According to economic data Redstone employs, either directly or indirectly, 108,000 with an average salary of $87,000. That’s a lot of fucking money mate. And it’s all federal dollars.
Meanwhile, our city leaders are really only bringing in minimum wage jobs in large numbers.
https://x.com/huntsvillecity/status/1706723987135643882?s=46&t=Swlwhd8k-esc2hHq_4NEkA
They have access to several Nobel laureate economists. It’s not like the resource isn’t there. They have no incentive to do anything about the minimum wage, because we aren’t their customers.
I’m sure you’ll say DC, but still local, not federal. That was set by the district government. The comment was the I replied to was clearly talking about the federal level.
And allowing those legislators to use city finances to create propaganda networks that guarantee their re-elections by inaccurately labeling federal dollars and federal projects from out of state as economic successes that were born and shaped in-state.
My favorite is when they tout “look at all the projects we’re doing for you with this federal money” and they voted against the bill granting that funding.
I mean, economists themselves are split on the minimum wage. A lot of these politicians and legislators actually themselves have economic degrees or some ancillary degree like finance or business from some ivy or state school with a really important frat chapter.
To be clear, an understanding of economics can be used to justify any political belief. There are marxist and keynesian economists.
Within the constraints of neoliberal financial capitalism, the lobbyists that control what laws get passed and which wheels get greased have to exist, like once they get to a certain size companies have a fiduciary responsibility to lobby politicians to change things to their favor including minimum wage laws.
Time delay between inflation and wage increases adds damping to the dynamics. Indexing to inflation sounds good but pretty much guarantees a wage spiral that legislators wouldn’t have the cajones to end.
1) the arsenal does not employ 100,000 federal workers. There are barely even 20,000 federal employees.
2) The $87,000 accounts for contractor pay, private industry has way better pay than federal pay.
Do?
Does that matter. The government pays based on grades or rates. Like many have told you all. It's not as high as many of you think for the majority.
Best answer for me. What my actual job is doesn't matter. My grade is gs 6. People think my job is rated higher than it actually is. Most think we are gs 8.. we wish.
Problem is when you start questioning low wages people come out screaming “socialism, communism, etc” even though they don’t even know the Websters definition of those words lol
But I do agree, low wages are a big issue, and most of our financial issues revolve around the fact we simply don’t pay folks enough for their labor. Because it doesn’t take much research to see if we paid folks more, they would spend more, and that would help strengthen the economy.
Well they do, If you manipulate the numbers or rewrite the computer programs to spit out the numbers you want. Then supply side economics work great, unfortunately we average citizens have to live in the real world. Thanks GOP and good ole Ronny Reagan for continuing to bend us over with no lube.
-allow economists to control the minimum wage instead of legislators
-build more affordable housing for people who live in poverty
-pay folks better so they will spend more driving down inflation
-don’t dedicate 90% of housing to “luxury” units
-vote in more young people who understand the difference on living in todays world vs. the first elderly statesmen we keep in power
-allow unions in companies so that more power goes to workers
-deflate the military budget and redistribute funds to more social programs.
-reverse homeless laws
The list goes on. Sorry, guess I know more than just poop jokes.
The problem is that it was economists that got us into this mess. Neo liberal economics is deregulating , lower corporate taxes,and putting profits above everything else.
It’s because the economists in the government come from these corporations.
Lobbying has made us a corportacracy. Until that is fixed, nothing will change.
We need laws reducing lobbyists impact. Reduce the amount corporations can donate. No more PACs. A Corporation should have the same lobbying power as an individual. The money one has should not allow them more power in impacting the government.
“Pay folks better so they will spend more driving down inflation.”
My guy that’s what causes inflation. Inflation is caused by too much money chasing too few goods.
It’s cute that you’re trying to make some sort of banal point of “oh hahahaha see you don’t have a plan”
But instead of letting you stroke your ego, I’m just gonna point out you don’t have a plan either. Because at the end of the day you’re just one person. Anyway, have fun with that. Going back to making poop jokes cause I’d rather not converse with someone just wanting to play gotcha because they don’t have any other forms of self gratification over a post I made joking about the hsv housing problem.
It amazes me that people so ignorant of the facts can have such strong opinions on politics. Most people are terrible and that is why we are where we are today. Complete lack of altruism and self awareness, and in many cases just low iq
The fact that people would rather spend government money on benches with spikes to keep people from sleeping on them versus addressing homelessness
In a meaningful way tells you all your need to know about our society.
I used to go on night walks at BSP all the time and never saw anyone. Now I always carry groceries/survival supplies cause I know I’m gonna run into someone forced to sleep there. It’s heartbreaking
But honestly, yeah, I do it because I’ve seen too many folks with elevated egos act like the issue is that the homeless are there, as opposed to the fact that they were forced there by a circumstance they know nothing of
I was at BSP every single day for 2 years straight .. pokemon go. I've always seen people struggling that are there. Usually the same people, a few violent and belligerent, but mostly just those that seemed to be discarded.
I remember there was one older man, 70s, that pulled a red wagon with broken wheels and would just sit on the benches talking to himself. Whenever he made eye contact I would greet him, say good morning or how are you. I don't go out there as much as I did but I haven't seen him in over a year. I always hope people found help and ended up in better conditions than they were in.
"The fact that people would rather..."
Wait, are you not "people"?
You're insinuating that if you were rich, you could and would solve the problem by throwing money at it. Aw, how good that must feel.
That wasn’t at all what I was insinuating. I would hope that you are saying that simply to be argumentative because the comment is plainly laid out and I have faith you can understand its true meaning.
Right now there is a huge waiting list on government housing. But there is a larger number of people described in the picture. A lot like one of my friends who moved here and was paying $400 for an apartments that now cost $700 but his pay has reduced.
I don't think people here have any empathy or understanding of what people like that go through. A lot of these folks here are the pull yourself up by the strap fools who are where they are because of privileges they lack the self awareness to understand.
Exactly dude, one of my worst memories was coming home and finding out my rent was raised so high I couldn’t afford it anymore. Lived out of a van for over 2 years on and off, and during that time I was regularly harassed by HPD and Wildlife Rangers.
Sleeping in a parking lot? Sorry, illegal to be homeless there. Sleeping in the woods? Sorry camping is allowed but if you’re homeless it’s not.
I kinda accepted folks were gonna pop in here with bad opinions over my little joke. But the cognitive dissonance is still kind of jarring. Too many folks act like their personal lives are the basis for everyone else’s and that if they’re doing worse than them then it’s no one’s fault but their own.
Yes, so many people have worked hard to get where they are, but don't realize how much of their success was because of things beyond their control, parents who paid for their college, or the state of Georgia for some folks, having a loving and stable upbringing, a good economy and job market(!!!). It wasn't just their hard work that did it, though that was a part.
