This blog will be used by Mrs. Wilsher's AP class to post coherent, logical, informed, and well-written responses to topics related to the class. You will also respond to comments from other students. Many college professors in all areas of the curriculum require students to participate in online discussions or blogs. The AP Lang. Blog requirement will help prepare you for college courses, while improving your writing skills.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Read the report published in Newsday last week regarding home ownership and rentals on Long Island. How do you suggest we lessen this problem? (In your response, refer to the Newsday report as well as any other sources that will aid your argument).
People who live in New York State, especially on Long Island, are facing serious problem of high expense of housing, either renting or buying. The increasing housing cost is devastating to our economy and eventually stunts economical growth. “The more expensive it is to rent or own a home, it makes it harder for a business to recruit a workforce. Our economy is dependent on retail and consumer spending. Every dollar spent on owning or renting a home is not spent on local business” (Report). One of the solutions to it is to build more houses on the available land. As more and more houses are built in that area, the competition within the market of real estates will occur, causing the price to drop. Then people would be able to afford a house or an apartment which used to be much more expensive (Time, Eight Solutions to San Francisco’s Housing Problem, Katy Steinmetz, Feb,7,2014). The another way to relieve the housing problem is to turn illegal “in-law” units into legitimate housing stock. These might be apartments that are actually converted garages, indecent but livable spaces that are not technically up to code. There are tens of thousands of such units in Long Island as well as in the city. They can house a lot of people and tend to be much lower rent. The issue of too expensive housing is waiting and also needed to be solved on Long Island. Building more houses and legalizing illegal “in-law” units are helpful to lessen this problem.
I agree with Yundai's solution, if there were more available houses, then the costs for living in these houses should decrease. Another way to tackle the issue of homes being to expensive for Long Islanders is to rework the taxes. According to the article, experts believe "taxes contributed to the problem of housing costs." I do not want to say that taxes should be lowered, but there is an issue revolving around people that rent "off the books". What I mean by this is there are some people that rent part of a house, such as a garage or basement, and pay in cash to the homeowners. These renters do not contribute to homeowners tax, and I feel this is has some part in the high cost of living on Long Island. There are more people on Long Island than those being reported, multiple families can live in a house, and only the official homeowners pay homeowners taxes.
According to this report in Newsday, approximately 44% of homeowners are paying 30% more for their housing than they can afford in their income. New York is a very expensive state, especially living on Long Island. The main issue is that "the financial burdens facing Long Island homeowners pose a challenge in attracting businesses here, and, in the long term, stunt economic growth"(Newsday). A solution to this problem would be to try and revert back to increasing business and reducing taxes on housing which seems to be a major problem "Some experts said taxes contributed to the problem of housing costs. "We've seen interest rates go down, but taxes continue to rise" (Newsday). Reducing taxes would make a significant difference for homeowners in Long Island as "The overall savings to local governments, over five years, will be $4.6 billion" (governor.ny.gov). This cut in taxes will provide medicaid relief, pension reform and other reforms. Having such benefits will motivate people to go out more and spend which will benefit big and small businesses immensely.
It is evident that residing in a suburban area and owning a home could potentially impede the economic productivity in some areas of NY. This is so because more taxes are being paid towards housing rather than small businesses; unlike in densely populated areas where most people own apartments.
One suggestion towards resolving this problem can be to joint smaller businesses with similar retail to increase competition and endorsement of a company (such like Walmart). Taking 4 different candle stores or bakeries and building a main outpost for their products will increase economic productivity. One solution for high taxes towards home owners are to reduce spending on affairs that are not beneficial to the community or placing an "personal income tax" on commodities that an individual purchases (by credit card). I agree with Yundai considering that there are taxes being spent to hold expensive houses that are placed for sale, while the majority can not afford to reside in the areas where these houses are located.
