Subsidized Housing

  In many parts of the United States, housing is so expensive that the average person cannot afford to buy.  Even professionals do not make enough money to afford a house.

We've all heard about section eight housing for those with limited income.  In some places, there is rent control where the landlord cannot raise the rent until they put the apartment up for rent.  Unfortunately, these options tend to be only available for the very low income but what if you are a white collar worker.

Imagine, spending four years getting your degree so that you can pursue your life long dream of teaching.  You find a job in an area you want to be in but your salary just doesn't stretch to afford a house.  You might find an apartment that takes half your salary.

Think about this!  You make $45,000 per year but the average house price is $600,000 per year and apartments are in the $2000 per month range.  Neither is particularly affordable.  So what do you do?  Do you find a place to live that requires a 2 to 3 hour commute each day?  Do you find several roommates so you can afford to live closer to work?

Many teachers find themselves in this predicament and districts cannot keep people because they cannot afford to live in the area.  So districts are looking at floating bonds so they can build subsidized housing for their employees.  This is not just in the cities but it is also in areas which are considered playgrounds for the rich such as Aspen, Colorado.

This idea is quite common in Alaska out in the bush and has been for many, many, years.  When the Bureau of Indian Affairs ran the schools, housing was automatically provided so teachers had a place to live that was more comfortable than local housing.  Once districts formed, they inherited BIA housing and built new housing as the old housing wore out.

Even today most bush districts continue to provide housing, especially in the more remote areas. Many villages simply do not have enough vacant housing  available to be rented and this eases the housing situation.

It appears the rest of the country is finally catching up to what Alaska has been and continues doing.