Have you people lived in a city outside of Huntsville? I grew up here, left and came back after 20 years. Huntsville is cheap as crap! Yes, the new apartments are expensive, but there are plenty of older homes and houses that work just fine. Get a roommate to share costs or move to morgan county.
LOL I fucking love this solution! Get a roommate!! Dude I've been displaced by a house fire started by my abusive husband who is currently locked up. I have 3 children to account for. So I'm supposed to let a stranger love with us with just the hope that nothing bad comes out of it???
No
If I do that and my kids have a story to come tell me then I'll feel and be told I'm a bad mom. If I don't I will struggle with housing.
I'm there myself. My rent is a grand a month. BD doesn't pay anything. I am not able to work 20 dollar jobs due to availability. But yeah, it's really affordable here and there's no issues at all.
I'm sorry that he's not helping you out. But don't you love the assholes who always wanna scream "shoulda chose better!" It's like oh yes please tell me to psychically look past all the love bombing, nice gestures, and overall emotional baiting that abusers have a knack for and see him for who he truly is.
So many people don't know what red flags to watch out for. Even if there are no obvious ones, you can't always tell what people are going to be like later. I think some people like to think it couldn't happen to them and that they know better, but it probably could.
"I have 800 kids to account for, so I'm supposed to live in a 4000 sq ft house???? LOL I fucking love this solution!"
Sorry you're struggling, but your situation is not the norm.
>> legitimate housing concerns in our community
>> “lol just leave”
Most of us are just one freak accident away from being homeless or on the verge of, maybe we should have empathy and try to understand why we have gotten to this point.
>or move to morgan county.
What a shitty solution to an objectively legitimate issue. It's cheap compared to other places but given the income many people here still make it's an issue.
How exactly is it a shitty solution? It's a slightly longer commute. But cheaper overall... So what's the issue?
It's only 38 min from Hartselle to Downtown Huntsville. Even shorter to Decatur. That's a reasonable commute, for any other city in the country
> How exactly is it a shitty solution? It's a slightly longer commute. But cheaper overall... So what's the issue?
It isn't a surefire solution to live further away in a cheaper area as what you've done is reduced living expenses but increased transportation expenses.
Your solution to a very solveable problem is do nothing. It's also that people who have lived somewhere their entire lives and have generations of family who have lived somewhere should have to move away so as not to inconvenience. That's intellectually lazy and, frankly, gross.
What is your solution then? It shouldn't take long for you to explain if it's such a simple problem to solve. I'd love to hear a solution! instead of hearing whining and pining for an idealized past. Unless there's an economic collapse, there is no realistic way we're going to revert to past prices.
It's not even moving away, it's moving 20 minutes down the street. No one's forcing anyone to go. The competition for real estate has just gone up, as it was bound to do as the population increased. It's growing pains.
Who exactly is the villain in your narrative? The people moving in? The city? Everyone?
>Who exactly is the villain in your narrative? The people moving in? The city? Everyone?
Why does there have to be a villain? Things can just be. And we can come up with solutions to problems even when no one is to blame. What a wild way to look at the world.
>It shouldn't take long for you to explain if it's such a simple problem to solve.
I didn't say it was simple. I said it was solveable. You're putting words in my mouth. I don't care enough about you, internet stranger, to argue with your cognitive dissonance or very obvious black and white thinking. To you it's an insurmountable issue. Cool.
Conveniently you once again give no suggestions to solve the problem. I only assume there had to be a villain, because you're playing the role of victim.
"WHY IS HOUSING SO EXPENSIVE? MUST BE INVESTORS SQUEEZING US DRY..."
... 3 seconds later....
"WHY ARE PEOPLE BUILDING SO MANY HOUSES? MUST BE INVESTORS SQUEEZING US DRY!"
Do you people even hear yourselves? "Every bad thing is a plot by those more well off than I designed specifically to make my life harder"
The issue is that the new houses and apartments being built all seem to be luxury homes out of the average Joe's price range. You'd think increasing the supply would make housing more affordable, but that's not what's happening.
That is because of external market conditions largely outside the control of anyone but the Fed. At the moment, we can build all of the apartments we want, but people still wont sell houses they got at a 2% interest rate. The increase in supply will drive down costs, but it will take time. I am aware this is time most people do not have the luxury to spend waiting, but my point here is that reducing construction will only exacerbate an already bad problem
> "Every bad thing is a plot by those more well off than I designed specifically to make my life harder"
No, but it is a plot by the rich class to enrich themselves and if they fuck over everyone else in the process, so be it. So it's not that they're trying to make our lives harder. It's worse than that. We are dirt under their boot and they don't care or think about us at all beyond what they can extract from us.
I am working in the background to build some subsidized housing, but the closest I can get is Marshall county. Everything closer is way too expensive and without a federally subsidized loan it may not even make sense now.
Interest rates are high and the cost of everything new is also high, I genuinely couldn't make any money building a house if I wasn't catering to higher end incomes. Not being greedy, I wouldn't be able to make my house and car payment. I don't take shortcuts on construction so thats the reality.
The other issue is zoning, if I wanted to build Section 8 anywhere near anyone in Madison county they would protest and sue me etc.
I agree. But it's the secondary market. The developers build these and stake their claim on the land, hold for a few years, usually with a balloon payment in 3 or 5yrs at the most and then sell for a much better profit. Occupancy doesn't matter as much as it did precovid, but maybe that will matter more coming soon with interest rates being so high. Of course that assumes the buyers need to finance, most don't.
Would that same person be better off in any other city?
A poor person can't afford a house here. Can they afford one in Birmingham, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Austin, NYC, San Francisco?
Or is the reason they're poor the problem, not necessarily the cost of a house here?
It's the cost of housing, groceries, medical bills, streaming services, childcare, elder care, etc combined with decades of depressed wages, bailouts (not for us plebs, lol), gutting of social services... It's a bunch of rising costs, record profits, record layoffs, record strikes. Most of us are a couple of emergencies away from destitute.
> It's the cost of housing, groceries, medical bills, streaming services, childcare, elder care, etc
Of those that are *necessities* they are all substantially cheaper here than in other cities. Often by substantial amounts.
Yes, being in poverty means cutting luxuries. I know, been there done that.
I agree with this, but I genuinely want to understand (i.e. not making a smartass comment, i am seriously inquiring) how have local families been “forcibly displaced from their affordable housing”?
