Rep. Ilhan Omar proposes "Housing for All"

[lpetrich]

Rep. Ilhan Omar on Twitter: "No one in the wealthiest county in the world should be forced to sleep on the streets.
Today I am introducing the Homes for All Act, a bold 21st century vision to build 12 million new public & affordable housing units and guarantee housing as a human right. #HomesforAll https://t.co/muWeTfnqLT" / Twitter

She states in the tweet's video that "To arrive and see people sleeping on the side of the street is something that has stayed with me" and she wants to insure that nobody will be in such a state.

Ilhan Omar on Twitter: "It’s past time we guaranteed housing as a human right.
So today, I’m introducing the #HomesForAll Act to:
Green-light construction of 12 million public and affordable housing units
Drive down costs throughout the market
Create a new vision for public housing in the U.S. https://t.co/jULuvKLfbo" / Twitter
noting
HuffPost Politics on Twitter: "Rep. Ilhan Omar wants to build $1.2 trillion of new public housing bill as the most ambitious piece of Green New Deal legislation to date. It's the marquee proposal in a wave of progressive housing bills coming out this year. https://t.co/fRXf8hfqU7" / Twitter
noting
Ilhan Omar Pitches $1 Trillion For Green Public Housing | HuffPost

After noting AOC's proposed GND upgrade of public housing,

Omar’s bill, dubbed the Homes For All Act, goes further. Over a decadelong timeline, it outlines plans to build 9.5 million new units of public housing at the cost of about $800 billion. The legislation earmarks $200 billion for a federal Housing Trust Fund to build 2.5 million new affordable housing units available for low-income families. Another $200 billion would establish a Community Control and Anti-Displacement Fund at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide grants to local governments to combat the effects of gentrification.

The housing is to be “designed, built, and operated to the highest possible environmental standards.”

 

[lpetrich]

Homes for All Act | United States Congress | United States Government

IO will likely get a lot of support from GND supporters.

Omar said she plans to appeal to her more moderate colleagues to “rewrite their legacies” and correct for the injustices that came from Democrats’ rightward shift nearly three decades ago. She compared the dynamic to criminal justice reform, invoking the Democrats and Republicans who supported draconian laws in the 1990s that punished millions of mostly minority men for nonviolent offenses and who are now considering ways to reverse the trend.

“This is their opportunity to make amends,” she said. “Sometimes we don’t have the foresight of the harm some of the policies we propose could have. They are now presented with some of those harms that they’ve caused and they get to fix it.”

She could also advocate it as creating a lot of construction-worker jobs.

The bill comes a week after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) released the so-called Green New Deal for Public Housing Act, a joint bill to spend, by one estimate, $172 billion over the next 10 years to upgrade the nation’s 1.2 million federally-owned rental units with clean power, efficient appliances and plumbing that won’t leach lead into water. Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) are expected to introduce more proposals in the months to come.

Although Mitch McConnell will likely block these bills as "socialism", they could be useful for campaigning on in 2020.

 

[lpetrich]

As to how to pay for it,

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "“But how are we going to pay for the Space Force?”
Oh wait sorry - we only ask that when it comes to healthcare, education, and saving the planet. https://t.co/J4Z1QVrDue" / Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Just so we’re clear.
Things we FIND money to pay for:
$2T in tax cuts for billionaires
$210 Billion Trade War
$XX? Space Force (who cares how much, right?)
Things We Refuse to Pay for:
Just Recovery for Puerto Rico
Medicare for All
Tuition-Free College" / Twitter

Cuomo presses Ocasio-Cortez on healthcare - YouTube starting at 8:11 - AOC notes that existing systems also have costs, along with Medicare for All. She gets into such costs as the effects of lower productivity, and why military adventures are exempted from fiscal discipline.

Why are our pockets only empty when it comes to education and healthcare for our kids? Why are our pockets only empty when it comes to 100% renewable energy which is going to save our planet and allow our children to thrive? We only have empty pockets when it comes to the morally right things to do. When it comes to tax cuts for billionaires and when it comes to unlimited war, we seem to be able to invent that money very easily. And to me, it belies a lack of moral priorities that people have right now, especially the Republican Party.

Chris Cuomo responded "And that's why they have elections."

