Flailing morons who insist on trying to force basic economics into their agenda when it simply doesn't pencil out in the real world.
It costs money to build housing. Lots of money per unit in the middle of a major city given land prices combined with zoning restrictions. Land isn't about to get any cheaper, so if you want units to cost less you have the option of a) upzoning them, or b) subsidizing them, the former of which is free and the latter of which either takes money from other parts of our budget or necessitates yet another increase in taxes.
IH was predicted to fail, and then it fails, and these assholes double down insisting it *must* be a "bedrock" part of Portland's housing policy. And then they turn around and veto a project already approved by the design commission that would have brought a ton of new housing online. And veto another project that would have brought hundreds of new units online. This is like the liberal equivalent of conservatives insisting over and over again on cutting contraception and funding abstinence "education," thinking that will magically drive down teen pregnancy and birth rates when THAT IS NOT HOW THE REAL WORLD WORKS.
Instead of dicking around with failed policies that will always fail (IH, rent control, long-term tax breaks that are just another way of spelling the word "subsidy"), just throw the money at housing vouchers for low-income folks so they can pay their rent right now instead of waiting for a handful of affordable units with a mile-long waiting list to qualify. It's a much more straightforward and immediate way of accomplishing the same damn thing. And then quit making it so fucking hard to develop new units.
Well, Euphonius, Wheeler and the Council have yet to provide us with any metrics whatsoever defining what exactly constitutes a "crisis," they simply declared it. Meaning we won't know if or when the "crisis" is over, or whether any policies the Council implements are effective or counter-productive towards solving the "crisis," so the use of quotes is very appropriate here because as it stands it is a made-up term with no actual meaning in the context of City policy.
It's a continuing mystery why the Mercury continues to permit FlavioSuave to rule over its comment sections. There was a time when there was an exchange of ideas, and while it may not have always been as civil as it could have been, it mostly worked to permit varied perspectives. Then Flavio arrived, his opinions became the only ones allowed and everyone else left. Think about it, Mercury.
Nobody is deleting anyone else's comments, Euphonius, so how are other opinions not "allowed"? You are very welcome to your shitty opinions! I'm sure the Mercury is also grateful for your click-through engagement, even if all of your comments are ad hominem attacks instead of actual arguments. :)
Upzone the whole city! The only way to solve an undersupply problem is by building more housing. The fact that we have building height limits downtown is absurd, and the fact that City Council voted against a 17 story building downtown to preserve rich peoples’ views is worse.
It costs money to build housing. Lots of money per unit in the middle of a major city given land prices combined with zoning restrictions. Land isn't about to get any cheaper, so if you want units to cost less you have the option of a) upzoning them, or b) subsidizing them, the former of which is free and the latter of which either takes money from other parts of our budget or necessitates yet another increase in taxes.
IH was predicted to fail, and then it fails, and these assholes double down insisting it *must* be a "bedrock" part of Portland's housing policy. And then they turn around and veto a project already approved by the design commission that would have brought a ton of new housing online. And veto another project that would have brought hundreds of new units online. This is like the liberal equivalent of conservatives insisting over and over again on cutting contraception and funding abstinence "education," thinking that will magically drive down teen pregnancy and birth rates when THAT IS NOT HOW THE REAL WORLD WORKS.
Instead of dicking around with failed policies that will always fail (IH, rent control, long-term tax breaks that are just another way of spelling the word "subsidy"), just throw the money at housing vouchers for low-income folks so they can pay their rent right now instead of waiting for a handful of affordable units with a mile-long waiting list to qualify. It's a much more straightforward and immediate way of accomplishing the same damn thing. And then quit making it so fucking hard to develop new units.