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American Idiot


docoflove1974

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I think most are aware of Habitat for Humanity, and if not then you probably know of a program like it. Essentially, those deserving folk who are down on their luck and need a place to live apply to have a dwelling built for them...with the catch that they must have certain qualifications, and they must put a certain number of hours in to the building of their home. It's a great program, one that's received a lot of warranted attention. So you probably can understand the outcry when you read an article like this one:

 

Habitat for Humanity robbed...a second time

 

Knowing San Francisco as I do, let me just say that the Bayview district isn't exactly the nicest in the jewel that is Baghdad-By-The-Bay. In fact, it's one of the worst districts in the city. Very high crime rate, gang activity, and the like...Candlestick Park, the home of the 49ers (NFL) and previous home to the Giants (MLB), is at the end, and it was always an adventure to drive through there before and after games. And while I certainly applaud the idea of trying to turn around urban blight and make a notorious neighborhood into a livable one, I still can't get out of my head the fact that HH thought it would be a good idea to pick the Bayview. Really? Somehow you didn't think that this would happen? And if not during construction, at the very least once the people move in?

 

I seriously hope that these houses are also being outfitted with the latest burglary alarms, with maintenance and service free to the homeowners.

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We seem to have gone through a cultural fantasy in which home ownership was possible for everyone. Renting has re-emerged in a big way over the last ten years after those heady years when Thatcherism expanded our horizons, at least in the relatively prosperous south. That includes me too. Except I couldn't afford to buy in the first place, but unlike people who were taking on mortgages costing more than seven times their income and lasting fifty years, I kind of figured all that out for myself.

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That's what happened here recently. During the 90s and early 2000s it was "everyone can afford a home! Adjustable rates make it easy!" and so it goes. And now more people are renting...and like you bring up, it's not such a bad thing. I, too, figured out early on that I really couldn't afford to buy a home, either. Yes, I do wish I had my own home...and I also wish to afford it.

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