If Rep. Scholten really wanted a just housing system she would need to do three things

Last week Representative Hillary Scholten hosted a forum on the issue of housing at the downtown campus of GVSU.

Rep. Scholten was joined by people who provide housing support to families struggling to afford the high cost of owning or renting a place to live in the Grand Rapids area. The event only lasted an hour and the majority of that time was taken up by those on the stage.

Rep. Scholten did use data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition on the cost of rent for those living in the Grand Rapids/Wyoming. The current cost of rent would require people to earn at least $26.33 an hour to afford the average cost of rent in this area.

What was not a part of this conversation and is usually omitted from conversations around housing are three important points. First, there was no discussion about how housing is subject to the market as opposed to housing being a right for everyone. Housing is just another commodity in the economic system of Capitalism. The housing market is primarily a for profit system, which includes a small percentage of non-profit housing that relies on public subsidies to build new housing. If we believe that housing is a right for everyone, then we need to remove housing from the system of Capitalism.

A second critical point that was omitted from the forum on housing hosted by Rep. Scholten was the the issue that so many people don’t make enough money to afford a home or even the cost of rent. In a post in December, Rep. Scholten was cheering about the fact that Michigan’s minimum wage would increase to $13.73 an hour. This is grossly inadequate and it seems a bit out of touch to acknowledge that people need to earn at least $26.33 an hour to afford the average cost of rent in this area, without calling for a living wage in Michigan and around the country.

The third vitally important part point that was omitted during the conversation at the housing forum that Rep. Scholten hosted was on the issue of spending priorities. In January, Rep. Scholten voted for the US military budget ($840 Billion), which demonstrates that militarism is a priority, but not housing.

According to the National Priorities Project $2.01 billion in taxes leaves the 3rd Congressional district every year to fund US militarism. Imagine if that money was spent on meeting the needs of people in Rep. Scholten’s District. Unfortunately, voting for the $840 billion military budget demonstrates that Rep. Scholten is more committed to US imperialism than she is to making sure that people in her district have their basic needs met.

Until the issues of removing housing from the system of Capitalism, paying people a livable wage and prioritizing meeting people’s basic needs over US militarism are addressed we will always have millions of families in this country who can’t afford a place to live.