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Planks of a Platform
Authorized by Blair Hawkins for House of Delegates. Hosted by HealingCharlottesville. |
Fifth Amendment vs. Housing Authority
Mon Apr 21, 2003 The Constitutional Argument.
Shortage of Affordable Housing. "The good news is that houses in the County and surrounding counties with smaller price tags tend to be more numerous" ("Home is where the help is," Mar. 25, 2003, Cville Weekly). But those counties don't have a housing authority. The City has had one since 1954. Shouldn't the City have a better position on affordable housing? One unintended consequence of this agency is the opposite of its stated mission. That alone seems sufficient reason to eliminate the agency. High Rents. High rent is a reflection of high real estate assessments. The tenant pays the property tax, rainy day repair fund, landlord's mortgage, and landlord's profit. A mortgage is cheaper than rent plus you have property rights. High Property Values. High assessments are most likely the result of a smaller real estate market because of government expansion. The more land the City, County, UVa, State, and Federal own, the less private property exists. According to supply and demand theory, the more scarce a commodity, the higher its value. The total amount of land does not change. A second phenomenon is also at work. The economic cycle where a property's value appreciates and depreciates alternately has been interrupted. The consequence of declining assessments in the 1950s and '60s was urban renewal or redevelopment, as it is today. By not allowing property values to decline, the office of the assessor is protecting us from the Housing Authority. As a side-effect, the range of value from the cheapest to the most high-end property remains the same. Some property assessments have to go up dramatically to offset property that normally would go down. A third possibility is that rising assessment is a defacto tax increase to generate more revenue. Another way to fund the rising cost of services is to sell off public property, thereby creating a revenue stream of taxation. At the same time, cost of services would go down because that property would then be privately maintained. Loss of Confidence in Property as a Safe Investment. Traditionally, if you expected your stay to be brief, you would rent. If you expected to settle down, you would buy a house. This was the culture a hundred years ago. So people settled south and west of downtown where land was cheap. Some of them built grand homes for their extended families. In the '50 and '60s, these homes were occupied by old people. Their children had grown up and moved to their own homes. Because property values were in decline, the poor had opportunities to buy a grand ol' money pit, live in it, renovate it later, and meanwhile use the advantages of property. Then urban renewal came to town. It targeted the cheapest real estate regardless of the owner's race or economic status. These areas happened to be predominantly black neighborhoods. The Elderly highrise on South First Street was built to house the displaced senior citizens. They were not allowed to die in their own home or to pass their estate to their children. In many cases, those grand homes are now parking lots or open space. The lesson is this: If you get old or sick and unable to maintain the exterior of your house, a program is headed your way whether you want the help or not. City inspectors actively enforce the blight ordinance, which is forcing the elderly out even today. The County does not have a blight ordinance, another reason for a better supply of affordable housing. The County eyesore ordinance comes closest to a blight ordinance. But a private citizen must complain to trigger enforcement. City inspectors have no such restraint. Declining Civil Rights as the Amount of Private Property Decreases. The right to a speedy trial or presumption of innocence, let's say. If I'm arrested and can't post bail, I can use my free public education to write letters asking people to post my bond. I should not have to sit in jail for months waiting for trial only to be found innocent. A greater supply of land would likely mean a greater number of landowners and more people I can ask for help. A few thousand dollars of land to buy a man's feedom. I wouldn't be a flight risk because I don't want you to lose your estate. If I'm found guilty and sentenced to prison, I still owe you a favor because you took a chance on me. The ability to risk private assets to help others is the glue of a free society. When the government owns all the land, what freedom is there? Mass Exodus of Residents. "Although Charlottesville's overall population has remained flat over the past few decades, the number of UVA students housed off-grounds increased from 3,185 to 12,326 between 1960 and 1995...The growing number of students living off-grounds has...put enormous pressure on the City's own housing market, decreasing the supply and driving up the costs of housing for working poor and blue-collar families" ("UVA's failure the crowding source" letter by Dave Norris, Mar 27, 2003, The Hook. If population has remained constant and new people have moved here, such as students, where did the former residents go? When and why did they leave? Mostly they moved to Albemarle and surrounding counties. Their presence helps to explain intitutional differences between the city and its neighbors. Dave Norris is the chairman of the board for the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Presumably, he has a say in whose property the agency will take next. The Housing Authority blaming UVa for a shortage of affordable housing is like the pot calling the kettle black. Loss of History. Labor Shortage. The Charlottesville area routinely has the lowest unemployment in the state. Some economists consider an unemployment rate of less than 2% as a labor shortage. The problem locally is not a shortage of jobs, but a shortage of people willing to do the work for the wage offered. Now is the the time for workers to ask for a raise. The shortage may also stem from a generation of working-class residents who have moved out of the city. They moved for the American Dream, the security of knowing you have a place to stay in your retirement. They moved for a lower cost of living and less regulation. Public assistance also contributes to the labor shortage. Some people who are able to work prefer to draw disability or Region Ten subsidy. These workers are lured away on the promise that they can do nothing and live "independently." Economic Stagnation. The shortage of labor suppresses economic activity and investment. At any given moment, businesses fold while new businesses start up. Stagnation is more of a feeling that the economy is not performing. A subjective indicator of economic stagnation is the same one used for blight. You just look around and take notice of vacant buildings and failed businesses. The Terrace Triple next to Kmart. The four vacant buildings across from Jefferson Theater. The Paramount's inability to bring itself back to life. The current state and future of the Frank Ix textile mill, which opened in 1923, lessened the impact of the Great Depression locally, was the largest employer during WWII, and helped make South Downtown the most integrated neighborhood in town in the '60s. The Charlottesville Warehouse Corp. vacant building should go under historic designation as one of the few historical markers remaining to recall how things used to be. Increase in Violent and Race-based Crime. Like economic stagnation, this indicator is subjective. People generally judge their safety based on what they hear from others, what they see in the media, and what they observe. Older folks report the perception that life was safer before urban renewal. Some say you were able to leave your doors unlocked even in poor neighborhoods. Public housing appears universally to be less safe than privately-owned slum housing. Civic Shame for the Most Recent Chapter of Local History. Another subjective indicator. I realize this issue was widely discussed in the '70s. But as a representative, my job is to focus on the one or two areas that are likely to improve quality of life the most. It's time for a new generation to examine the wisdom of their parents. Urban renewal was optional. In general communities without housing authorities have more affordable housing and property, and are better places to live. Compare Waynesboro, Lexington, Gordonsville to Charlottesville, Richmond, D.C. Public housing is a bad idea no matter how you look at it.
The Office of Delegate. The responsibility of a delegate is to represent his district, to articulate concerns and issues relevant to residents of the district, and to express those views to the General Assembly. What I have to offer are ideas, words, a way of thinking about things. On most issues in the House, I will vote as the majority of my constituents feel. But occasionally I will have to say no to the majority. In the case of having government take one man's property for someone else to own, I will say no regardless of political pressure. Rule of Law should apply locally. The Fifth Amendment means you cannot vote to take your neighbor's land. As delegate, I will officially affirm the principles of Free Enterprise, private property for the common good.
Blair Hawkins
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