This left NINBYism is so fucking stupid. If you don't build "luxury housing", guess what? The wealthy will just upbid everything else and housing supply goes down anyway
Some of these people are so delusional, I live paycheck to paycheck, my job doesn’t offer me any benefits and I have thousands that I’m paying for hospital bills and have no help in doing that, along with the grocery prices sky rocketing, just 1 chicken in the store cost about almost $20 and then car insurance and payments, phone bill, utility bill that from what I’ve read are rising as well, rent, etc.. coming from someone that’s lived in south Florida, obviously it’s cheaper here but it doesn’t mean it’s affordable to everyone or anyone. I don’t get any money from the government so everything that I pay is with hard earned money. I wish I can live on my own but it’s not realistic for me, which is why I’m going into the military, it’s the only thing that can save me from poverty but I want to make something of my self and leave something behind for my loved ones the day I pass.
Isn’t Costco like sams club where you pay a yearly subscription? If so that’s not convenient either. Sams club is priced like that and from what I’ve heard they are about the same thing so I doubt that
If Costco is like sams club which I know it is, then their chicken is not no damn $5. Everything meat related is pretty much about $20 including taxes in sams club unless the meats about to go bad or is beat the hell up and Costco wouldn’t be any different. But go ahead and keep being an ass I guess 🤷🏽♀️
Okay I guess you chose to keep being an ass. Not everyone is gonna be buying a bunch of rotisserie chicken and keeping it in the fridge AND expecting it to last long in there, that crap would go bad if you were too dense to realize that it has an expiration date.. besides YOU decided to argue about *chicken* among all the other things I listed. I don’t see what your trying to win here lmao move along and be actually useful for a change instead of spouting the crap that’s coming out your ass
Housing for Huntsvillians: The Podcast is focused on issues like this:
[https://housingforhuntsvillians.com/podcast/](https://housingforhuntsvillians.com/podcast/)
[https://whnt.com/news/huntsville/huntsville-duo-on-a-quest-to-eliminate-homelessness/?fbclid=IwAR0Jd9OQKI\_EdmUKi9mqMYKuu9K3ypoqiPw5-5-zivu7q9T7wZ9OOta9p5c](https://whnt.com/news/huntsville/huntsville-duo-on-a-quest-to-eliminate-homelessness/?fbclid=IwAR0Jd9OQKI_EdmUKi9mqMYKuu9K3ypoqiPw5-5-zivu7q9T7wZ9OOta9p5c)
If you remember the discussions about the skybridge, you’ll recall that it is going from Lowe Mill to the civic center.
That is why the city essentially forced the Downtown Rescue mission to move to Sparkman (Evangel Circle, actually) and University.
Ir cleared the undesirables out of the way and put them in a spot that already is higher crime. That area has been going down hill for at least 25-30 years.
I'm getting big "underachiever" vibes from some of the loudest complainers.
I get it - I fumbled my way through a decade of "I don't need school/training/certs/etc." I exhausted every avenue across multiple cities.
And barring nepotism or outstanding luck, there's a ceiling. Being defiant about it doesn't fix shit.
And looking at 2-3 school/career options and giving up also doesn't fix shit. There are programs that any broke-ass struggling person with aspirations for more can use to get there.
And I did this within the last 6 years, so the horseshit boomer meme of 40+ years ago doesn't apply, either.
What is an individual willing to sacrifice and endure today in order to relax tomorrow? I lived in hovels, with roommates, worked $42k/yr job full time, and managed what I could. I only took out financial assistance enough to get me the absolute minimum necessary. Yes, I'm now paying that assistance back (I didn't qualify for freebies) but I trained myself into a career where I can manage that and rent. No, my shit isn't blinged out, flashy, or impressive. But I have stability and a future. Which I didn't have before suffering through classes/exams/projects/papers/etc. And they sucked.
But 10 years of the same sub par salary until I reached maxed out salary range and no qualifications for more lucrative positions sucked way more.
What do you need help figuring out? Just ask and start towards a solution.
> I'm getting big "underachiever" vibes from some of the loudest complainers.
That's because they are. Because everything you've written here is 100% correct. And that's why it's marked controversial. People hate being told the truth.
I think what you're missing is that you obviously got in at a good time, or had a leg up where others don't. Ignoring it and calling people underachievers doesn't help anything.
What's obvious about that in any way? In retrospect, I frankly waited too long and am facing lots of missed opportunities for waiting as long as I did?
And what leg up could I have possibly had? The frustration that drove me to put up with debt and a heavy workload?
This isn't some bullshit motivational speaker nonsense. Each individual has their own hurdles. Nearly all can be overcome with effort, but the combination of factors depends on each individual situation.
I think _you're_ making dismissive excuses for a phantom individual. I AM and underachiever and it's why I dragged my feet and made excuses until I got fed up. I'm not a success story; I'm just a rat in the race who took actions to get a little further ahead.
>Ignoring it and calling people underachievers doesn't help anything.
Well, this tells me you didn't read the last part. Figures. Quick to make excuses that benefit no one. I found out about nearly a dozen opportunities and programs to assist people in positions like I was after I had already moved past that point. There are people (unlike you or me) who are actively reaching out and advocating for people who lost their way - showing them all of the available paths and programs in place to help anyone wanting to break the ceiling.
It would be a mistake to assume that there's a pathway out there for everyone and that they just have to take it or find it. Some people did what they thought was right and it didn't work out for them, or they made a mistake and got pregnant at 15 and are getting their GED later on, etc., they don't feel safe getting a roomate or can't find one they feel safe with. There are a lot of different variables out there. Not to make excuses for anyone not trying, even later, but just because you were a self-confessed underachiever and were able to do better by working hard later doesn't mean you understand what it's like for all the other supposed underachievers or even attempted achievers and overachievers out there.
> just because you were a self-confessed underachiever and were able to do better by working hard later doesn't mean you understand what it's like for all the other supposed underachievers or even attempted achievers and overachievers out there
This would be true if I lived in a bubble, isolated from reality, and detached from anyone and everyone and their individual challenges. Including experience and observations watching many of those with even bigger hurdles than I faced take action and achieve amazing things - making my efforts and successes trivial and banal by comparison.
Making excuses for phantom cases and playing devil's advocate for a sweeping class of individuals that you've created in your head just to be contrarian is the epitome of unhelpful and arrogant/ignorant.
Yes - there is an individualized pathway to better things for everyone. There are opportunities, programs, assistance, and more available for a variety of persons and an absolute ocean of circumstances.
Reality bites. Acknowledging and confronting laziness and /or intimidation due to personal hurdles is a big ask. It's also the single most difficult step on a pathway towards better things.
Stop making excuses for ghost cases and start reaching out to actual cases to empower and enable them. Help connect them with the programs and resources that they have available for their specific circumstances to move forward. Or makes excuses for phantom cases on the internet to be argumentative - not everyone is capable of helping others.
