Aliha Phillipe Enc 1102 Tues-Thurs 8am-11
Aliha Phillipe
Enc 1102
Tues-Thurs 8am-11:20am
Sagorski
7/30/18
Cost of living
As it related to the topic of cost of living, everyone has his or her own opinions on what needs to happen to make it “better”. What most people do not realize is that there are many things that play a role in the reason that cost of living has become at its uttermost and unbearable to deal with. For example, lack of jobs hiring, gentrification, and high rises of homes costs as well as minimum wage and more. This has become a problem majorly in the U.S, According to The Gaurdian.com; “a new government study finds 553,742 people were homeless on a single night this year. America’s homeless population has risen this year for the first time since the Great Recession”. This should really open eyes because the national poverty rate has fallen to around the same level as before the recession. Yet homelessness is linked to economic growth. Due to the rising cost of living, Americans are still struggling to meet their most basic needs. In order to keep up with the cost of living in Miami, the state of Florida should create more affordable homes, raise minimum wage create higher paying jobs and keep gentrification from hurting communities.
There is no secret that the cost of living in Miami is ridiculous. Compared to other states such as Georgia, where you can have a 2-3 bedroom home for about $500. It has been impossible for families to find homes to live in .An issue is Mortgage Maturity according to Cowing in “The Latest Threat: How Mortgage Maturity Jeopardizes Affordable Housing”, the author discusses how mortgage maturity can be a factor in non-affordable homes. The article discuss the challenges due to the maturity of mortgages for example, rent increases. If property owners of low-income housing mortgages are matured those low-incoming houses are no longer going to be the same prices as before. Mortgage maturity is a rising issue across South Florida, this issue forces family to have not much of a choice but to move out and forfeit their homes. Another issue that interrelates with the lack of affordable homes is Gentrification. Although there is no hard proof that gentrifying communities has made a great difference to higher cost of living, they do understand that it has caused hardships for families in low-income areas. According to “Gentrification, Displacement, and the Role of Public Investment” “in-movers to gentrifying neighborhoods are wealthier, whiter, and of higher educational attainment than incumbent residents, and out-movers are more likely to be renters, poorer, and people of color than in-movers”. For those who own their homes, they are safer when it comes to gentrifying. On the other hand when it comes to people who are renting, it is not up to them it is up to the owner of the property and if the owner agrees to sell those properties those who are renting are in big trouble and are forced to find homes immediately.
According to Aguilar in “Old, Female and Homeless.” March 2012 report by National Low Income Housing Coalition small studio apartments are as high as 2,000 a month this requires a salary of at least 70,000 a year. With what minimum wage offers it is nearly impossible to find homes. The many problems that communities are facing due to low cost of wages is a major issue because it is creating more individuals to be homeless as a result. It states in the article that at the Mission Neighborhood Health Center in San Francisco people are lined up from 5 am hoping to get a bed. The article expresses that by 7am all the beds are filled. On the weekends the shelters close leaving many people left to be on the street. For the woman it is worse because they suffer far more hardships than males, they are attacked, threatened and assaulted more than men. Some may argue that if minimum wage goes higher than it may solve the issues concerning the cost of living. However, some others have their opinions according to “The Truth about the Minimum Wage, Neither Job Killer Nor Cure-All” by Manning, “it doesn’t even help. There is not enough evidence to just say raising the minimum wage is a job killer although it is a possibility. Yet raising the minimum wage is not the most effective way to fight poverty and grow your economy.” Many Americans disagree with this statement because if the cost of wages were able to go up and the cost of living does not move as far as prices how could this not be a great help to families and communities in need ? Minimum wage will always remain a big factor when it comes to the cost of living it is rapidly appreciating to a point where it is out of reach for lower earners to maintain.
In articles “How Much Money Do You Need to Live in Miami?” and “Here’s how much it really costs to live in Miami. (Hint: Broward is higher!)” Both of these articles explains how much in cost it is to really live in Miami and some of the challenges that people have to face. Miami is the top 100 top most expensive metropolitan cities to live in. The article goes on to further explain how basic needs such as gas, groceries and rent are so unbearable. Many people have packed up their bags and moved seeking better places they can lie accordingly to their lifestyles. Citizens of Miami can’t afford to pay for all their bills this is a problem and can result in numerous amounts of foreclose homes. Rent is up to $2,000 a month and is impossible for many to afford, especially if that individual is working a minimum wage job they will not be able to afford an average home. In addition to the cost of rent, the topic of insurance having a vehicle and keeping up with car payments and insurance is also another issue. Car insurance is at its highest especially in Florida because it holds the records of the most car accident in the nation. Another issue is the cost of utilizes especially in the summer it is reportedly at its hiA few solutions when it comes to surviving the average cost of living is making it simpler for those finding affordable homes. For example, ask about assisted living many programs are in place to assist families and individuals with low income. Always apply for as much assistance as possible. As for minimum wages, there is an article entitled “The Impact of a $15/hour Minimum Wage in Florida” there was a bill that stated they would raise minimum wage from $8.05 an hour to $15 an hour however this bill did not pass . New York and California have both passed laws that will gradually raise the minimum wage in those states to $15 per hour. If this bill were to pass in the state of Florida, it would influence businesses, the job market, and the everyday lives of Florida residents. When it relates to gentrification, a possible solution could be to encourage communities and empower resident in Miami to stay in their communities because this can avoid the high costs of homes in the neighborhoods. If they cannot gentrify an area prices of homes in that community cannot go higher.
Works Cited
AGUILAR, ROSE. “Old, Female and Homeless.” Nation, vol. 296, no. 6, 11 Feb. 2013, pp. 24-26. EBSCOhost, db16.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=85098302&site=ehost-liveAmerica’s homeless population rises for the first time since the Great Recession The Guardian, theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/05/america-homeless-population-2017-official-count-crisis
Cowing, Adam. “The Latest Threat: How Mortgage Maturity Jeopardizes Affordable Housing.” Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law, vol. 21, no. 2, Mar. 2012, pp. 233-247. EBSCOhost, db16.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=79463371&site=ehost-live.
DePersio,Greg , How Much Money Do You Need to Live in Miami? , Investopedia, https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/090815/how-much-money-do-you-need-live-miami.asp
Manning, Alan. “The Truth about the Minimum Wage: Neither Job Killer nor Cure-All.” Foreign Affairs, vol. 97, no. 1, Jan/Feb2018, pp. 126-135. EBSCOhost, db16.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=127090097&lang=tr&site=ehost-liveMiriam Zuk, Ariel H. Bierbaum, Karen Chapple, Gentrification, Displacement, and the Role of Public Investment ,First Published July 2, 2017 Research Article , https://doi-org.db16.linccweb.org/10.1177/0885412217716439The Impact of a $15/hour Minimum Wage in Florida, 6/28/2016, https://www.floridatrend.com/article/20238/the-impact-of-a-15hour-minimum-wage-in-floridaWile, Rob. ‘Here’s how much it really costs to live in Miami. (Hint: Broward is higher!)” Miami Herald March 14, 2018 07:00 AM Web. Updated March 14, 2018 10:15 PMhttps://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article204976054.html
