Christine Clarke
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Campaign Twitter
Campaign Instagram
Campaign YouTube
QUESTION 2: Since the collapse of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), towns across NJ26 have lost control of affordable housing issues to the courts and have spent tens of thousands of dollars on plans and remedies. Should oversight of affordable housing return to the state, and if so, how?
Housing is essential to a healthy and vibrant economy. Businesses need workers who can afford to live near enough to their workplaces for a short or reasonable commute. Workers need homes near to their employers, so they can both be great employees and spend time with their families. Creating affordable housing also helps seniors struggling to get by on social security, veterans, people with disabilities, new citizens and families, and more.
Unfortunately, under the previous administration, we lost sight of that. Cutting COAH and affordable housing resulted in nearly 200 towns going to court, proving the need for restoring oversight in an unnecessarily expensive manner while wasting taxpayer dollars on lawsuits. New Jersey is presently the fifth most expensive state for renters. New Jersey has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. Income inequality is at the worst it’s been in decades.
When we look at New Jersey’s high cost of living, using the federal poverty marker of $50,200 for a family of four, we see that 22% of New Jersey’s families live below the poverty line. Women face higher poverty rates than men (10.5% vs. 8.4%) and the likelihood to live in poverty increases for people of color or different racial or ethnic backgrounds.
Experts say one should not spend more than 30% of one’s income on housing costs. Millions of people across America and here in New Jersey continue to spend half of their income or more on housing costs, and that’s a clear sign that we need to invest more as a state to make sure people have homes they can afford to live in. The financial stress that comes with being unable to afford one’s basic living needs also creates poor health outcomes due to stress and anxiety, creates burdens on our healthcare system, social and emotional health impacts, and lost time at work.
It’s time we set policies that tip the scales back toward working families, retirees, veterans and people trying in good faith to get by in New Jersey, not only to help our economy and restore balance but because it’s also the moral thing to do.
