The Department of Housing and Urban Development released stunning new statistics this week; designating households that earn over six-figure salaries “low income” in three Bay Area counties.
The HUD report now considers families making $117,000 in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin county “low income,” claiming a family of four is “possibly in poverty” despite earning an income drastically larger than the national average.
“That kind of shocks you. How is that possibly poverty by anybody’s measure? But it actually is for a family of four in our area,” said Ken Cole, Director of the San Mateo County Department of Housing.
“According to the latest survey by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the median income in those three counties tops the entire country, and is so high that households making $117,000 would actually qualify to live in low-income housing projects,” writes CBS San Francisco.
“You’re going to have to trade off higher-cost housing for it in this area. And you’re gonna have to put up with people sleeping on the sidewalk,” Cole added.
Read the full story at CBS San Francisco.
CALIFORNIA CHAOS: Homeless Camps HALT TRAIN Traffic Across the State
The recent boom of makeshift homeless camps alongside California’s railroad tracks is creating a major headache for local commuters; slowing down train schedules and halting service due to unauthorized persons “trespassing” in the area.
According to Fox News, the “explosion” of tent villages across the state are frustrating residents and local authorities; prompting officials to issue an official “note” to passengers to explain delayed schedules and canceled service.
“The Capitol Corridor’s service in the past year, and particularly over the past six months, has not been up to the levels you are used to and have come to expect from us,” Managing Director David Kutrosky said in his note to riders. “I know this is frustrating for you. It is frustrating, and unacceptable, for us as well.”
“It bears repeating, being on or alongside railroad tracks is not only unwise, but it is also illegal because technically that area, also called the ‘right of way,’ is owned by UP(Union Pacific),” Kutrosky added.
The explosion of homeless “tent towns” across the state have prompted a severe backlash against the encampments, with local governments in Orange County voting to dismantle the sites and relocate the homeless population to more permanent shelters.
CALIFORNIA CHAOS: LA Considers GIVING FREE HOUSES to City’s Homeless Population
The full-fledged chaos engulfing the state of California continued this week, with the Los Angeles City Council considering a motion that would provide free housing to the city’s estimated 60,000 person homeless population.
According to CBS Los Angeles, the motion was introduced last month and will be brought before the council Friday; declaring the city’s ballooning transient problem a public health emergency. The declaration would release additional funds to construct new homes and shelters for those on the city streets.
“The city has explored multiple options for dealing with its growing homeless population,” writes CBS. “In February, the council unanimously approved putting about 60 homeless people in trailers on a downtown lot.”
The portable shelters contain bathrooms, kitchens, at least one bedroom, and are expected to cost approximately $2 million.
The vote comes as nearby countries and cities reject the state’s “unconstitutional” ‘Sanctuary’ policies, with one town officially voting down the measure as homelessness and crime rates soar throughout the region.