At this point New york homes are at a all time high. It's at a point where a homeowner is paying more for the house then the actual house it self. i know this because my dad is constantly complaining about it. "Our economy is dependent on retail and consumer spending. Every dollar spent on owning or renting a home is not spent on local business." This sentenced it self proves to be so true. But since our ecomy is bad we can't afford these new houses so why raise the prices? If we were to lower housing and renting profits more people would be able to buy these living establishments. Long island it self is one of the most expensive places to live on. People now are losing their homes because they can't keep up with the morgage or they just can't no longer afford the rent. Even places in the bronx are at an all time high. This problem it self mainly depends on the economy honestly. If the economy gets better then this problem will soon go away.
I completely agree with Ambar. The prices of homes are ridiculously high, especially in New York. Some families are having trouble finding homes to live in that won't completely deplete their money supply and honestly that is sad. People are moving into other family members' homes due to the inability to afford a place on their own, and the amount of jobs a person works doesn't have importance in this case because someone can be working two or three jobs and still not be able to pay their mortgage or rent. Some families even have to move and leave behind their lives just so they won't go into a great amount of debt. They are taking their children away from their "childhood" in order to afford daily necessities, they are relocating in different areas of the United States that are cheaper and giving their lives here away. If they were going to lower the prices of homes or rent then people would be able to live without the worry of losing their homes or having such a tight amount of money to deal with. The fact that some homeonwers pay 30% more on mortgage than they make as their income is seriously ridiculous. I understand that the economy does need to be brought up from this "recession", but how can that be made possible if people can't afford their homes on their own? They can't spend money at local or even big businesses to help stimulate the economy because they need to worry about making it by monthly. Instead of raising taxes on homes and such, there should be lower prices for homes, then people would have the ability to give more money toward businesses the economy would essentially get better in time.
I also agree with Ambar. To buy a home has become very expensive. The prices have increased drastically in the past 10 years. What makes it even worse in New York is the cost of living that goes along with it. Someone wastes more money in New York on the essentials, than in other states. The only way that buying a home will become more affordable is if one of the two main things are lowered. If the preset prices of homes are lowered, then the tax and the new price would keep the house in a decent range for the common person. Or if it is the other way round, the tax is lowered on real estate and the price is kept the same. The houses will also be in an affordable range. But people must be responsible and buy a house that they could actually afford. And not go into debt just because the house is big and nice.
I as well agree with Ambar. New York is an expensive state to live in and Long Island is one of the most expensive areas to live in. The worst our economy is the more expensive products and rent will be. If our economy improves, the less expensive products and homes will be. Due to the fact our economy is so bad, living becomes expensive. Food prices increase, just as rent and mortgages increase. The bigger a family is the more expensive their cost become. A lot of families can't afford home because of the expensive. Also as Ally states, because the housing is so expensive you can't expect our recession to better because these individuals are working just for their rent or mortgages, not to spend money on products and goods. The economy needs to better for this problem to be solved.
The article supports my idea of not living on Long Island when I get older. Unless I'm making enough to buy Mrs. Wilsher I am not going to get a mortgage for a house in the Hamptons. The fact that a large percentage of people living on Long Island spend a large percentage of their income just for a house makes me want to live in a car and perhaps spend my money on food. I can't even escape the high cost of housing by renting a property, I'll have half of my income going to people like Mr. Seubert!
While I was reading an article, I was thinking of implementing a government subsidized boarding house or something of the sort. I don't necessarily mean that tax payers should house the homeless but rather there should be a large building that can give proper housing for bare minimum (because the government isn't as interested in making a profit off their land). The costs would be low in the same way that twenty people on a bus is more efficient than twenty people in twenty cars. One (or many) huge and well insulated building to house those already living in buildings that each heat themselves would save enough money on heating alone to bring the cost of rent down for the residents; smack some solar panels on the top and BAM! low cost and reliable electricity. The only real issue I see is the buildings turning into tenements which could easily be avoided by strict government regulation (It's already a government building).
On top of that, all these people saving money by living in boarding houses would lower the demand for housing on Long Island which theoretically would lower the price of housing for those still living on their own property. I'm sure this could work but I don't think the situation is dire enough for the government to invest. "Just move if you can't afford it here" is what taxpayers will probably say.
