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The last way to ease the affordability crunch is to flip the equation, looking at incomes and not just at housing costs. ... But earnings for low- and middle-in
by twoodfin 13y ago
The last way to ease the affordability crunch is to flip the equation, looking at incomes and not just at housing costs. ... But earnings for low- and middle-income families have been essentially stagnant for years. Declining real wages, for example, were a key reason that earlier this year, not a single home on the market in San Francisco was affordable on a teacher’s salary. This problem has led some cities to consider raising their minimum wage, but that, too, can be a long and often nasty political battle.
Can any of the left-of-center economic folk around explain the logic here? I have heard several plausible arguments for an increased minimum wage, but I haven't heard the one making the case that it will lead to increased wages at the income levels typically required to consider buying a home. If "earnings ... have been essentially stagnant for years", why didn't the last minimum wage bump have such an effect?
- nealabq 13y agoTeacher salaries in SF: http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/contract%20and%20salary%20schedules/Teachers%202012-2014%20salary%20schedule.pdf http://www.sfusd.edu/en/assets/sfusd-staff/contract%20and%20... More salary info: http://www.sfusd.edu/en/employee-resources/labor-and-union-information/contracts-and-salary-schedules.html http://www.sfusd.edu/en/employee-resources/labor-and-union-i...
- stonemetal 13y agoI believe they are claiming that when minimum wage goes up even people who make above that get a cost of living bump. Therefore the fact that minimum hasn't moved means the whole stack above it hasn't moved. I know this is true for my mother. She has maxed out the pay scale at her current employer\position. The only way she will get a raise is if she changes employers or there is a change in minimum wage in which case her current employer will bump the scale by the same amount as a cost of living adjustment.
- onezerozeroone 13y agoThere is no logic to it. If you raise the minimum wage (not necessarily a bad thing, but in terms of the effect on housing affordability...), with housing supply remaining fixed, it would either do nothing (people making FAR more than minimum wage already cannot afford a home) or demand would simply increase and prices would go up further.
- NoMoreNicksLeft 13y agoThere is no logic in politics. What matters is that they come up with a soundbite that is appealing enough to help them get elected.
- balor123 13y agoI believe this Futurama quote about summarizes it: "Hi! Today some bad things happened. One bad thing was a train got crashed in New Jersey. Wanna see? People won't be late for work though, because the governor lady said, "I'm sending in more trains!" [Another train crashes into the wreckage causing a massive explosion]"
- hashberry 13y agoThe article mentions Seattle's increasing minimum wage... but a family needs an income of $90K+ to comfortably buy a median priced home here. A high minimum wage won't increase homeownership. Lower and middle-income families simply cannot afford to buy a house in the city. Homeownership is a luxury, not a right.