Housing Costs Too Much? Then Work More, Fort Lauderdale's Mayor Says

[ariesgem]

Developers and the city's mayor are calling a proposed affordable-housing law unfair, communistic and doomed to failure. People could afford a place to live, the mayor said, if they were willing to work harder.

The city is under pressure from Broward County to pass a law. Otherwise, the county says it won't allow another wave of construction of thousands of condos downtown. South Florida's cities recently decided housing prices had reached crisis-level highs, and Fort Lauderdale is one of the first to seriously attempt passing a law to do something about it.
>>>snip

Mayor Jim Naugle, a conservative politician serving his final term, said people are mistaken if they think they are entitled to an affordable single-family house on a 40-hour-a-week work routine. People need to work more hours and settle for a condo or townhouse, Naugle said.

"I'm supposed to subsidize some schlock sitting on the sofa and drinking a beer, who won't work more than 40 hours a week?" he asked.

"I deny that there is a problem. You can buy condos all day for $160,000."
>>>snip

"One person is working two or three jobs to get ahead and one person isn't," he said. "Should we tax the person that's working hard to get ahead to pay for the one who isn't?"

Jim Carras, head of the nonprofit Broward Housing Partnership, countered the mayor's Marx by paraphrasing President Truman.

"A decent place to live is the right of every American.


:mad::mad::mad:

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-affordable21may21,1,6426331.story?coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true

[SoCalDem]

1. People who make $10 an hour or less BEFORE taxes

cannot AFFORD even that "bargain" condo...

[NMMNG]

2. What a prat

I work two full time jobs and couldn't afford a $160,000 condo. There is a housing problem and a living-wage problem. People who live a cushy existence on the taxpayers dime shouldn't be crapping on actual working people.

[Kutjara]

3. Bread costs too much? Eat cake.

It's amazing how quickly the well-off can lose all sense of reality. To Naugle, $160k is affordable. Tell that to some minimum-wage family who also have to pay for a car or two (without which they can't get to work), more than their share of tax, food, clothes and gas. Naugle must also think that everyone has perfect credit and can get a $150k+ mortgage with a snap of the fingers. What planet does this prick live on? Oh yes, Planet Rich.

[sandnsea]

4. Goodby 40 hr work week, hello child labor

This guy should be the poster child for the 2006 election. This is who these Republicans really are, and always have been.

[ariesgem]

5. Here in Pasadena, CA

the developers are buying up every available plot of land to build luxury condos & apartments. They're starting to run out of land in the so-called "good" areas and starting to build in the lower income areas. The rents for these apartments are priced to keep out the "undesirables" and never mind what they're asking for the condos. We're talking about 500K on up.

[MSgt213]

6. You work enough hours you don't have to be crying about no house

You would never be there in the first place right Mr. Mayor. Of course if you find one of those big time executive jobs where you are way over paid in the first place you can afford a couple of those nice condos you can then rent out to poor people at over priced rent.

[depakid]

7. In the pockets of developers

I hope the county sticks to its guns....

(and I sincerely hope this asshole and his fall on VERY hard times).

[flordehinojos]

8. i wonder how much the people of ft. lauderdale pay their mayor,

and what gives him such a big ass to shit on them.

(excuse my french which i have used here intentionally and knowingly).

[WePurrsevere]

9. Maybe he suffers from sour grapes. He's NOT among the Top 100 Highest

paid employees in Ft. Lauderdale: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/acrobat/2006-05/23262944.pdf They also have a City Manager so there may be some jealousy there over power and income.

From what I could find with a quick Google the Ft. Lauderdale Mayor makes about $38.5k a year http://tinyurl.com/ggnvw which is about what the Median income of that area is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale,_Florida

Sorry if this is TMI but this Mayor is acting like such a jerk I wanted to find out if there was a motivating factor... well other then the obvious fact that he's a Republican bigot and inconsiderate jerk.

[iamahaingttta]

10. Here's what $400,000 buys you in San Francisco

http://www.sfarmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Sanfrancisco&PRGNAME=MLSPropertyDetail&ARGUMENTS=-N384319373,-N189716,-N,-A,-N3302056

And, it's in a shitty part of town!

[ariesgem]

13. That "house" looks literally like a shoe box

400K for THAT?

[tlsmith1963]

11. What a Jerk

I guess he thinks it's okay that the rich get everything & we get nothing. He's probably rich. Make him live like us & see how he feels. Asshole.:mad:

Tammy

[MikeNearMcChord]

12. What about those tax breaks and abatements

developers get, how about abolishing them or target them fo affordable housing?