I think that the only solution to making living on Long Island more affordable is to stop developers from building all these expensive condominiums that the common man can not afford and build affordable new housing where property taxes could be waived the first couple of years upon purchasing. This would entice young adults to stay on Long Island after college or high school. CBS New York reports that 51% of the population of young adults in Oyster Bay Long Island dropped due to them not being able to afford a comfortable lifestyle here straight out of college or high school. Another proposed solution would be to freeze property taxes for a short amount of time on homeowners and small businesses and increase the taxes on big businesses to make small businesses a popular choice for consumers since the money and income of the small businesses is what stays on Long Island not these big corporations that mostly operate oversees and don't fund the community locally.
I strongly agree with Jackie on her stance. More cost-friendly housing should be built here on Long Island, to help improve on the situation. If the cost of houses went down, much more money could be put towards buying other necessities-like as the article mentions-health care, food, car payments, and the such. This would attract more people to flock to our communities, and help add to their revenue. The high living costs turn many people away, leaving few, more wealthy people to live on Long Island. The more economically-challenged ones see the price of living here, and are turned off to how expensive it is to afford a home. Prices have gone up, and are still going up, to the point where many are losing their houses with how expensive things are where we live. Creating more low-costing houses would help boost our local economy in bringing in a numerous amount of people, which could help aid our local businesses, in turn. This could lead to a somewhat small drop in property taxes, but even a small amount could make a difference.
I agree with Jackie on her statement, about lowering the cost a new home or rent to a more affordable rate. I believe this would help the communities on the island greatly, especially some changes in taxes. Because like she referenced if 51% of young adult can’t find an affordable place they would being on the street or have to move outside the state. This would have a negative effect on our local economy with no fresh minds to take jobs after the current ones working, killing small business, the number of the homeless would increase, and only businesses that are national and international would really strive here.
I believe that the only way to decrease this epidemic is to lower the cost of housing. Young adults as myself should not have to come out of College struggling for a home. Not only is buying a house too high, but renting it is too. Individuals have to take care of families, utilities and now a home? These prices are more than what they earn. There should be a certain amount to pay each month according to occupation. People are in different situations, and as our economy gets worst, the more people are out on the street.
People who live in New York State, especially on Long Island, are facing serious problem of high expense of housing, either renting or buying. The increasing housing cost is devastating to our economy and eventually stunts economical growth. “The more expensive it is to rent or own a home, it makes it harder for a business to recruit a workforce. Our economy is dependent on retail and consumer spending. Every dollar spent on owning or renting a home is not spent on local business” (Report).
ReplyDeleteOne of the solutions to it is to build more houses on the available land. As more and more houses are built in that area, the competition within the market of real estates will occur, causing the price to drop. Then people would be able to afford a house or an apartment which used to be much more expensive (Time, Eight Solutions to San Francisco’s Housing Problem, Katy Steinmetz, Feb,7,2014). The another way to relieve the housing problem is to turn illegal “in-law” units into legitimate housing stock. These might be apartments that are actually converted garages, indecent but livable spaces that are not technically up to code. There are tens of thousands of such units in Long Island as well as in the city. They can house a lot of people and tend to be much lower rent.
The issue of too expensive housing is waiting and also needed to be solved on Long Island. Building more houses and legalizing illegal “in-law” units are helpful to lessen this problem.
I agree with Yundai's solution, if there were more available houses, then the costs for living in these houses should decrease. Another way to tackle the issue of homes being to expensive for Long Islanders is to rework the taxes. According to the article, experts believe "taxes contributed to the problem of housing costs." I do not want to say that taxes should be lowered, but there is an issue revolving around people that rent "off the books".
DeleteWhat I mean by this is there are some people that rent part of a house, such as a garage or basement, and pay in cash to the homeowners. These renters do not contribute to homeowners tax, and I feel this is has some part in the high cost of living on Long Island. There are more people on Long Island than those being reported, multiple families can live in a house, and only the official homeowners pay homeowners taxes.
According to this report in Newsday, approximately 44% of homeowners are paying 30% more for their housing than they can afford in their income. New York is a very expensive state, especially living on Long Island. The main issue is that "the financial burdens facing Long Island homeowners pose a challenge in attracting businesses here, and, in the long term, stunt economic growth"(Newsday). A solution to this problem would be to try and revert back to increasing business and reducing taxes on housing which seems to be a major problem "Some experts said taxes contributed to the problem of housing costs. "We've seen interest rates go down, but taxes continue to rise" (Newsday). Reducing taxes would make a significant difference for homeowners in Long Island as "The overall savings to local governments, over five years, will be $4.6 billion" (governor.ny.gov). This cut in taxes will provide medicaid relief, pension reform and other reforms. Having such benefits will motivate people to go out more and spend which will benefit big and small businesses immensely.
ReplyDeletei completely agree !
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is evident that residing in a suburban area and owning a home could potentially impede the economic productivity in some areas of NY. This is so because more taxes are being paid towards housing rather than small businesses; unlike in densely populated areas where most people own apartments.
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion towards resolving this problem can be to joint smaller businesses with similar retail to increase competition and endorsement of a company (such like Walmart). Taking 4 different candle stores or bakeries and building a main outpost for their products will increase economic productivity. One solution for high taxes towards home owners are to reduce spending on affairs that are not beneficial to the community or placing an "personal income tax" on commodities that an individual purchases (by credit card). I agree with Yundai considering that there are taxes being spent to hold expensive houses that are placed for sale, while the majority can not afford to reside in the areas where these houses are located.
At this point New york homes are at a all time high. It's at a point where a homeowner is paying more for the house then the actual house it self. i know this because my dad is constantly complaining about it. "Our economy is dependent on retail and consumer spending. Every dollar spent on owning or renting a home is not spent on local business." This sentenced it self proves to be so true. But since our ecomy is bad we can't afford these new houses so why raise the prices? If we were to lower housing and renting profits more people would be able to buy these living establishments. Long island it self is one of the most expensive places to live on. People now are losing their homes because they can't keep up with the morgage or they just can't no longer afford the rent. Even places in the bronx are at an all time high. This problem it self mainly depends on the economy honestly. If the economy gets better then this problem will soon go away.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Ambar. The prices of homes are ridiculously high, especially in New York. Some families are having trouble finding homes to live in that won't completely deplete their money supply and honestly that is sad. People are moving into other family members' homes due to the inability to afford a place on their own, and the amount of jobs a person works doesn't have importance in this case because someone can be working two or three jobs and still not be able to pay their mortgage or rent. Some families even have to move and leave behind their lives just so they won't go into a great amount of debt. They are taking their children away from their "childhood" in order to afford daily necessities, they are relocating in different areas of the United States that are cheaper and giving their lives here away. If they were going to lower the prices of homes or rent then people would be able to live without the worry of losing their homes or having such a tight amount of money to deal with. The fact that some homeonwers pay 30% more on mortgage than they make as their income is seriously ridiculous. I understand that the economy does need to be brought up from this "recession", but how can that be made possible if people can't afford their homes on their own? They can't spend money at local or even big businesses to help stimulate the economy because they need to worry about making it by monthly. Instead of raising taxes on homes and such, there should be lower prices for homes, then people would have the ability to give more money toward businesses the economy would essentially get better in time.
DeleteI also agree with Ambar. To buy a home has become very expensive. The prices have increased drastically in the past 10 years. What makes it even worse in New York is the cost of living that goes along with it. Someone wastes more money in New York on the essentials, than in other states. The only way that buying a home will become more affordable is if one of the two main things are lowered. If the preset prices of homes are lowered, then the tax and the new price would keep the house in a decent range for the common person. Or if it is the other way round, the tax is lowered on real estate and the price is kept the same. The houses will also be in an affordable range. But people must be responsible and buy a house that they could actually afford. And not go into debt just because the house is big and nice.
DeleteI as well agree with Ambar. New York is an expensive state to live in and Long Island is one of the most expensive areas to live in. The worst our economy is the more expensive products and rent will be. If our economy improves, the less expensive products and homes will be. Due to the fact our economy is so bad, living becomes expensive. Food prices increase, just as rent and mortgages increase. The bigger a family is the more expensive their cost become. A lot of families can't afford home because of the expensive. Also as Ally states, because the housing is so expensive you can't expect our recession to better because these individuals are working just for their rent or mortgages, not to spend money on products and goods. The economy needs to better for this problem to be solved.
DeleteThe article supports my idea of not living on Long Island when I get older. Unless I'm making enough to buy Mrs. Wilsher I am not going to get a mortgage for a house in the Hamptons. The fact that a large percentage of people living on Long Island spend a large percentage of their income just for a house makes me want to live in a car and perhaps spend my money on food. I can't even escape the high cost of housing by renting a property, I'll have half of my income going to people like Mr. Seubert!
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading an article, I was thinking of implementing a government subsidized boarding house or something of the sort. I don't necessarily mean that tax payers should house the homeless but rather there should be a large building that can give proper housing for bare minimum (because the government isn't as interested in making a profit off their land). The costs would be low in the same way that twenty people on a bus is more efficient than twenty people in twenty cars. One (or many) huge and well insulated building to house those already living in buildings that each heat themselves would save enough money on heating alone to bring the cost of rent down for the residents; smack some solar panels on the top and BAM! low cost and reliable electricity. The only real issue I see is the buildings turning into tenements which could easily be avoided by strict government regulation (It's already a government building).
On top of that, all these people saving money by living in boarding houses would lower the demand for housing on Long Island which theoretically would lower the price of housing for those still living on their own property. I'm sure this could work but I don't think the situation is dire enough for the government to invest. "Just move if you can't afford it here" is what taxpayers will probably say.
I think that the only solution to making living on Long Island more affordable is to stop developers from building all these expensive condominiums that the common man can not afford and build affordable new housing where property taxes could be waived the first couple of years upon purchasing. This would entice young adults to stay on Long Island after college or high school. CBS New York reports that 51% of the population of young adults in Oyster Bay Long Island dropped due to them not being able to afford a comfortable lifestyle here straight out of college or high school. Another proposed solution would be to freeze property taxes for a short amount of time on homeowners and small businesses and increase the taxes on big businesses to make small businesses a popular choice for consumers since the money and income of the small businesses is what stays on Long Island not these big corporations that mostly operate oversees and don't fund the community locally.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with Jackie on her stance. More cost-friendly housing should be built here on Long Island, to help improve on the situation. If the cost of houses went down, much more money could be put towards buying other necessities-like as the article mentions-health care, food, car payments, and the such. This would attract more people to flock to our communities, and help add to their revenue. The high living costs turn many people away, leaving few, more wealthy people to live on Long Island. The more economically-challenged ones see the price of living here, and are turned off to how expensive it is to afford a home. Prices have gone up, and are still going up, to the point where many are losing their houses with how expensive things are where we live. Creating more low-costing houses would help boost our local economy in bringing in a numerous amount of people, which could help aid our local businesses, in turn. This could lead to a somewhat small drop in property taxes, but even a small amount could make a difference.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI agree with Jackie on her statement, about lowering the cost a new home or rent to a more affordable rate. I believe this would help the communities on the island greatly, especially some changes in taxes. Because like she referenced if 51% of young adult can’t find an affordable place they would being on the street or have to move outside the state. This would have a negative effect on our local economy with no fresh minds to take jobs after the current ones working, killing small business, the number of the homeless would increase, and only businesses that are national and international would really strive here.
DeleteI believe that the only way to decrease this epidemic is to lower the cost of housing. Young adults as myself should not have to come out of College struggling for a home. Not only is buying a house too high, but renting it is too. Individuals have to take care of families, utilities and now a home? These prices are more than what they earn. There should be a certain amount to pay each month according to occupation. People are in different situations, and as our economy gets worst, the more people are out on the street.
ReplyDelete