Homeless Tsunami

[Purple]

"Everyone else is handling this poorly" is not an excuse.

We are handling it better than most, considering how bad our crash was and by how much our population is increasing.

That sort of thinking lets governments off the hook, discourages innovation, and delays progress. If everyone else in class was getting a D, would you not still aim for an A?

The biggest lie politicians tell is that they can actually change things.

It might directly affect 13,000 people but the indirect effects are very significant. Lack of housing, lack of mobility/choice in the market, increase in rents, increase in house prices - all of these are connected and cause ripples across the economy.

I agree. It's a problem, a big one. It's not a crisis though.

For homeowners, the chronic undersupply means house values are increasing. Unearned wealth which is precarious, unpredictable, and gives a false sense of security. Houses in our area have increased by 80% in 5 years. Therefore our property tax will also. So a lot of people affected by this.

God help them. All that extra wealth...

In the past 2 months we have had 4 new hires pull out of jobs because they could not find suitable rental accommodation. Not that it was too expensive - they could not find a place. These people were all on €80k-€100k. We now have to poach from other employers in Dublin - that will affect a lot of people. And we will have to hire more junior employees for these roles - that will affect a lot of services and a lot of people.

And so on. So there are lots of ways this gridlock and undersupply affects individuals, communities, and the wider economy.

I agree. We have the same problem getting people.

Agree - property tax should have been introduced a long time ago and it should be much higher than it is now.

+1

And why are parents allowed to give children €300k+ tax free? It is a loss of revenue for the state and it perpetuates wealth inequality. I get that the parents have paid tax on the original earnings, fine, spend it on yourself then, but what has that go to do with their children being given a windfall? If I give €300k to my niece she has to pay tax on it, and rightly so.

In general terms I agree. An egalitarian society should let people keep more of the money they earn and less of the money they don't earn.

Housing is considered a universal human right by many of us, is included in some national constitutions, and part of international treaties which Ireland has signed/ratified.

Free housing shouldn't be a right. If you can work and choose not to or choose to work less than you are able to then you should get nothing.

@Purple and @Right Winger what do you both mean by gaming the system? And what are the actual figures? I hear people say this but have never seen any data produced.

The former head of the Housing Authority has written and spoken on the topic.

I don't see how an expectation that all children should be housed safely and securely is unreasonable.

I agree but the primary responsibility for that lies with their parent. If you can't afford kids then don't have them.

As a "hardworking, taxpaying citizen" (you forgot "who gets up early in the morning"), I would be happy to pay more tax for that purpose.

I pay over 50% of my total earnings in tax. I think that's enough.

 

[Leo]

Ah, come on now! Live in the real world for a minute. What local authority is going to produce figures for how its generosity gets abused?

I think social housing rent arrears is a good indicator, DCC regularly report the majority of their tenants are in arrears on their means-tested rent.