[lbo-talk] Winter solstice wishes

[Chuck Grimes]

Simple. All the machinery exists in the sense of bureaucratic systems, 
oversight, reporting, accountability for a vast increase in federally funded 
housing subsidies and development. All that is needed is money. So re-start 
that system to provide subsidy for low income housing of existing units and 
increase development of new buildings of modest scale within the 
neighborhood areas near already existing and down and out shopping areas. A 
lot of multistoried but relatively modest buildings were either renovated or 
built around Berkeley and Oakland to provide housing which was totally 
inadequate to the need, but they did start on this in the 1990s. These 
immediately filled up with seniors.

But really what was needed was more of the same and added mixed population 
of families with a spread of middle to low incomes built near shopping and 
transportation. These kinds of projects need the other side of the equation 
which is jobs. The reconstruction of local physical infrastructure is crying 
need. It was started in the late 80-90s with the ports but never carried 
through to rail and trucking, which forms a kind of bottleneck to move 
frieght out of the port and into the western states. The current practice is 
to hire companies low bid and who are typically located outside the bay 
area. Revert to local companies so that the jobs are local and heavily 
unionized to begin with.

So solstice fairy put on your red arm band and get out your clipboard.

CG