Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Santa Barbara housing fantasy

Once again, Santa Barbara gets the nod as one of the least affordable places to get housing in the US. Even with Santa Maria (the place 60 miles away where people go to find affordable housing here) included in the data, we're #5 on the least affordable list.

And the folk who already own property here somehow think that is a healthy situation?!?!?

2 comments:

Dennis E. McFadden said...

During my college days at Westmont about 100 years ago, I remember the impossibly high prices for property throughout SB. When Jeanette and I got married at the end of our junior year, we found very unaffordable housing possible only due to its "undesirable" location in the bario near the freeway and a trailor park. But, hey, as a boy raised on the wrong side of the tracks, it was old home week for me!

Roy, interestingly, for a fundy like me somewhere to the right of Mr. A. Hun, I just joined the board of a eccumenical non-profit in my town with an agenda that includes issues of poverty and affordable housing. When are more church people on "my side of the aisle" going to see poverty and housing as profound theological isues?

Is it any wonder that the kids see Bono as the exemplar of Christianity rather than establishment figures?

Dave Miller said...

Intersting question Dennis. I am sure you are aware that the latest head of "Moral Majority" was asked to resigned after they felt they he was a little too out of the box in expecting a more moral stance regarding the environment and poverty.

Any time I bring up churches working in these types of arenas, I am met with either we need to more worried about peoples souls, or our task is to be more loving to the "already saved body."

While I certainly support both of those ideals, they are not helping our churches be incarnational in their communities and where the unchurched are really living.