This evening, Stevil at http://auto-de-fey.blogspot.com/ sent me an article from the paper about the cuts to Section 8 Voucher Housing. Because of the Congress hijinks with the sequester and the defunding of so many things, those who've had affordable housing with government subsidies will lose all but ten percent and their rents will go to market value. What this means is that the retired, disabled and the poor will no longer be able to afford their apartments and will either have to pay 90% of market price somehow or be homeless.
In dollars, this means that the $750 one-bedroom apartments that are subsidized for half the rent (low income tenant pays $375, subsidy pays $375) for a 750 dollar a month total, will now cost the tenant $675, with a subsidy of 75 dollars. In this area, rural and low-wage as it is, $750 per month is where rents start for a one-bedroom. The average retired person gets a Social Security pension of $15,000 per year. You can do the math.
This means that 6,800 households in Vermont are facing homelessness. The old, the sick, the poor of all ages and who knows how many souls. Because household doesn't just mean one person. It can mean an elderly couple, or a family with children. We could, in 3 months, have anywhere from 10-25 THOUSAND or more homeless people in our state. And all because of Congress' refusal to do right by us, their constituents, The People. Angry yet?
MYSTERIOUS GARDEN
10 months ago
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8 comments:
There has got to be a better word than 'angry'. They are forcing folks to choose between housing and food/medicine/clothing...the basics of life. More strain will be put on emergency services like food banks and soup kitchens and school breakfast/lunch programs and emergency shelters. What are they thinking? I'm not even an American and I'm furious.
Yep, they're forcing people to spend all their money on housing, with next to nothing left for anything else at all. Medicare pays very little of healthcare costs. Groceries are like gold. Not to mention that most housing does not include utilities, so the only thing is homelessness. And it isn't just Vermont. Every state is now de-funded. Welcome to Ayn Randland.
Austan, this is incredible. I recall early in 2012 HUD cut housing funding by 25%, now this? If it continues at this pace, and is aggravated by middle-class decline, in 3 years 1/2 of Americans will only have 1/8th of a place to live. My 1st reaction is disbelief --a distraction. It must be a distraction from something worse.
Geo.- I don't know how much more we'll stand. This pushing is going to send people over the brink in more than one way. What has happened to my country?
That is truly obscene. When did money become so important that it was considered acceptable to shaft the people who need help most. Hiss and bloody spit. Which is falling from my lips far too often at the moment.
Yeah rich white people and all the stupid, redneck !*#%s that voted them in!
EC- Money is god to today's politicians, whatever they claim. Their contributors are their masters and they see no problem with that.
Niecely, you've got that right. Stupid asses voted them in, and now we all have to pay for it.
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