VICA and the Affordable Housing Scam

Day Street "Affordable Housing" in Tujunga
Construction cost of individual units higher than that of single family homes
"CEO" of non-profit makes more than a City Council member

This just came over the wire. The answer is no, no, no. We don't need any more affordable housing schemes which is a way that the "homeless-industrial" complex generates corporate welfare for developers, contributions for politicians and high paying six-figure jobs for non-profit "CEOs." 

Y'all need to oppose this bill. What we need for affordable housing is to 1) stop the massive run-up of building more and more multi-family residential developments in communities that don't have the infrastructure for such, which lowers the inventory of single family homes and thus raises the cost of home ownership and 2) let the free market handle this, innovative developers and housing providers will address the need and we won't prop up "too big to fail" developers who can only turn a profit via government funding and intervention in the marketplace. 

VICA used to be an organization for business, now it's a lobbying shill for politicians and those who make money by being cozy with politicians. I don't think they would know the free market if it jumped up and bit them.

CALIFORNIA HOMES AND JOBS ACT RELIEVES BUILDING INDUSTRY, HOUSING SHORTAGE

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.— The Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) supports the California Homes and Jobs Act of 2013, which tackles two issues important to the San Fernando Valley: a lagging construction industry and an affordable housing shortage.

The legislation enacts a $75 fee on real estate documents to generate roughly $500 million a year for a California Homes and Jobs Trust Fund, which will fund construction and administer affordable housing programs statewide.

VICA’s Board of Directors voted to support the act, with the recommendation that the bill cap the number of documents that can incur a fee per transaction. The board agreed that a $75 fee is a worthy investment for much-needed housing and jobs but the policy becomes onerous when an individual is smacked with hundreds of dollars in fees in one single transaction.

Affordable housing programs have been funded primarily through Propositions 46 in 2002 and 1C in 2006, but both funds have been exhausted. We need to replenish these funds in order to stir economic growth and find homes for the hundreds of thousands of struggling families on the affordable housing waiting lists in the City of Los Angeles and L.A. County.

“A strong economy relies on a healthy construction sector,” said VICA Chair, David Adelman. “It makes sense to fund already-successful housing programs, while stimulating the building industry.”