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Some thoughts on the increase in renters

After reading City Lab's "The Rise Of Renting In The US", I'm struck by some key things.

1) The fact that housing takes up 60%, or more, of the lowest earners income should trouble us. I'm not sure what the best solution is to getting more affordable housing available. One if the most critical factors is inventory (good ol' supply & demand). Hence the drive for more multi-family projects.

2)'there are long-term impacts from the high percentage of the Pope's income that is burned through on basics. It impacts social mobility. I expect this will help drive more economically fragile people over the edge.

3) the concerns I have in point 2) are exacerbated by a 40% or more increase in year-to-year rental costs. I worry about the long-term impacts this will have on the demand for assistance. Especially as incomes are rising far too slowly

4) It's not all bad news. There are some upsides to communities with high percentages of renters. Especially if they're in higher income brackets. For instance, they have access to greater numbers of creative talent.

5) there's a great opportunity for investors who own rentals, or are thinking about it. The demand will stay strong for the foreseeable future. Keeping your rental properties full won't be much of a challenge for the near term.

These issues are going to provide significant challenges ton our communities over the foreseeable future. We need to nrse above our petty bickering, society wide, to address these issues.

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