Affordable Housing Shortages and NIMBYs Are Killing People in LA – But Private Developers Can’t Save Us

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– Homelessness and housing was a clear narrative throughout the whole issue of the LA Times this past Sunday

– Article on heat deaths of unhoused people: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-19/la-me-homeless-heat-deaths

– Other short-term solutions like cooling centers

– 5 in 12 heat deaths are homeless people

– Impact of climate change on homeless people

– Heat is leading cause of weather-related deaths

– Fluctuations in the housing market, problems for home buyers, not making things better on net

– Extreme variability in prices, games home sellers played during a better market

– Sellers starting to accept FHA and down payment assistance

– Having houses for ownership rather than rental is far more protective against homelessness and protecting wealth for the working class long-term

– Article on large-scale housing development, builder’s remedy, and zoning/NIMBY issues: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-02-19/california-housing-developers-los-angeles

– Zoning laws advocated by NIMBYs preventing housing from being built is the main cause of the shortage and lack of affordable housing per authors

– Are large-scale developments by big, for-profit companies really the answer?

– LA Times editorial authors, Edward Glaeser and Atta Tarki, call for large-scale development firms to lead, but we need to think about economic equity

– Versus small scale development with accessory dwelling units (ADUs) with fewer than 1 in 5 applications approved in LA

– We don’t want a situation like Invitation Homes, which used to be Blackstone, just building for rental homes only

– Homelessness and housing issues occur on a continuum – starts with a smaller issue, then you wind up in your car or on the street

– Landlords arbitrarily raising rent, bragging about it

– You can even die of heatstroke living in your car

– Capitalists’ development efforts can help the rent-squeezed upper middle class, but those who’ve fallen off the ladder need specific help and collective action

– Huntington Beach mayor says CA is losing population, 120,000 people lost, hence no new housing is needed

– There are kids of locals with good jobs priced out of housing market with 60% going to housing even if they have a higher-paying job, so they have to leave out of state after living in town their whole life. See Times OC letter to editor about Huntington Beach.

– The lack of housing is literally killing people. But how do we solve it?

– Regulation is what helps to make housing development a meaningful, possibly equitable solution

– These people who live on the streets often have jobs and work in the communities rejecting them from having housing

– The mechanics of buying a new construction home, including cross-qualification for mortgages or “mandatory” use of developer’s lender, agent issues, etc.

– Policy could ensure new housing is on the market for the public and specifically available to FHA, VA, and down payment assistance buyers, working-class people who stand to benefit the most from buying a house

– Homeownership creates generational strong protection from homelessness

– Builder’s Remedy in Manhattan Beach

– Affordable housing set-asides are great, but come with interesting caveats, like a minimum income

– More housing in richer neighborhoods would reduce inequality

– “A child who grew up in a low-income household in Los Angeles’ affluent Brentwood neighborhood earns on average nearly four times more at age 35 than someone who grew up in lower-income central L.A.” – Census Opportunity Atlas, LA Times

– Tell this argument to NIMBYs upset with the homeless: A nice public housing building looks way better than homeless in the streets

– The NIMBY attitude, not just the zoning policy, is killing people

– Homeless people are kicked out of places where they can get air conditioning and bathroom access, like coffee shops and fast food restaurants

– It’s all about who looks like they will spend money and Karens complaining

– Lack of third spaces that are not shopping and dining

– Homeless people create community just like you and I

– Letter from Flathead County, Montana Board of Commissioners upset with “networked community” of homeless people: https://www.reddit.com/r/lostgeneration/comments/10kofvr/homelessness_insight_from_kalispell_montana/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

– Structural inequality created by capitalism feels inescapable but the correct use of government power can help

– The future: non-profit, cooperative, mutual aid-style groups, and collective housing ownership powered with government funds

– Homeless communities’ resourcefulness shows they can reach self-sufficiency and self-governance with the right support

 

If you are looking into buying, selling, or renting any kind of real estate, please reach out to me. I am a licensed real estate agent (CA DRE# 02101592) and can offer referrals to quality agents nationwide. I do the legwork and the screening of your agent so you don’t have to. Call 657-206-0736 or email greyson@offspeedsolutions.com.

Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com

This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action.

