"Affordable housing" and Unions are two of the pet causes of the American Statist Progressives (ASPs).
Now, here at the Alexandria Daily Poop, we know very well what the ASPs mean by "affordable" housing. They mean housing that is so cheap that people who make minimum wage can afford it. AND the reason they adore Unions (or so they claim) is that unions are the means to better pay - far above minimum wage - for "the workers".
Well, we believe in giving credit where credit is due. In the State of Michigan; in Detroit and vicinity, union efforts have had the effect of raising the pay and benefits of workers to such ridiculous levels that one exasperated employer after another has just pulled up stakes and flat out left the area. The reason is very simple: you cannot pay a worker who produces $45 worth of goods and/or services per hour wages and benefits totalling $75 per hour.
When these employers left, it threw a lot of these "workers" (We put "workers" in quotes because it is a Marxist term) out of work and onto the dole. This created a ripple effect, with taxes being raised on the remaining employees and residents. Many of these also simply moved elsewhere.
Today we were informed that in the Detroit area, one can obtain a house - and a pretty good one, too - for a measly one thousand dollars. A fifteen year mortgage for one grand would have a payment of about eight bucks and change per month, and at that price homeowner's insurance would be tres cheap!
Such a miracle.
Except, of course, that the reason this housing is so "affordable" is that nobody in Detroit will buy it. The financial chaos engendered by the ridiculous demands of the UAW and other unions has created miniature "ghost towns" in Detroit and its suburbs.
Today Michigan has taken steps to remedy this situation. The Governor of Michigan has signed aa bill making Michigan a "right to work" state; meaning that no person seeking employment may be forced to donate part of his or her hard-earned pay to support a union. There will be no more "closed shops".
Now, THIS was a true miracle. And it came about because Michigan voters killed a State Constitutional amendment enshrining "collective bargaining" as a right, facing down union thuggery to do so. This showed the Governor (an ASP himself) which way the political winds were blowing, and today he signed a bill, passed by the duly-elected-by-the-People State legislature making Michigan the 24th "right-to-work" state in the - er - Union.
Naturally the unions showed their ugly side with demonstrations that were borderline riots. There was violence, a few people got kicked around pretty bad, private property was vandalized and destroyed. But the bill was passed anyway; and the Governor signed it anyway, so now the unions are plotting political mischief and shopping for judges.
Mind you, this vote against the amendment - which started the ball rolling toward "right to work" - came in the exact same election wherein Obama carried Michigan by a large margin. This indicates to us that a large number of Obama voters in Michigan either were brought in from outside as straw voters and did not know anything about any other issues save that they were to cast their ballots for Obama and anyone else with a "D" beside their names; or that a majority of voters are FOR "right-to-work" but otherwise bought all that negative crapola (crapola paid for with union dues) about Romney being an uncaring, dog-abusing robber baron (and a Mormon, which is true but so what?).
WELL, now that Michigan is showing signs of righting itself, maybe it would be a good investment to take out a 15 year note on a few of those houses and fix them up. In a few years there might be people coming to Michigan who would be glad to pay 100 times what you bought your newly "affordable" house for.
If you do that and it happens, be sure to write the UAW a nice "thank you" letter.
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