If it's gone, the community either loses or makes up the difference. |
The rule is, you can afford a house about 2 1/2 times your income. Well, you'd be hard-pressed to find a $140,000 house around here anymore. |
They just rely on people driving farther and farther to get to work. But for the economy here to grow, we need to provide a place for employees to live. Gas at $2.57 a gallon makes it pretty hard for someone making $12 an hour to drive a long way. |
We have lots of homes for upper income people, but the middle class is being squeezed stagnant wages and the cost of homes rising so fast -- 8 percent, 9 percent a year. |
When you start getting 10 percent cuts on top on 23 percent cuts, that's when the decision-making gets difficult. |