The Colorado Independent - Latest Comments in Affordable housing activists kill their own statewide initiative

Re: Affordable housing activists kill their own statewide initiative

smallermindsoftprevail — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:20:58 -0000

You have got to be kidding me with this people voluntarily donate money to causes that they feel are worthy. Yes they do. But 38 other states have realized that the cost of housing is so significant that charity alone can't do it all. Ask the builders who donate to all kinds of worthy affordable housing efforts, and they will tell you they can't do it all. The government needs to help. And we redistribute wealth all the time in this country. Medicaid, food stamps, educational grants, aid to farmers, etc. What planet do you live on? This has not been a legitimate argument in decades. Having talked with many people about this initiative, they were excited that the state was going to finally step in and take a role here. You need to wake up, remember the great depression, not since before then has it made sense to anyone that the government not have a role in redistributing wealth. It is a legitimate question to ask what is the proper role, but we are long past questioning a role at all. The time for the government to step in and help with the gap between wages and housing prices is now. This issue will be back and you can help shape it, or get out of the way. But Colorado wages are not keeping pace with housing costs, and we all pay for that through increased costs in driving, and in costs to our education system and a variety of other costs. We must address this problem.

Re: Affordable housing activists kill their own statewide initiative

rrandall — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:26:26 -0000

Good! This was a BAD initiative! Why? Because it is not a proper for role of government in a free society to tax one group of people simply to transfer that money to another group (or entity) that government bureaucrats have decided is more deserving. This is called "wealth transfer". And it is consistent with both socialist and corporatist forms of government.

Socialists believe that people are basically "stingy" and must be forced by law to make involuntary contributions in the form of a special tax! Supporters for this sort of initiative are effectively judging their opponents as bad people - unwilling to help others. So they work to use the force of government to TAKE the fruits of your labor (this is why socialism = slavery).

In a free society, government respects the rights of the individual to choose how to spend their earnings. People voluntarily donate their money to causes that THEY feel are worthy.

Re: Affordable housing activists kill their own statewide initiative

joycev — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:03:44 -0000

It's especially hard to know this will have to wait for another year when there was such enthusiasm from the public. As a volunteer petitioner, I found people eager to sign up. So many people in Colorado have struggled to find a decent place they could afford, or know someone who has. This would have been such help to those of us trying to find a safe place for aging parents on fixed incomes.

Re: Affordable housing activists kill their own statewide initiative

dogwaltzer — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:17:26 -0000

Sad to see that the realtors association is part of the problem,not part of the solution. When will they step up? They continually take credit for caring about affordable housing through their CARHOF program, when actually that program is interest earned on consumer's money and realtors as a group ZERO of any realtor revenue to affordable housing.