[nickbauman]

That's interesting. My employer is also based in Manhattan. I live in Minnesota. I live in a 4-br home that costs me $800/mo including taxes in downtown Minneapolis. I go and work in Manhattan once every 3-6 months for a week or so. I could never live there though; I would be throwing my money away. I like certain aspects of NYC, but not enough to take such a paycut. There have been a lot of studies that show that what kind of home or city has almost no bearing on your happiness. You might reconsider.

Also, seriously, if someone is on food stamps or their kids are in the free lunch program, they are not advantaged, they are not comforted: they are living on the edge. Trust me.

On the other hand, I live in subsidized housing. The mortgage interest deduction is the largest (in terms of $) subsidized housing program on earth.