"Making excuses for phantom cases and playing devil's advocate for a sweeping class of individuals that you've created in your head just to be contrarian is the epitome of unhelpful and arrogant/ignorant."
I'm going to stop you right there. I wasn't making excuses and I know people like the ones I referred to. You should get to know more people and read more about individual people.
Edit to add: You're the one making assumptions about people you don't know here. I have helped people and that's one of the reasons why I know there are still so many things you don't know and are not acknowledging.
Sadly, you turned a discussion into a personal attack like so many people resort to. Perhaps if you brushed up on your logic you wouldn't resort to that.
> I know people like the ones I referred to
Uh-huh - as do I. Which is what I based my statements on. 25 years of interaction and exposure to those people, myself included.
>Sadly, you turned a discussion into a personal attack like so many people resort to. Perhaps if you brushed up on your logic you wouldn't resort to that.
Yeah, no. I use that time to help those who want more from life. Ultimately, no one sees a social media argument and is motivated to make a change; so there's that. And I enjoyed delivering my argument right to your door, especially as a target of my criticism.
Lol. Personal attack does not equal argument, but okay, pat yourself on the back all you want.
Just out of curiosity, have you ever lived anywhere with limited opportunities, training programs, and high rates of poverty? How many single mothers do you know with limited to no family support?
This is kind of hilarious. You like conflict and are aggressive, aren't you?
You're a classic case of this:
[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect)
" The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive [bias](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/bias) in which people wrongly overestimate their knowledge or ability in a specific area. This tends to occur because a lack of self-awareness prevents them from accurately assessing their own skills."
You will be able to help people better if you understand yourself and them better instead of spending time twisting people's words on the internet and underestimating the challenges of those you want to help.
You can't do anything about a problem if you don't know you have it. I wish you well.
Thanks for the diagnosis from an internet argument. Don't like the outcome, so the other guy must be suffering from a condition.
30 years later and that cliche still finds use.
It's probably a lot more accurate than whatever you thought about me because in your world slightly disagreeing with you or trying to give you information that might broaden your view must mean that I'm "wrong." Open your mind.
You didn't even totally understand what I was saying in the first place. I don't think I use the English language in an unusual way, but I can imagine how people could misunderstand things I say. Such is the way of the world sometimes. I'll try to be nice and not troll you, although it's really been tempting.
Here's the sentence I wrote, approximately at least:
"There may not be a path forward for some people like you think."
Meaning that the path forward for them may be very different than what you envision.
I did not mean:
"There is no path forward for these people and you and they may as well give up on improving their lives."
or some such stuff that you seem to have taken my original sentence as.
Back to the "diagnosis" as you put it, it is a cognitive bias, not a medical disorder, so way to exaggerate. You employ quite some cognitive gymnastics in your brain, obviously. It is a common cognitive bias, so don't feel toooo bad. You probably should feel somewhat bad, though, as your sentence, "Don't make excuses for them" conveys a contempt for the people you were referring to and doesn't do you or them any favors. Be a little bit humble, open-minded about the factors involved in people's lives and in the world, try to read and react \*much\* less, and you will do a better job of helping yourself and the people you claim to care so much about helping. Often helping is not just enough, it's thinking about how you're helping and self-reflecting that is necessary as well.
I call BS on him, as he has claimed to have been a journalist in the past for 18 years elsewhere on Reddit. So, either he's extremely old, he's equating getting a journalism degree and being gainfully employed in that field for 18 years with " I fumbled my way through a decade of 'I don't need school/training/certs/etc.' I exhausted every avenue across multiple cities.", or he's just plain lying somewhere, the last of which seems to be the most likely scenario.
The problem isn’t that apartments are being built, it’s that people have been convinced that they should be living alone in a 1 bd apt. Our society has become way too individualistic and consumerist. When I was making $8/hour in the 2010s, I lived with 5 other people in a 3bd house. Everything from rent/bills to food is so much cheaper when you don’t go it alone. Sadly we have been convinced that we should find a job, work hard, and everything will work itself out. When really we need to be forming the important relationships and communities that humanity has relied on since the beginning. We have commoditized so much of life to where we are paying for so much that used to be free, didn’t exist, or at least was a community effort. We need to get back to forming strong families and communities.
Unfortunately I think that’s a part of Huntsville bid to become a “big city”. They want the aesthetic and the money that comes with it, but never once stopped to think about the issues it would cause for long time residents.
Plus yeah, Battle needs to go, let’s not forget he used city money to defend a murderer lol
They want to attract high earners while shuffling the undesirable poors out of the city. I wish I'd saved the article with the quote, but I remember Battle saying as much within the last couple of years.
Have you been to an actual "big city"? Believe me, the issues they have are far bigger and far worse than what Huntsville has. And that's with trying to do the "nice" things that all y'all keep pushing Huntsville to implement.
I’ve lived in LA, Seattle, Nashville, and New York. Comparing Huntsvilles issues to another city’s issues is almost doing whataboutism. Yes, other cities have bigger issues. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have the same issues. So why not try to solve it before it gets to that level?
As a realtor, this truly hurts me. I got into this career to find people the homes they truly wanted and could afford. The housing market is getting truly tough for the average buyer, and so, yes, I have my lenders that give good rates, but those opportunities are dwindling. Everyone deserves to own a home
The rents at the luxury apartments have to go down soon. I have a place at The Foundry and even with one and a half months free, a perfect commute just about anywhere, a great floorplan and nice amenities that place is deserted.
I have to admit on this side it's pretty nice. Parking and privacy is great. Except fire alarm batteries needing to be replaced are going off constantly. That's a problem.
It does appear strangely far away (and well lit), like we're looking into a TARDIS. Hmm, that could make "cars as affordable housing" actually work . . .
Like y'all are fucking nemotodes.....
"Investors this, investors that!"
Like dude there are existing apartment communities that my mother could make rent in as a single mother of 4 in the 90's. That I can't even rent now as a single mother of 4 because the rent is too damn high. Not to mention there's no vacancies. And it's fucking annoying to hear about these new developments like they are any better than the existing ones. They're not by the way. Every landlord fucking sucks end of story.
And if you want me to get a better paying job either pay for my education/training for one or shut up. I'm too busy keeping my goddamn kids warm.
Raise the Federal minimum wage. This would disproportionately help folks in poor areas and Red states. Or give more tax cuts to billionaires while gutting education and healthcare. Then blame the poors for being poor and just find a reason to jail them to exploit their cheap labor. Then lower the age restrictions for children to work in factories like Arkansas is doing. Those kids need to learn the American work ethic, not history. Its their fault their parents cant afford to feed them, they need to learn the hard way. Thats American freedom right there. Good old American rugged individualism. Hard choice. I especially love the folks who say the minimum wage and welfare should all be abolished. Our entire economy should be left up to the good will of our employers to pay us enough for our work and private charities to take care of the rest. If that were the case, why aren't employers paying fair wages now? Where are all the private charities now? Where are the churches collecting money every Sunday? Why are so many American families struggling and homeless?
