Street Roots •
Jan. 13-19, 2017
News
MORTGAGE, from page 5
Florida and Wyoming, which do not have
state income tax and, therefore, no state
deduction.
Across Oregon, many communities are
facing a housing deficit. In Portland the
housing market has not kept pace with
the number of people moving here each
year. In rural communities, a dire need
exists for simply supplying low-income
housing. The Oregon Housing and
Community Services estimates that the
state is short more than 100,000 units for
extremely low-income Oregonians.
Meanwhile, prices continue to increase
Between July 2015 to July 2016, home ’
values in the state rose nearly 12.8
percent, according to Oregon housing
bureau figures.
We know that in communities around
the state, there just are not homes at the
lower end of the market,” Adkins said.
The starter homes are just not there.
Our nonprofit members who do
homeownership counseling have many,
many qualified families who are ready to
go with steady incomes and they just
cannot find anything on the market,
whether it s in a rural community or in
Portland.”
Cleave acknowledges the imbalance
and said it’s one reason prices aren’t
likely to dip even with changes to the
mortgage interest deduction.
Oregon has one of the worst supply
and demand scenarios,” he said.
And that, housing advocates say, is an
argument for modifying the subsidy to
locus on housing options for lower- to
middle-income families.
“If not now, when?” Ordonez said. “We
are facing the most severe housing crisis
that this state has faced in quite a long
tune. And if in this type of climate you
cannot take a hard long look at what is
the biggest housing subsidy, then you
really can t do anything to improve public
policy in this state - a policy that anybody
who takes a look at it quickly recognizes
that it’s a wrong-headed policy.”
“We absolutely need a lot more
affordable housing,” said John Miller, a
Realtors and the former executive
director for the Oregon Opportunity
Network.
They re is just a complete lack of
inventory. For a Realtor who works with
the entry-level market, this would be a
huge help. If you’re not able to get people
into their game, there’s either got to be a
correction or you’ve killed your market
This would be a great benefit”
The Oregon Association of Realtors will
introduce an initiative in the upcoming
legislative session for first-time
homebuyers savings accounts. The
initiative would be similar to programs in
Colorado and Montana, Cleave said.
Regardless of that demand, Cleave
maintains that the incentive is still
needed to encourage first-time
Page 13
homebuyers in particular.
Ultimately, he said, the changes are
about a money grab to plug the state’s
budget deficit, namely by shoring up
funding for PERS - the contentious
Public Employees Retirement System.
It s not if it’s good policy or bad
policy, Cleave said. “The big issue is the
state’s budget.”
There’s no question that by the
Realtors’ surveys, the vast majority of
homeowners love having the subsidy;
however, the National Association of
Realtors 2015 report on home buyer and
seller trends noted that in addition to the
basic desire of people to own their own
home, job-related relocation or a move
were among the primary reasons for
purchasing a home. Other primary
reasons included affordability, financial
security and a change in family situation.
Tax benefits ranked 14 out of 16 reasons
published in the survey, including “other.”
What is being proposed for the state
would not affect the federal deduction.
At the federal level, lawmakers have
boasted plans to implement major tax
reforms in the coming year. According to
some media reports, the nominee for
secretary of the Treasury, Steven
Mnuchin, has said people should expect
“the largest tax change since Reagan,”
including new caps on mortgage interest
deductions.
Resentment
by Aileen McPherson
Pain insane inside my brain,
resenting self for lack of health,
restrain thé refrain or scream in pain.
Mental resental, crimes through times,
familiar fems spin yarns of men,
where their resentments win,
no matter how logically you defend.
It’s not all men is what you defend,
while others say they’re ALL to blame,
I find this logic insane.
To make a claim that all are to blame,
is a shame and game to relive pain,
that shows no gain of logic sane,
For me to resent thee, I must also resent me,
it was a specific few,
who undid my worldview.
However not you, or you, or even you,
So, I’m glad to say,
How do you do, I’m pleased
to meet you.”
joanne@streetroots. org
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