What do you guys think of this - poverty in Silicon Valley?

[Anonemous]

i heard a janitor working for the city of palo alto can make 60k a year....yet that still gets you qualified for low income housing if you have a family of 4 or more.

But then the low income housing queue is in the thousands and you have to pay a yearly fee to keep your place in queue.

A coworker of mine is in low income housing and drives a Mercedes and Audi. Pays like $1,300 a month in a very nice complex that normally runs $2,500 for a 1bdrm.

edit: Took them about 5-6 months on the waiting list.

 

[Fenixgoon]

silicon valley is getting too expensive for its own good. that being said, there are cheaper places to live. i am definitely looking at places with lower COL's than Los Angeles (fuck this place...when it comes to COL at least)

 

[who?]

Aspen Colorado has a subsidized housing program for workers.
Bart service should be extended to silicon valley.

 

[Printer Bandit]

Bart service should be extended to silicon valley.

 

[xSauronx]

I feel the pain, just signed a lease for a 450sqft 1BR apartment. $2k/month.

ouch, just reading that hurts

 

[z1ggy]

obvious answer is obvious: don't have kids you can't afford

But... But sexy time feel so niiiiiiice :'(

 

[rednas]

silicon valley is getting too expensive for its own good. that being said, there are cheaper places to live. i am definitely looking at places with lower COL's than Los Angeles (fuck this place...when it comes to COL at least)

Silicon Valley is MUCH more expensive than Los Angeles.

 

[Anubis]

I feel the pain, just signed a lease for a 450sqft 1BR apartment. $2k/month.

I think my bedroom is 450 sqft

 

[rednas]

They should also have it go down the peninsula and not just the east bay. I also wish that BART offered a daily or monthly pass like many other forms of mass transit do.

 

[Nashemon]

I think it's awful. What kind of idiot would make something take that much longer to read through? Why does every sentence need a chart or graphic. Some of the stats were offensive. The author just randomly insults Romania? "National average for poverty is 20%. California is higher: 23%." OMG the horror!!!! I got through about 15 slides before just clicking through to find the end. I closed the window without ever getting there. Got bored with clicking.

 

[pontifex]

I feel the pain, just signed a lease for a 450sqft 1BR apartment. $2k/month.

LMAO! my house is over twice that size with an acre of land and costs under half that...

I don't feel any pain for you. some people are have more money than brains I guess.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

"Child Poverty" next slide
"is" next slide
"bad" next slide
"It is Expensive" next slide
"to live here"

 

[pontifex]

lol, article format sucks balls.

also, oh no, these poor kids...sounds like they wouldn't be poor if they moved somewhere reasonable...

i like that one part about tent city and kids supposedly not living there, and their proof is what looks like a few tarps and trash with a broken stroller in front of it...

 

[K1052]

They should also have it go down the peninsula and not just the east bay. I also wish that BART offered a daily or monthly pass like many other forms of mass transit do.

Why pay billions to duplicate Caltrain service?

BART needs to build a second transbay tube ASAP.

 

[JM Aggie08]

If the democrats would stop torpedoing the minimum guaranteed income bills in committee we would already have one passed into law. Maybe when we get a republican super majority....

Oh, this gon' be good.

 

[K1052]

I agree with you, housing subsidy isn't going to do it. They need to rewrite some of the building laws in the valley so that they build more high rise apartment complexes. There are too many people and not enough new housing developments. That's why rent is so expensive. They also need more low cost public transportation to transport people from low income areas to high income commercial areas so they can work the "lower value added" jobs.

1) Streamline "as of right" development and compress approvals timetable. It should not take years for an as of right development to start construction. Require cities to issue permits within a certain time frame if project is allowed by existing zoning.

2) Blanket upzone residential FAR in proximity to transit.

3) Expedite zoning decisions/permitting with less opportunity for cranks to throw wrenches into the works.

4) Amend CEQA to prevent greenmail or undue delay of development.

5) Public transportation. Aggressively expand hours and capacity on BART/Caltrain. It will cost but there is no choice.

 

[vi edit]

Even my 1st grader would have been annoyed trying to "read" that. Got through a couple slides, lost interest.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

not without gov't assistance in one way or another.

Can you GET government assistance? Yes. But everyone, no matter the income, gets some sort of 'government assistance'.

Can you GET BY without food stamps etc. in a very average cost of living location with 25k and 3 kids without getting foods tamps, government subsidized housing, or welfare benefits?

I did for years.


People who live in high COL locations just can't comprehend that an entire family can live on what they pay for their 2k/month, rat infested, hole in the wall.

 

[SSSnail]

Can you GET government assistance? Yes. But everyone, no matter the income, get some sort of 'government assistance'.

Can you GET BY without food stamps etc. in a very average cost of living location with 25k and 3 kids without getting foods tamps, government subsidized housing, or welfare benefits?

I did for years.


People who live in high COL locations just can't comprehend that an entire family can live on what they pay for their 2k/month, rat infested, hole in the wall.

Wait, what? Where's my gubermint assistance?

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Wait, what? Where's my gubermint assistance?

Did you go to a public school, to a state university, drive on roads, eat and drink and wash your body with products that weren't contaminated, while not being shot at?

The government is part of everything we do, and rightfully so, no one can take in and calculate the risks and rewards surrounding every potential decision: particularly if someone has an economic incentive to decide them.

Then there's the arcane tax-law that creates both accountants and the 20million in for-gone taxes the US government spent to let Romney run for president:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/24/opinion/mccaffery-romney-tax/

 

[rh71]

"couldn't afford to leave their jobs"

What? So live "homeless" instead? I feel bad for the kids that suffer because of stupid decisions.

As for the website interactive format - I think that full-page BS is clearly a case of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should". The world is not ready for that and never should be.

 

[Ns1]

"couldn't afford to leave their jobs"

well he could live 2 hours away from work but did not want to commute. never mind that 2 hour commute each way is status quo for many people in say, India / Japan.

 

[CPA]

Oh, Hey, let's have government take care of everything and everyone!!!! Not one f'in solution about holding parents responsible. Just hand them more money, that's it.

And, sorry, don't buy that the first family couldn't make a 2 hour commute work. Plenty of people do that.

 

[Crusty]

LMAO! my house is over twice that size with an acre of land and costs under half that...

I don't feel any pain for you. some people are have more money than brains I guess.

I also own a house in Austin... 1700sqft, $1250/mo mtg. If you saw the pile of cash that was offered to me to be out here you would take it too...

 

[Nograts]

I also own a house in Austin... 1700sqft, $1250/mo mtg. If you saw the pile of cash that was offered to me to be out here you would take it too...

How much was it :awe: