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'ri’‘ P n rtla n h (Observer
May 26. 2010
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No Housing Fix Will Work without Jobs
Folks can no longer afford to buy
econom y, w hich w ould em barrass vances and jo b exports, o ur nation
w hatever adm inistration is in office. sim ply doesn't offer as m uch decent
by W illiam A. C ollins
afford to buy anyw here. M any
C ongress has responded to co r em p lo y m en t as it used to. Incom e is
O u r country has plenty
can't even afford to rent. W orse, porate and personal housing w oes sp arser overall. M any A m ericans
o f housing. It's ju s t in the
any personal traum a can often with a foolish hom ebuyer's tax credit. are struggling to hang onto their
w rong place. T here are lots
trigger hom elessness.
As m any predicted, this becam e a houses and apartm ents. A lost jo b ,
o f houses in D etroit, East
O ur governm ent, u nfortu bonanza for folks w ho w ere p lan divorce, o r illness can push them
St. Louis and rural spots
nately, has other priorities. In ning to buy a hom e anyw ay, and for o v er the edge into the street. It hap-
w here jo b s have left. C heap. But W a s h in g to n a " h o u sin g c ris is" banks w ho needed a spurt in p ro fit
w ho w ants to settle there?
doesn't m ean a shortage o f affo rd able lending. It also enticed som e
C onversely, housing costs a for able p laces to live. H eaven forbid. people into hom e ow n ersh ip w ho
tune and is in short supply w here Instead it m eans a shortage o f m ort w on't be able to sustain it. Plus it
the econom y is strong. W ith today's gage business for W all Street and a w as expensive to taxpayers.
s te a d y d o w n w a rd p re s s u re on shortage o f sales for hom ebuilders.
A nd it avoided the m ain problem .
w ages, m any folks can no longer O r it m ay ju s t m ean a w e ak e r Fueled by steady productivity ad-
housing w as sold o f f o r tom dow n,
T oday w e only build tiny am ounts
o f it, and the budget for replacem ent
units and for Section 8 housing cer-
tificates co m m o n ly gets siphoned
o ff instead to K abul.
That's O K for m any folks, w ho
don't w ant any new buildings for the
poor in their neighborhood and
aren't keen on having such resi
dents scattered around invis
ibly through Section 8.
T hus even as our fam iliar
social structure decays and
as hardship m ounts from the
d is jo in te d e c o n o m y . C o n
gress gets political support
from average folks back hom e
not to do an y th in g about housing.
The citizens w ho bother to vote
(esp ecially sen io rs) already have a
place to live, thank you.
House is costly,
So is rent;
Next step down
Is to a tent.
pens every day.
T he last tim e our nation w as this
short o f affordable housing w e w ent
out and built som e. A lot. R ight after
W orld W ar II. Europe did it too.
O v er tim e, people started earning
m o re m o n ey and c o n se rv a tiv e s
gained political control. G overnm ent
OtherWords columnist William
A. Collins is a fo rm er state repre
sentative and a fo rm er mayor o f
Norwalk, Conn.
Hope of a Life after Prison
Court decision
steps toward
fairness
by
F rid a y N ig h t a t 7 : 0 0 p m
Services will be held a t
New Song Community Center
2511NE MIK Blvd.
Comer of NE MIK Blvd and Russell Street
Infant and Toddler care will be provided. • Doors open at 6pm for every servi<
For directions or more information, call
503-488 5481
www.mfhmportland.com
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J udge G reg M ath is
T h e U .S . S u p re m e
Court, which has in recent
years been overw helm ing
conservative in its deci
sions, show ed signs o f hum anity
w hen it ruled that juvenile offenders
under 17 could no longer be sen
tenced to life without parole for crimes
that d id n ’t result in a death.
C alling such sentences cruel and
role for som eone so young in a case
w here no one was killed seem s espe
cially harsh.
C urrently, 37 states and DC sup
port a life sentence w ithout parole for
juveniles in crim es that d o n ’t in
volve a death. Now, as a result o f
the C o u rt’s decision, those local
practices m ust change. There are
currently 129 juvenile offenders
sentenced under such laws in
the U.S.; m ore than h a lf o f them are in
Florida, a state know n for its tough
se n te n c in g law s. A t th e ir co re,
j udges across the country m ust have
realized that han d in g dow n such a
p u n ish m en t in these types o f cases
With their ruling...asks that judges
act fairly — and humanely - when
handing down sentences.
unusual punishm ent, and in viola
tion o f the C o n stitu tio n ’s Eighth
A m endm ent, the Justices ruled 6-3
in favor o f putting an end to ju d icial
punishm ents that give offenders no
hope o f a life after prison. Even
C h ie f Justice John R oberts, a noto
rious c o n serv ativ e ap p o in ted by
President G eorge W. B ush, ruled on
the side o f w h a t’s fair and decent.
At the heart o f the decision was
the case o f Terrance G raham who, at
17, w as already on parole w hen he
broke into a hom e and robbed the
ow ners by gunpoint. To be fair, it
seem s that G raham , now in his early
20s, d id n ’t learn from his first crim e
and stint in jail. H ow ever, a life sen
tence w ithout the possibility o f pa-
w as u njust and, th ough it w as le
gaily accep tab le, d ecided to go an
o th er route.
W ith th eir ruling, the C ourt doe:
not excuse the G ra h a m ’s o f tht
w orld. R ather, it asks that judge:
act fairly - and h u m anely - w her
h a n d in g d o w n se n te n c e s. Thi:
d ecisio n is a step tow ard fair sen
fencing p ractices that could give
offenders, w ith the aid o f rehabilita
tion, hope o f a life after prison
Since A m erica incarcerates more
people than any o th e r country in
the w orld, this is a step o u r country
needed to take.
Greg Mathis is a retired Michi
gan District Court Judge and syn
dicated television judge.