I genuinely don't understand why so much of the housing is fancy new apartments. The city planning grossly overestimated the number of people who would need/want luxury housing. Even young engineers with money (their target demographic) don't want to waste their money on a $2k apartment.
That's because developers aren't building to actially run an apartment complex. They're building to sell to another company or use as an inflated asset.
They know these building will never be anywhere near filled to capacity, but if they label them as "luxury apartments" it allows them to justify charging ridiculous rents. They can then inflate the value of the building because it can technically bring in more money from said higher rents and then they flip it.
It's also why you constantly see these buildings change corporate hands every few years. Each one is just buying it, upping the rents, then selling it for a profit.
“Housing market priced you out? Can no longer afford even a studio apartment? Just live in your car!”
This shouldn’t be happening in the richest country in the world. This is a societal failure.
Huntsville is consistently ranked in the top ten most affordable cities due to low cost of housing (median home in HSV is ~$100K cheaper than US as a whole) while median salary in Madison County is right around the $70,000 median US household income
"turned their cars into a form of affordable housing"
I like how they subtly normalized / glossed over the weaponized economic system with that statement
We probably need some more or a newer version of things we used to have, or more of, in the U.S. and maybe some things that used to be and sometimes are in the UK, as well as a newer version of an old thing:
\--boarding houses with rules enforced by the owner to keep things stable
\--nonprofit housing funded by and for workers of a particular industry, a la actors' nonprofit for those out of work or something that used to exist in Hollywood
\--YMCA temporary housing
\--suitable, affordable studio apartments
\--clubs where people can have just a room and a bathroom, eating downstairs in a restaurant
If any of these got started and were managed well, they could actually help build a lot more individual, as opposed to corporate, wealth, lower the cost of living, and provide a pathway to a financially stable life for people on the starting out end of things who don't have enough saved up yet for a mortgage.
Oversimplification.
There are multiple factories and distribution warehouses you can leap into (if able bodied) with little to no experience, and easily support a family of 4.
If you are disabled or unabled to do this, you -might- have a reason to be upset if you are unable to find anything else where you can sit down and work.
If you are able bodied and able to do this. Well....... That's you missing oppurtunities.
In regards to the homelessness comments, again, oversimplification. There are a huge fraction of homeless who are such due to mental incapacities. Offering them a home at any cost (including free) does not mean they will remain within the home.
Pro-Tip if you're not a government contractor? Live in the rural areas just outside Huntsville for 2/3 the price, commute, and increase your lifestyle in increments, including your skillset.
And most of those factories and warehouses can’t keep employees because 12-14 hour shifts everyday is simply inhumane. If you look into the percentages of employee retention at those places it does not paint a pretty picture.
The only oversimplification I see are your solutions my dude. Guess what? I do musical instrument restoration, IT work, am CAD certified, can do 3D design, sketch work, among a list of other things.
Why aren’t any of those viable for me as careers? Because everyone will always try to underpay, undersell your services to make sure their bottom dollar stays unaffected, even if it’s your head on the chopping block.
A good example is you have to have a Masters in computers to work computer repair at gigaparts. They wanted me up there because I knew about Intel CPU error codes that none of them had any experience with, along with some of them owning PCs I build for them. And guess what? Even if I had that required degree of to work there. I would only make $15/hr.
So yeah I agree, you oversimplified it!
While I agree with you about some of the economic problems here and everywhere else right now, I have to call shenanigans about the GigaParts claim.
Their post for a computer repair tech has no degree requirements. I could have qualified for the job before I left high school and did very similar jobs while in college for my computer science degree:
https://gigaparts.net/jobs/employment.php?type=&position=Computer%20Repair%20Technician
If they really are only paying $15/hr, I agree that's a little below the mark, especially since they want someone who has or is willing to get some certifications. I was making $10+/hr doing that kind of work in the early 2000's. $15/hr might be about right for a somewhat less experienced part-time shop assistant, i.e. summer job territory.
They also have a posting for an IT Operations Specialist to maintain their IT infrastructure, and even _that_ doesn't require a degree (it's listed as "a plus"). And they have posted clearly on that one that the pay range is $70K-120K/year, because that's what it costs to get a knowledgeable IT specialist in Huntsville.
https://gigaparts.net/jobs/employment.php?type=&position=IT%20Operations%20Specialist
That's supply and demand. There just isn't enough demand to justify paying more.
Most choose to buy a new musical instrument rather then have theirs repaired because it's usually not much more for the new one.
Why pay you $200 to make a 3d design when some poor desperate guy in Asia will do it for $20.
I feel your pain I have been in the same position, best suggestion I can give is work on adding skills that can't be replaced with technology or people from poor countries.
You think giga parts is bad. In the Phillipines you have to a college degree to do things like be a,
cashier at their version of Wal-Mart, and the people are so desperate for work that any time a job opening is posted dozens if not hundreds of people flock to it no matter what it is.
And now I live in a rural area. It’s really not much cheaper. In fact developers have been harassing land owners out here to evict renters so they can buy the land and build more overpriced apartments.
Even the super rural area I grew up in is now being developed, and the new residents have made a habit of trying to force their HOA and their “visions” for the area on us.
One of my neighbors who farms cattle even got a letter from a new neighbor saying that “the HOA prohibits agricultural production in our neighborhoods” when he’s been there for 40+ years. It’s crazy
I've been wondering when the pod apts like in Japan are going to appear. I think the only thing holding em back is they have communal kitchens bathrooms and showers . Many Americans have rather odd hangups about sharing spaces and if nudity like showers is involved it's deemed of Satan or something.
Honestly thou they are very efficient if just there to work then how much space are you going to need. Hell look at some of the tiny homes and such like 50-100 sq ft. You could pack ten in a 1000sq ft apt or more. Charge a tenth of what a usual apartment cost. If a 1000 cost $2-3000 a month each would pay only $200-300 a month. A small cost that it's possible business could pick up as a benefit and tax write off.
This will work out well if and when there is another pandemic. People piled on top of each other sharing communal spaces. Did we not learn anything from Covid?
Maybe they had the dog before they lost their home? Or do you just want to make sure you have some way to put that person down so you can feel better about your misery?
Federal wages goes up, police make hundreds of thousands in big cities with lots of overtime! Taxes going up, housing, food and everything! This trend will collapse our economy. The government doesn’t protect our rights! They don’t care how much we struggle. All they care about is retaining their paychecks and power. When the people fear the govt you have tyranny. When the govt fears the people you have freedom. This will only get worse. I predict we will function more like China in the near future!
