I got to spend some time with my brother this weekend. He makes about 60K/year managing a branch for Enterprise Rent-a-Car. He works his ass off in what is at this point a dead end job and can barely pay the rent on his 300K (yes, he overpaid and made a dumb decision), 2BR condo in a neighborhood that could marginally be called the hood. His wife waits tables on the weekends and makes 10-12K/year to supplement while taking care of their daughter. They are scared to have a second because they know they can’t hold it together with two kids and two jobs.
My point: Even good people with decent jobs, a college education, and who are working their butts off can’t make it around here. These are also the very types of people who get displaced by social wellfare programs like this.
My other friend (SDSU graduate) has quit four different jobs in three years, has three kids, and bought a 3BR condo in Carmel Valley for a little over 100K under a low income progam. He’s a fantastic guy personally, but can’t hold it together economically. Why on earth is the government subsidizing him and the gadener while simultaneously pushing guys like my brother either out of the market, or into doing asinine things like paying 300k for a 2BR condo that’s 20 years old in the hood.
Theirs a shortage of land around here, and prices have to settle above the national average given the desirability of the area. That said, let the market do it’s work-don’t reward the irresponsible while duly penalizing the responsible with higher property prices and higher taxes.
