Those sages at the conservative think tanks could have told you; and in fact they did, ten and twenty and even more years ago: Regulation introduces inefficiencies. But fear not! Each successive incarnation of governing boards has a brave new plan to succeed by repeating past mistakes. Now, we see that, after a couple decades of government initiatives to increase the affordable housing stock, almost half the people who live in Asheville are rent-burdened, paying at least 30% of their incomes in rent. I am supposing this number does not take into consideration the vast homeless population or those who are mooching off friends for living space. Are people receiving housing subsidies included?
Fear not again! Rumor has it the city and county will both be raising taxes after revals adversely affected many residents. With increased revenue, government can pay companies, like Project X, to create more jobs – just like the nother one you’re gonna need to pay the landlord.