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California Fast Food Worker Pay Referendum & How Rich Political Donors Exploit Our Impulses

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Quick State of the Union analysis:

Biden did very well in handling heckling
Democrats delivering for middle America, doing in reality what Trump claimed he’d do
State of the Union shows the current political state of “extreme moderation”
We are fighting for the bare minimum, but it’s a worthy fight for sure
Moving the Overton window to more progressive ideas on policing and climate change
Gradual changes do really matter and do help

Impulse Politics:

People want to take quick action, especially in the face of a crisis
Making action such as signing a petition or donation easy is a good thing, but it can lead people to occasionally make bad decisions
California ballot measures and referendum process
In a referendum, a petition is circulated to get an already passed law to be blocked and then voted upon, and a minimum number of signatures must be gathered to get it on the ballot.
This is similar to a ballot initiative for a new law, which allows for some confusion since circulators can say it’s “to vote on” this issue
Article in LA Times about deceptive California ballot referendum petitions regarding AB 257 and AB 1137: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-02-02/inside-fast-foods-push-against-california-ab-257-higher-minimum-wages

CA AB 257 represents a major step forward in helping fast food, workers who are among the most vulnerable workers today
Restaurant industry wants to stop higher wages
Petition circulators are using tricks, claiming this petition to stop the law and take it to a vote is actually supporting higher wages
My easy rules:
The people spending the most money, and using the most effort to convince you are probably the ones who’s ideas you don’t agree with, so approach flashy and pushy campaigns with extreme caution
Know what you’re signing!
Online petitions, which are largely a symbolic gesture have condition people to believe that signing petitions is no big deal
These wet-ink signature paper petitions are actually super significant. They stop laws that legislators already agreed to from coming into effect.
Walmart and shopping malls are the public square, really, and there’s nothing they can do to stop petitions
Petition workers committing fraud, and being aggressive with voters
They must show you the petition itself and a list of major supporters
Know who’s supporting an initiative
CA Prop 30 situation – a good measure is supported by a big donor, but rejected partially because of it
Volunteers who live in your community and you know are (usually) more trustworthy than random petition gatherers
This is why long term community engagement matters! Have someone to ask when this happens

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Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com

This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action.

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The Apparent “Randomness” of Racial and Economic Oppression Is The Point


This episode was born out of seemingly unrelated current events: the impending economic crisis and the tragic death of Tyre Nichols.  I’ve found that the oppression of the working class through layoffs and recessions and the oppression of racial minorities through police brutality have way more in common than you think in the subtle mechanism by they hijack our minds, change our political attitudes, and influence behavior. The episode is also a bit of a botch, since I recorded a much better take of it but my microphone was somehow not feeding audio into the software and I had to re-do the whole thing. 



Notes

  • LA Times article on layoffs “The real aim of big tech’s layoffs: bringing workers to heel”: https://apple.news/AhbHrrkzxT3Kol0DQn4RL7Q
  • The cruelty is the point
  • How our minds internalize subtle cues
  • Police give impossible, confusing

commands to justify excessive force

  • Tech companies are using layoffs to keep workers in line and stop them from getting what they have earned through collective action and bargaining 
  • How small groups get more power than they merit through random actions of oppression
  • Talk of recession keeps workers in fear and erodes their gains
  • How layoffs are executed without rhyme or reason makes workers give up more than they need
  • How layoffs are executed without rhyme or reason makes workers give up more than they need to
  • Making things look like a “force of nature” or just what happens on its own because of an external force
  • How politicians and bosses make us blame ourselves for bad things
  • Tech workers are starting to realize the benefits of unions
  • Giving into petty tyrants and oppressive ideas will not keep you safe or leave you better off in the end.
  • You must learn to think differently!
  • Media programming people to only consider certain solutions
  • Generational divide in views of alternatives to policing
  • What actually works to keep communities safe
  • Success with reduced police intervention
  • Workers better off now and with more power than they’ve had in years
  • Republicans’ debt ceiling threats and their non-specificity are deliberate
  • Creative thinking driven by crisis: George Floyd and COVID economic crisis
  • Flow states and political change
  • Tyre Nichols was a great skater
  • What skateboarding taught me

about social change

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Off Speed Solutions provides strategy and consulting for advocacy communications, community engagement, day-to-day operational support, and media ecosystems. Learn more at http://www.offspeedsolutions.com

 

This content is for entertainment and general informational purposes only. We do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of the information herein. The viewer should not rely solely upon such and consult a competent professional before deciding to follow any course of action.

 

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