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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2018)
Street Roots • March 9-15, 2018 News FARHA, from page 10 housing for the long term, or should we be focusing on emergency support right now? Is th a ta legitimate dichotomy in terms o f human rights? how long you’ve lived there. So, if you move into a unit and you sell it in a year, you’re taxed at a really high rate. If you move in and you sell it in two years, you are taxed at a slightly lower fate; trying to prevent flipping. And whatt I guess I’m not seeing anywhere is a package. A full on, lets look at this sector, let’s look at what they re doing, let’s look at who’s being affected and let’s come up with regulations to ensure that people won’t be affected. L.F.: No. I mean, in a way it isn’t But maybe not for the reasons you think. On the one hand, there is an immediate obligation to address homelessness and eliminate it. So, it is true that resources need to be thrown there, for sure. But does that mean other things couldn’t be done? I don’t think so. I don’t like the “build affordable housing” thing because I am not sure A.A.: Given our current wWe cosld tax vacant in every case it’s so clearly a supply administration, do you see that homes so as Io prevent happening in the United States any issue in the way that people define it, people from jiis t time soon? in the way that “supply” is normally defined. What people-will say is, ‘well Investing 1» properties« L.F.: I can say that you have a we don’t have enough affordable In Barcelona^ they were president who has made his fortune expropriating vacant housing supply.’ Well that’s probably and his family fortune has been true, but why is that? Is it that you homes and «slag them made on the very thing I’m talking don’t have buildings being built, for about here: the commoditization of as a iio ria b le re n ta ls /' example? housing. Whether he could himself Most cities have new builds going initiate some reflective process, I up, so why is it those new builds are mean, he’s very well positioned to not at all affordable? And I don’t even do so. like the term “affordable” because it’s been appropriated to mean things that I don’t think it should A A.: Is putting public money into private hands a way mean. It has to be affordable to the poorest people, let’s to address homelessness, such as with Section 8 housing? put it that way. And so why is it that new builds aren’t for those people? It’s because we’ve left building to the L.F.: It could be effective; it can be effective. You private sector arid we’re not regulating that. We could can’t hand over your human rights obligations as a begin by saying every new build that goes up, every state. You can’t say, oh, I’m no longer responsible as a second floor has to have X number of units that are state because the private sector is doing this. What you actually affordable, and I don’t mean 80 percent of have to do is have the right to housing. It’s a human market value. I mean genuinely affordable, based on rights obligation that we’ve committed to. The world one’s income. We could do that. has committed to this.- But we’re giving housing over to We could take abandoned buildings and do th a t We H the private sector. But then the obligation on the state could tax vacant homes so as to prevent people from is to regulate the private sector in a way that’s" ” just investing in properties. In Barcelona, they were consistent to human rights obligations. Because when expropriating vacant homes and using them as the private sector fails to meet those obligations, fails to provide adequate housing, fails to ensure people have affordable rentals. And so there are things that could be done that doesn’t require that long-term, 20-yéar plan of access to adequate housing, the state is the one that’s building more affordable housing. Yes, we do need more in violation of the right because the state has contracted out. supply for sure, that kind of stuff hasn’t been built for a I think the public-private thing could work if states long time, especially in American cities as I understand would just regulate based on their human rights it. But 8 you leave it to the private sector, you’re never obligations, but they never do that, so that’s when it going to get the private sector to build that unless you becomes problematic. create new relationships based on some other ideas, right? Besides profit. A A.: They say we only have so many public dollars in the city. Should we be focusing on building affordable Reprinted from Real Change News, Seattle, Wash. DOUGHNUT WORD JUMBLE EMLPA >È 3 < A IPLF □ MEOHR n E Which doughnut is named a fte r Elvis Presley's entourage? ASMMOI □ a Print answer here THE Page 11 Little Things by Jaison Kirk The paper bag in my hand crinkles softly Making my way through the park slowly Finding a bench or picking a spot under a tree Opening the bag, peering inside Taking a handful, letting them rattle Already I hear the strident calls Throwing a handful into the grass Fluffy tails at attention, the squirrels gather The crows descend and grab a snack Off they zoom with what look like smiles Reaching the end of the bag Having enjoyed the show Resting a while before I go. Forecast by Daniel Cox Rejects and relics of a bygone era, icons to remember Memories to imagine I often wonder upon such teachings, what’s the story to be told. What future to behold.