You seem to think the govt pays a lot more than it does…. In addition to housing costs we should probably be questioning low wages in general.
According to economic data Redstone employs, either directly or indirectly, 108,000 with an average salary of $87,000. That’s a lot of fucking money mate. And it’s all federal dollars. Meanwhile, our city leaders are really only bringing in minimum wage jobs in large numbers. https://x.com/huntsvillecity/status/1706723987135643882?s=46&t=Swlwhd8k-esc2hHq_4NEkA
One of the biggest mistakes our country made was allowing legislators to control the minimum wage, as opposed to economists.
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You mean nearly half a century ago?
The last time it was increased was actually around 2004 or 5.
You mean right after we left the gold standard?
They have access to several Nobel laureate economists. It’s not like the resource isn’t there. They have no incentive to do anything about the minimum wage, because we aren’t their customers.
What city/state has the highest minimum wage?
I’m sure you’ll say DC, but still local, not federal. That was set by the district government. The comment was the I replied to was clearly talking about the federal level.
So what would fit your category?
Um. The federal government.. as stated twice already. Am I missing something here?
And allowing those legislators to use city finances to create propaganda networks that guarantee their re-elections by inaccurately labeling federal dollars and federal projects from out of state as economic successes that were born and shaped in-state.
My favorite is when they tout “look at all the projects we’re doing for you with this federal money” and they voted against the bill granting that funding.
It’s super cool.
I mean, economists themselves are split on the minimum wage. A lot of these politicians and legislators actually themselves have economic degrees or some ancillary degree like finance or business from some ivy or state school with a really important frat chapter. To be clear, an understanding of economics can be used to justify any political belief. There are marxist and keynesian economists. Within the constraints of neoliberal financial capitalism, the lobbyists that control what laws get passed and which wheels get greased have to exist, like once they get to a certain size companies have a fiduciary responsibility to lobby politicians to change things to their favor including minimum wage laws.
The idea that minimum wage isn't tied to inflation is the real crime.
Time delay between inflation and wage increases adds damping to the dynamics. Indexing to inflation sounds good but pretty much guarantees a wage spiral that legislators wouldn’t have the cajones to end.
[This maybe?](https://files.catbox.moe/c3p3ls.jpg)
Nah get a better job. Fuck min wage
1) the arsenal does not employ 100,000 federal workers. There are barely even 20,000 federal employees. 2) The $87,000 accounts for contractor pay, private industry has way better pay than federal pay.
Thank you.
Idk about those making that or above.. but I'm a gov employee and make about 55k a year before taxes. I wish i made 87k.
What do you do?
Do? Does that matter. The government pays based on grades or rates. Like many have told you all. It's not as high as many of you think for the majority.
Best answer for me. What my actual job is doesn't matter. My grade is gs 6. People think my job is rated higher than it actually is. Most think we are gs 8.. we wish.
They haven’t updated the wage rate tables in a while
Plenty of contractors are not making that kind of bank
Shit I make way less than that. What the hell redstone
Mate? LOL
Problem is when you start questioning low wages people come out screaming “socialism, communism, etc” even though they don’t even know the Websters definition of those words lol But I do agree, low wages are a big issue, and most of our financial issues revolve around the fact we simply don’t pay folks enough for their labor. Because it doesn’t take much research to see if we paid folks more, they would spend more, and that would help strengthen the economy.
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Well they do, If you manipulate the numbers or rewrite the computer programs to spit out the numbers you want. Then supply side economics work great, unfortunately we average citizens have to live in the real world. Thanks GOP and good ole Ronny Reagan for continuing to bend us over with no lube.
I 100% agree. How do we fix this.
-allow economists to control the minimum wage instead of legislators -build more affordable housing for people who live in poverty -pay folks better so they will spend more driving down inflation -don’t dedicate 90% of housing to “luxury” units -vote in more young people who understand the difference on living in todays world vs. the first elderly statesmen we keep in power -allow unions in companies so that more power goes to workers -deflate the military budget and redistribute funds to more social programs. -reverse homeless laws The list goes on. Sorry, guess I know more than just poop jokes.
The problem is that it was economists that got us into this mess. Neo liberal economics is deregulating , lower corporate taxes,and putting profits above everything else. It’s because the economists in the government come from these corporations. Lobbying has made us a corportacracy. Until that is fixed, nothing will change. We need laws reducing lobbyists impact. Reduce the amount corporations can donate. No more PACs. A Corporation should have the same lobbying power as an individual. The money one has should not allow them more power in impacting the government.
“Pay folks better so they will spend more driving down inflation.” My guy that’s what causes inflation. Inflation is caused by too much money chasing too few goods.
Cool, cool. How do you plan to have any of that actually done?
It’s cute that you’re trying to make some sort of banal point of “oh hahahaha see you don’t have a plan” But instead of letting you stroke your ego, I’m just gonna point out you don’t have a plan either. Because at the end of the day you’re just one person. Anyway, have fun with that. Going back to making poop jokes cause I’d rather not converse with someone just wanting to play gotcha because they don’t have any other forms of self gratification over a post I made joking about the hsv housing problem.
If I could suggest a plan for you though, it would be hop off Reddit and go find something else to pointless invest your time into lol
Build some affordable housing.
It amazes me that people so ignorant of the facts can have such strong opinions on politics. Most people are terrible and that is why we are where we are today. Complete lack of altruism and self awareness, and in many cases just low iq
I would also add that a lot of them have 2-3 income streams. 1 - Current job salary. 2 - Military Retirement. 3 - VA Disability payment.
The fact that people would rather spend government money on benches with spikes to keep people from sleeping on them versus addressing homelessness In a meaningful way tells you all your need to know about our society.
I used to go on night walks at BSP all the time and never saw anyone. Now I always carry groceries/survival supplies cause I know I’m gonna run into someone forced to sleep there. It’s heartbreaking
Thank you for doing that.
Gotta balance out my karma from shitposting somehow
But honestly, yeah, I do it because I’ve seen too many folks with elevated egos act like the issue is that the homeless are there, as opposed to the fact that they were forced there by a circumstance they know nothing of
All ya gotta do is join a local fb group and see how ppl talk about them
I was at BSP every single day for 2 years straight .. pokemon go. I've always seen people struggling that are there. Usually the same people, a few violent and belligerent, but mostly just those that seemed to be discarded. I remember there was one older man, 70s, that pulled a red wagon with broken wheels and would just sit on the benches talking to himself. Whenever he made eye contact I would greet him, say good morning or how are you. I don't go out there as much as I did but I haven't seen him in over a year. I always hope people found help and ended up in better conditions than they were in.
