By: Diane Benjamin
The League of Women Voters is decrying (through the bird-cage liner) the lack of affordable housing in Bloomington-Normal.
In an Editorial today some obvious flaws in logic are more than apparent.
The League claims housing should be 30% of income. That means somebody making $600 per month would need to pay $200, which isn’t available. (Exact example in the editorial)
Seriously? $600 a month? Minimum Wage is $8.25 – that means this pretend person works 73 hours a month. Divided by 4 weeks means 18 hours a week! Somebody working 18 hours a week is ENTITLED to affordable housing?
Clue: Roommates. If you can only work 18 hours a week the rest of us have no responsibility to subsidize your housing! What does pretend person do the rest of the month? I suggest a second job!
The bird-cage liner editorial writer didn’t realize the League’s example was ridiculous?
Evidently personal responsibility has no place in America anymore. (Maybe just Illinois)
The editorial went on to tie mental health to affordable housing. Mixing the two issues because you want a tax increase in both Bloomington and Normal isn’t journalism Pantagraph.
Glad the liner is transparent, the County and Bloomington should follow your example.
Sooner or later they run out of other peoples money!
Mental health seems to be the hot topic right now. The County is threatening to raise property tax if Bloomington doesn’t provide it’s share for the new jail wing and other mental health services. So, if you don’t want your taxes raised but instead want the fat out of the budget, you must not care about those with mental illness. Logic??
They can keep layering on all the tax hikes they want. I don’t care. At some point I will decide that enough is enough and move away. Hales, Sorensen, Koos, Renner and the rest seem to believe that people will always stay put, no matter how many tax hikes they put in. Sorry but it doesn’t work like that. People can and will move out of town.
I am willing to bet that as soon as Hales gets his pension he’ll move too.
Why NOT? That Japanese automaker already is. Wonder if taxes had anything to do with that? Also Cubs, Kmart, etc. ALL these folks seem to do alright elsewhere. Wonder how that happens?