 

[Valjean]

It's really not that expensive or complicated to construct basic housing. A short, 20x8x8 foot shipping container can easily be fitted with a small bathroom, kitchenette and bedroom. They're cheap, and built like tanks, should anyone want to construct a hi-rise.
For the sybarites, there are the standard 40' containers.

 

[Derec]

It's really not that expensive or complicated to construct basic housing. A short, 20x8x8 foot shipping container can easily be fitted with a small bathroom, kitchenette and bedroom. They're cheap, and built like tanks, should anyone want to construct a hi-rise.
For the sybarites, there are the standard 40' containers.

Are you familiar with the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo? It was envisioned around a similar concept - replaceable identical capsules around a core that provides access and utilities.


As to "housing for all", how will it work? Can I demand housing I can afford anywhere or will it be based on where you are located when the legislation goes into effect? I.e. can I demand to live in Manhattan or will just those already living in Manhattan be able to do so, even if they now inhabit a cardboard box in the borough?

 

[Valjean]

Actually, there are shipping container communities and detached houses all over the world. Just google.

 

[Harry Bosch]

It won't matter. Until we fix the problem of mental health in the US, there will be homeless. Many mentally ill people don't want to be in a house, and the laws don't allow them to be interned against their will anymore. So they roam. Very sad.

 

[Axulus]

It's really not that expensive or complicated to construct basic housing. A short, 20x8x8 foot shipping container can easily be fitted with a small bathroom, kitchenette and bedroom. They're cheap, and built like tanks, should anyone want to construct a hi-rise.
For the sybarites, there are the standard 40' containers.

In most cities, that will violate regulations. Insufficient insulation. Needs proper plumbing, wiring. Also needs 8-12 ft wide side walks next to the road segment it occupies, plus sufficient parking space. Must also withstand natural disasters like earthquakes or tornadoes. Also needs a nice appearance to pass the neighborhood review process. Not to mention passing the environmental impact study. We are talking about $100's of thousands, perhaps millions, in improvements here.

 

[Valjean]

But they're easy to insulate, and basic plumbing and wiring are pretty simple. Sidewalks and parking aren't necessarily required and, like I said, they're built like tanks, and designed for rough handling and stacking. Tornadoes and earthquakes won't even dent them. They're like small mobile homes on steroids -- and a considerable improvement over the tent and tarp encampments typical of the homeless.

 

[PyramidHead]

Ilhan is a treasure and the best Congressperson we have.

 

[Toni]

It won't matter. Until we fix the problem of mental health in the US, there will be homeless. Many mentally ill people don't want to be in a house, and the laws don't allow them to be interned against their will anymore. So they roam. Very sad.

This is true. I believe that we will always have homeless people and people with mental illnesses and poor people. I also believe that the poor, the homeless, the mentally ill still deserve to be treated fairly, to have access to decent housing, health care (including mental health care services and substance abuse treatment) and community. And justice under the Constitution and local and state laws.

But that doesn't mean that we cannot and should not do more to address the problems of affordable housing--and include housing for people who are, for whatever reasons, transient.

It used to be easy to say that homeless people were damaged and mentally ill and so sad that so many vets had such a difficult time readjusting to the 'real world' and what about the mentally ill.

Plenty of homeless people are homeless because they lost a job and can't find another quickly enough--which is instantaneously, preferably a month before they lost their current job because a LOT of people are living pay check to pay check. I almost was homeless once because I got mono and missed a few days of work--that's how close to the edge I was. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow $100. Yes: I was $100 away from living on the street. A lot of people are that close or closer and far too many are over that edge a long time ago.

Too many homeless people are children and/or minors, most often still with their families. A single parent whose kid gets too sick to go to school for a week or for more than 6 or seven days in a year can find themselves homeless PDQ.

I absolutely 100% agree that mental illness must be addressed and that is a key to helping people find and stay in homes. And jobs and relationships and so on.

A huge part of this is substance abuse--not just drug abuse but also alcohol abuse.

That doesn't mean that we cannot and should not start with housing. Too many people who work full time struggle to be able to keep a roof over their heads. They're just the next cycle of rent increases away from not being able to stay in their non-luxurious one bedroom or efficiency. Finding better jobs/getting better job training are pipe dreams for a lot of people in a lot of places--not all of them Los Angeles or NYC. Or Chicago.