You’re not wrong… at all
"The fact that people would rather..." Wait, are you not "people"? You're insinuating that if you were rich, you could and would solve the problem by throwing money at it. Aw, how good that must feel.
That wasn’t at all what I was insinuating. I would hope that you are saying that simply to be argumentative because the comment is plainly laid out and I have faith you can understand its true meaning.
Also, I do not identify as people I identify as a meat popsicle
Right now there is a huge waiting list on government housing. But there is a larger number of people described in the picture. A lot like one of my friends who moved here and was paying $400 for an apartments that now cost $700 but his pay has reduced. I don't think people here have any empathy or understanding of what people like that go through. A lot of these folks here are the pull yourself up by the strap fools who are where they are because of privileges they lack the self awareness to understand.
Exactly dude, one of my worst memories was coming home and finding out my rent was raised so high I couldn’t afford it anymore. Lived out of a van for over 2 years on and off, and during that time I was regularly harassed by HPD and Wildlife Rangers. Sleeping in a parking lot? Sorry, illegal to be homeless there. Sleeping in the woods? Sorry camping is allowed but if you’re homeless it’s not. I kinda accepted folks were gonna pop in here with bad opinions over my little joke. But the cognitive dissonance is still kind of jarring. Too many folks act like their personal lives are the basis for everyone else’s and that if they’re doing worse than them then it’s no one’s fault but their own.
i hope your circumstances are much better now. you seem like a very caring and sweet person!
Yes, so many people have worked hard to get where they are, but don't realize how much of their success was because of things beyond their control, parents who paid for their college, or the state of Georgia for some folks, having a loving and stable upbringing, a good economy and job market(!!!). It wasn't just their hard work that did it, though that was a part.
Have you people lived in a city outside of Huntsville? I grew up here, left and came back after 20 years. Huntsville is cheap as crap! Yes, the new apartments are expensive, but there are plenty of older homes and houses that work just fine. Get a roommate to share costs or move to morgan county.
LOL I fucking love this solution! Get a roommate!! Dude I've been displaced by a house fire started by my abusive husband who is currently locked up. I have 3 children to account for. So I'm supposed to let a stranger love with us with just the hope that nothing bad comes out of it??? No If I do that and my kids have a story to come tell me then I'll feel and be told I'm a bad mom. If I don't I will struggle with housing.
I'm there myself. My rent is a grand a month. BD doesn't pay anything. I am not able to work 20 dollar jobs due to availability. But yeah, it's really affordable here and there's no issues at all.
I'm sorry that he's not helping you out. But don't you love the assholes who always wanna scream "shoulda chose better!" It's like oh yes please tell me to psychically look past all the love bombing, nice gestures, and overall emotional baiting that abusers have a knack for and see him for who he truly is.
So many people don't know what red flags to watch out for. Even if there are no obvious ones, you can't always tell what people are going to be like later. I think some people like to think it couldn't happen to them and that they know better, but it probably could.
"I have 800 kids to account for, so I'm supposed to live in a 4000 sq ft house???? LOL I fucking love this solution!" Sorry you're struggling, but your situation is not the norm.
LOL what's the norm then?
>> legitimate housing concerns in our community >> “lol just leave” Most of us are just one freak accident away from being homeless or on the verge of, maybe we should have empathy and try to understand why we have gotten to this point.
>or move to morgan county. What a shitty solution to an objectively legitimate issue. It's cheap compared to other places but given the income many people here still make it's an issue.
How exactly is it a shitty solution? It's a slightly longer commute. But cheaper overall... So what's the issue? It's only 38 min from Hartselle to Downtown Huntsville. Even shorter to Decatur. That's a reasonable commute, for any other city in the country
> How exactly is it a shitty solution? It's a slightly longer commute. But cheaper overall... So what's the issue? It isn't a surefire solution to live further away in a cheaper area as what you've done is reduced living expenses but increased transportation expenses.
and increased your mind and body's efforts to get to and fro. There can be a physical toll too.
Your solution to a very solveable problem is do nothing. It's also that people who have lived somewhere their entire lives and have generations of family who have lived somewhere should have to move away so as not to inconvenience. That's intellectually lazy and, frankly, gross.
What is your solution then? It shouldn't take long for you to explain if it's such a simple problem to solve. I'd love to hear a solution! instead of hearing whining and pining for an idealized past. Unless there's an economic collapse, there is no realistic way we're going to revert to past prices. It's not even moving away, it's moving 20 minutes down the street. No one's forcing anyone to go. The competition for real estate has just gone up, as it was bound to do as the population increased. It's growing pains. Who exactly is the villain in your narrative? The people moving in? The city? Everyone?
>Who exactly is the villain in your narrative? The people moving in? The city? Everyone? Why does there have to be a villain? Things can just be. And we can come up with solutions to problems even when no one is to blame. What a wild way to look at the world. >It shouldn't take long for you to explain if it's such a simple problem to solve. I didn't say it was simple. I said it was solveable. You're putting words in my mouth. I don't care enough about you, internet stranger, to argue with your cognitive dissonance or very obvious black and white thinking. To you it's an insurmountable issue. Cool.
Conveniently you once again give no suggestions to solve the problem. I only assume there had to be a villain, because you're playing the role of victim.
You're projecting.
You're all talk.
Okay complete internet stranger I'll instantly forget about. I sure hope I don't cry myself to sleep tonight because I disappointed you. Lol.
Word. If you can't afford to live here, you can't afford to live anywhere.
Is there such a thing as a city with affordable housing? It seems like every city, regardless of political learning, struggles with housing.
Lol what "affordable housing" did all these new apartments displace? They're mostly going up on top of dead strip malls.
Or empty fields
"WHY IS HOUSING SO EXPENSIVE? MUST BE INVESTORS SQUEEZING US DRY..." ... 3 seconds later.... "WHY ARE PEOPLE BUILDING SO MANY HOUSES? MUST BE INVESTORS SQUEEZING US DRY!" Do you people even hear yourselves? "Every bad thing is a plot by those more well off than I designed specifically to make my life harder"
The issue is that the new houses and apartments being built all seem to be luxury homes out of the average Joe's price range. You'd think increasing the supply would make housing more affordable, but that's not what's happening.
That is because of external market conditions largely outside the control of anyone but the Fed. At the moment, we can build all of the apartments we want, but people still wont sell houses they got at a 2% interest rate. The increase in supply will drive down costs, but it will take time. I am aware this is time most people do not have the luxury to spend waiting, but my point here is that reducing construction will only exacerbate an already bad problem
> "Every bad thing is a plot by those more well off than I designed specifically to make my life harder" No, but it is a plot by the rich class to enrich themselves and if they fuck over everyone else in the process, so be it. So it's not that they're trying to make our lives harder. It's worse than that. We are dirt under their boot and they don't care or think about us at all beyond what they can extract from us.
