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At that rate they could, you know, provide homes for them and feed them? Sounds like that's part of the plan (500 units), but not in a way that makes sense to me. Micro-apartments at ~200sq.ft., with really basic (read: mostly plastic/easy to wash, plus maybe a cot) furniture, could go for ~$800/month and still be a good deal for a developer. That's $9600/year. Throw in inexpensive food at another $800/month, and it would be $19,200/year, or a savings of $14,800 per year. Partner with a developer, guarantee the rents, and let the private sector fork over the capital for the building of WAY more than 500 units. A lot of the cost is actually far more than $34k/person, by the way. There are charities that leverage this fact by finding chronic emergency-room users and getting them a home, food, and sometimes a companion animal. [1] When a homeless person checked into a hospital can cost $9000. An emergency room visit can cost $3700. [2] When someone has serious health issues, they can visit the emergency room multiple times a month; some end up costing the taxpayer $44,400 per year. Apparently 90% of the homeless at any one time are just going through a bad spot in their lives. And giving someone a place to live can break the cycle of homelessness: You need to have an address to get a job, typically. You also need to be able to shower. Let them keep living in the cheap apartment if they want, but if their income passes a threshold then they need to start contributing to the room & board. Or don't force them to pay; food and shelter really should be human rights anyway. Why not start in San Francisco? Everyone else would benefit by there being fewer people peeing on walls or sleeping on sidewalks, and by the (relatively) cheaper labor pool that would be available. [1] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1015075... [2] http://greendoors.org/facts/cost.php |
I imagine that maintenance of public infrastructure is a thing which won't go away any time soon.
If you define the above as a poverty line (and the re-education time slot is also usable for personal crafts/recreation/etc) then you've also very nicely defined a minimum wage which must be beaten. Providing the apartments at a monetary level in areas also defines a value level for housing in a given area, which is one way of eliminating price gouging (or at least giving added value when it is done).