housing (“housing-cost burdened”) has dramatically increased
• In 2014, the lowest wage earners were using over 80% of their income to cover housing costs

Why We Need Affordable Housing If We Want A Strong Economy

Some things that MUST be remembered when thinking about poverty and the need for affordable housing:

1. There is no international definition of the measurement of poverty.
2. Affordable housing can be very difficult to find.
3. Poverty rates continue to rise, but so does homeownership.
4. Housing leads to a healthier lifestyle.

We CANNOT view housing policy at as policy for the poor; rather, we must look at it as part of an economic growth and development strategy. As harsh as it may sound, China does this right now, forcibly moving people out of smaller towns into metropolitan areas so they can work in factories. Although this is a crude example of a possible solution, it is a policy that provides people with jobs and allows the country’s economy to grow and prosper.

7 things you should know about poverty and housing

“This requires a shift in paradigm. For me, somebody who had been in government at the state level and the county level and the city level, I can tell you that housing and urban development kind of gets pushed off to the side as programs for the poor, something that is the ‘liberal agenda’ for the city and for poor people” — Don Cunningham, President of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation