Affordable Housing - Real Estate Commissions

Here's the real definition of affordable housing:  slave quarters.  Let's just get that out there in the open, OK?  The sooner we realize we need SLAVE QUARTERS the sooner we can get over the euphemism AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

I've griped on this subject before.  Let's be real.  There is no way somebody making $20 an hour can even afford a 2 bedroom apartment in Sonoma County (if they are lucky enough to even find one) unless they live with a bunch of other people.  Sorry, but not everybody on earth was lucky enough to inherit something or have wealthy parents.

There are many reasons housing is out of reach.  I know my cute crush, Christopher Thornburg, seems to think that building more houses will magically solve our problems; however, at this point he is just a paid puppet telling the business world audience what they want to hear.  If not, they would not be paying $75 for a crappy breakfast.  If he told the truth we would all shoot ourselves after he spoke.

IMHO opinion, here are the reasons "affordable housing" aka SLAVE QUARTERS will never exist:

1.  Nobody sells their house to the lowest bidder;

2.  Real estate agents get paid by a percentage.  It's in their monetary best self-interest to keep housing prices high.  You really think they're working for the buyer?  If you believe that, I have a bridge I want to sell you.  Real estate agents want to close the deal at the highest price point you can take;

3.  NIMBY's rule.  Everybody wants to use modern slaves (cooks, gardeners, etc.) but nobody wants to embrace them into society and have them as a neighbor.  It's like enjoying all of our modern conveniences but shove off unpleasant, pollution-inducing production to China where it's not in our immediate vision;

4.  Property taxes are determined by the selling cost of a house.  I don't care how much Sonoma County says otherwise, it's in their best interests to keep housing costs high as well.  Higher the price = higher the property tax.  We all know how government employees need to keep the trough full for their obnoxious perks and pensions;

5.  Environmentalists.  People and business are bad for the environment.  The more people, the more demands for resources, the more they pollute, etc.;

6.  Sonoma County is a jewel of a place and that's why people want to live here.  Why is it special?  Because it's not overcrowded (yet) and clean.  See reason #5.  If we build more it will lose charm.  Everybody wants to live here, but it's cost prohibitive because, well, people just ruin things and we really don't want more of them around no matter how we tell the public otherwise;

7.  We need to make a decision as to whether we become San Jose North or a resort community like Carmel.  Either way, we will still need SLAVE QUARTERS;

8.  NOBODY HAS FIGURED A WAY AROUND THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND....not even cutie-pie Christopher Thornburg.

I'm not sitting here thinking I have the answers to all of this.  I don't.  All I know is that for every finger I point at things I find annoying and wrong, three are pointing back at ME.