Providing affordable housing and also free housing for those in need is part of the solution of homelessness. It's not the whole thing. But it's an important start.

Not only is it a start to helping people find decent living situations but it is also an economic stimulator, employing many people to construct these homes as well as to provide the needed services.

It seems obvious to me that part of the housing must be able and willing to accommodate people who are struggling with mental illnesses and/or substance abuse. Large complexes are not well designed to help people find and create and belong to community. Services need to be attached: counseling and medical help, along with substance abuse help and job training and support.

Many families need a different kind of living situation: again, EASY access to counseling, medical services, substance abuse help, job training and support and child care services.

All of these need to be in walkable neighborhoods, with easy access to groceries, pharmacy, health care, public transportation, libraries, inexpensive places to dine out once in a while, places to buy needed household items and clothing.

They also need easy, immediate access to green spaces: places for kids to play, for people to plant a garden, to gather, to live their lives.

Don't design container housing! Design homes.

 

[Half-Life]

"Let the government do it all! We all love the government! Let's gather round and sing the praises of the government! Government! Government! Government!" - Leftists

And leftists unironically say conservatives are pro-establishment.

 

[ZiprHead]

"Let the government do it all! We all love the government! Let's gather round and sing the praises of the government! Government! Government! Government!" - Leftists

And leftists unironically say conservatives are pro-establishment.

Do you see anyone else doing it?

 

[Half-Life]

"Let the government do it all! We all love the government! Let's gather round and sing the praises of the government! Government! Government! Government!" - Leftists

And leftists unironically say conservatives are pro-establishment.

Do you see anyone else doing it?

???????????????

 

[Loren Pechtel]

It's really not that expensive or complicated to construct basic housing. A short, 20x8x8 foot shipping container can easily be fitted with a small bathroom, kitchenette and bedroom. They're cheap, and built like tanks, should anyone want to construct a hi-rise.
For the sybarites, there are the standard 40' containers.

The problem is an awful lot of the people on the streets are mentally ill and won't cooperate with such programs.

Housing works well at providing for those who are homeless for purely financial reasons--but that's a small part of the whole.

 

[Toni]

It's really not that expensive or complicated to construct basic housing. A short, 20x8x8 foot shipping container can easily be fitted with a small bathroom, kitchenette and bedroom. They're cheap, and built like tanks, should anyone want to construct a hi-rise.
For the sybarites, there are the standard 40' containers.

The problem is an awful lot of the people on the streets are mentally ill and won't cooperate with such programs.

Housing works well at providing for those who are homeless for purely financial reasons--but that's a small part of the whole.

Data?

 

[Toni]

"Let the government do it all! We all love the government! Let's gather round and sing the praises of the government! Government! Government! Government!" - Leftists

And leftists unironically say conservatives are pro-establishment.

I suppose it depends on whether you believe that government exists to serve the people or whether people exist to serve the needs of the government.

 

[Trausti]

Shipping Containers are the New Home For the Homeless

The units will cost about $600,000 each, more than the median price of a condo in Los Angeles. The total cost of the units will be about 35 million dollars each. The one-bedroom units are expected to open next year.

Screw You Taxpayer

 

[Toni]

Shipping Containers are the New Home For the Homeless

The units will cost about $600,000 each, more than the median price of a condo in Los Angeles. The total cost of the units will be about 35 million dollars each. The one-bedroom units are expected to open next year.

Screw You Taxpayer

So I am wondering which prominent GOP donors own the companies making these units.

 

[Trausti]

Shipping Containers are the New Home For the Homeless

The units will cost about $600,000 each, more than the median price of a condo in Los Angeles. The total cost of the units will be about 35 million dollars each. The one-bedroom units are expected to open next year.

Screw You Taxpayer

So I am wondering which prominent GOP donors own the companies making these units.

You raise a good point. Homelessness has become an industry. There is little incentive for politicians (who get to virtue signal) or businesses or other groups (who get public money) to reduce homelessness. That is glaringly evident here in Seattle. The more taxpayers dollars we spend, the more homelessness we get.