Affordable Housing Pittsburgh

It’s that time of year! Time for the African American Heritage Day Parade! Get your chairs ready!

A reminder…

COVID has us really behind, everyone, the sites at the bottom of this page won't be up until we're up and running again. Tshirts have been discontinued until further notice.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness Finland saves about 15,000 euros, about $15,000, per former homeless per year by providing them with housing. If they are able, of course, they pay rent.

'It’s a miracle': Helsinki's radical solution to homelessness Finland is the only EU country where homelessness is falling. Its secret? Giving people homes as soon as they need them – unconditionally

I also learned a new fact in my business ethics class in my MBA, master's program...it would only take 1%-2% of global GDP, $400 billion for the U.S., and $1.7 trillion a year total for the world, for the whole world to fix climate change. People pay more than the recommended 25% of their income for housing, so why can't the world get its s**t together? They really should mention that fact on TV. Of course, with inflation, the number of people using more resources, and so on, the figure might fluctuate to, I'm guessing, like 3% of the world's GDP. ...But still.

"Average rents rose 14 percent last year, to $1,877 a month, with cities notching increases of as much as 40 percent."

Even before this spike, rent was already unaffordable for too many. It's time to make long-overdue investments into affordable housing. https://wapo.st/3s852xq

https://aninjusticemag.com/what-if-we-converted-old-shopping-malls-into-homeless-shelters-c0c78a293a8b.

What if We Converted Old Shopping Malls into Homeless Shelters? If only we had a strategic society

https://apnews.com/article/climate-voting-rights-joe-biden-business-voting-04901c8ab44af4db019d590fa7524d86

Well, no s**t--the system has been broken for a long time. The way to fix it is to, ironically, embrace freer markets with a larger welfare state--that's how you defeat far-right extremists while making people happier. The word 'welfare' has a negative connotation in the U.S.

In the rest of the world, welfare simply refers to basic services that are provided so that people have the basic necessities of life. It's not rocket science, it's a simple concept to understand. What's the point of paying taxes if a lot, if not most of it, goes to fund war? And no, I'm not saying that the Pentagon should be defunded entirely. I do believe as an American that America plays a pivotal role in global security. I'm simply saying that we should make a conscious and prescient choice to not fight unnecessary and costly conflicts that only enrich the few at the expense of the many, and only results in more war by feeding hate that gives rise to groups like ISIS or Al-Qaeda

Far fewer people would be extremists with that remedy. And no, I don't mean SNAP or heating assistance, I mean universal education from pre-k to college for people who should actually go. Universal education should also include other paths to a decent life, not everybody necessarily needs to go to college. Help people to help themselves!

I also mean healthcare, good wages, safe and decent workplaces, vacation time, paid family leave, paid medical leave, the list goes on. I also mean enforcing anti-trust laws and breaking up monopolies. Without college debt, healthcare, and housing to worry about, we'd likely experience greater growth in the markets, have happier people, have cheaper goods and services, the list of benefits goes on and on. It also goes to say that I do not advocate 'open borders,' and believe that people should be vetted before coming into the country. I don't mean excluding people just to exclude people, however. But that is a view that I won't necessarily be able to explain thoroughly in this post.

Biden backers 'not seeing the results' a year into his term | AP News NEW YORK (AP) — Just over a year ago, millions of energized young people, women, voters of color and independents joined forces to send Joe Biden to the White House. But 12 months into his presidency, many describe a coalition in crisis.