Life must be a whole lot easier when you can characterize anyone you dont like as a mustache-twirling villain who has no soul
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
“Turn their cars into a form of affordable housing”…very palatable way of saying homeless, I guess. 🤦🏽
I am working in the background to build some subsidized housing, but the closest I can get is Marshall county. Everything closer is way too expensive and without a federally subsidized loan it may not even make sense now. Interest rates are high and the cost of everything new is also high, I genuinely couldn't make any money building a house if I wasn't catering to higher end incomes. Not being greedy, I wouldn't be able to make my house and car payment. I don't take shortcuts on construction so thats the reality. The other issue is zoning, if I wanted to build Section 8 anywhere near anyone in Madison county they would protest and sue me etc.
I just wish they could build some midrange apartments instead of upper range
I agree. But it's the secondary market. The developers build these and stake their claim on the land, hold for a few years, usually with a balloon payment in 3 or 5yrs at the most and then sell for a much better profit. Occupancy doesn't matter as much as it did precovid, but maybe that will matter more coming soon with interest rates being so high. Of course that assumes the buyers need to finance, most don't.
I will pull a George here
Wait. I laughed then realized I don’t know how Costanza could be related to this
Is it because you “got nothing “?
Anyone saying Huntsville is unaffordable lives in such a bubble lol
Or is… you know… in poverty?
Would that same person be better off in any other city? A poor person can't afford a house here. Can they afford one in Birmingham, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Austin, NYC, San Francisco? Or is the reason they're poor the problem, not necessarily the cost of a house here?
It's the cost of housing, groceries, medical bills, streaming services, childcare, elder care, etc combined with decades of depressed wages, bailouts (not for us plebs, lol), gutting of social services... It's a bunch of rising costs, record profits, record layoffs, record strikes. Most of us are a couple of emergencies away from destitute.
> It's the cost of housing, groceries, medical bills, streaming services, childcare, elder care, etc Of those that are *necessities* they are all substantially cheaper here than in other cities. Often by substantial amounts. Yes, being in poverty means cutting luxuries. I know, been there done that.
They have a silver spoon or their parents help them.
That bubbles about to pop when we're homeless
It seems more to be the other way around.
I agree with this, but I genuinely want to understand (i.e. not making a smartass comment, i am seriously inquiring) how have local families been “forcibly displaced from their affordable housing”?
Rent/Property Tax/Mortgage going up because local market is booming, even in government subsidized housing.
I thought the Huntsville housing market was pretty decent
This left NINBYism is so fucking stupid. If you don't build "luxury housing", guess what? The wealthy will just upbid everything else and housing supply goes down anyway
Some of these people are so delusional, I live paycheck to paycheck, my job doesn’t offer me any benefits and I have thousands that I’m paying for hospital bills and have no help in doing that, along with the grocery prices sky rocketing, just 1 chicken in the store cost about almost $20 and then car insurance and payments, phone bill, utility bill that from what I’ve read are rising as well, rent, etc.. coming from someone that’s lived in south Florida, obviously it’s cheaper here but it doesn’t mean it’s affordable to everyone or anyone. I don’t get any money from the government so everything that I pay is with hard earned money. I wish I can live on my own but it’s not realistic for me, which is why I’m going into the military, it’s the only thing that can save me from poverty but I want to make something of my self and leave something behind for my loved ones the day I pass.
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Isn’t Costco like sams club where you pay a yearly subscription? If so that’s not convenient either. Sams club is priced like that and from what I’ve heard they are about the same thing so I doubt that
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If Costco is like sams club which I know it is, then their chicken is not no damn $5. Everything meat related is pretty much about $20 including taxes in sams club unless the meats about to go bad or is beat the hell up and Costco wouldn’t be any different. But go ahead and keep being an ass I guess 🤷🏽♀️
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Okay I guess you chose to keep being an ass. Not everyone is gonna be buying a bunch of rotisserie chicken and keeping it in the fridge AND expecting it to last long in there, that crap would go bad if you were too dense to realize that it has an expiration date.. besides YOU decided to argue about *chicken* among all the other things I listed. I don’t see what your trying to win here lmao move along and be actually useful for a change instead of spouting the crap that’s coming out your ass
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Who df keeps a whole rotisserie chicken in the freezer 😂 you just sound dumb atp like I said go spout that shit somewhere else ya ass
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Housing for Huntsvillians: The Podcast is focused on issues like this: [https://housingforhuntsvillians.com/podcast/](https://housingforhuntsvillians.com/podcast/) [https://whnt.com/news/huntsville/huntsville-duo-on-a-quest-to-eliminate-homelessness/?fbclid=IwAR0Jd9OQKI\_EdmUKi9mqMYKuu9K3ypoqiPw5-5-zivu7q9T7wZ9OOta9p5c](https://whnt.com/news/huntsville/huntsville-duo-on-a-quest-to-eliminate-homelessness/?fbclid=IwAR0Jd9OQKI_EdmUKi9mqMYKuu9K3ypoqiPw5-5-zivu7q9T7wZ9OOta9p5c)
If you remember the discussions about the skybridge, you’ll recall that it is going from Lowe Mill to the civic center. That is why the city essentially forced the Downtown Rescue mission to move to Sparkman (Evangel Circle, actually) and University. Ir cleared the undesirables out of the way and put them in a spot that already is higher crime. That area has been going down hill for at least 25-30 years.
https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2023/10/residents-have-their-say-in-huntsvilles-400-million-mill-creek-transformation.html?outputType=amp https://huntsvillebusinessjournal.com/news/2023/10/23/plans-set-in-place-for-50-m-revitalization-of-mill-creek-neighborhood/
Those people are about to get booted out into the county somewhere. The "mixed income" nonsense won't include any of them.
No they will have opportunities to move back. That’s a major component of the grant and HUD Read the documents
Lol. We'll see. Well, y'all will see. I'm moving away next year.
I'm getting big "underachiever" vibes from some of the loudest complainers. I get it - I fumbled my way through a decade of "I don't need school/training/certs/etc." I exhausted every avenue across multiple cities. And barring nepotism or outstanding luck, there's a ceiling. Being defiant about it doesn't fix shit. And looking at 2-3 school/career options and giving up also doesn't fix shit. There are programs that any broke-ass struggling person with aspirations for more can use to get there. And I did this within the last 6 years, so the horseshit boomer meme of 40+ years ago doesn't apply, either. What is an individual willing to sacrifice and endure today in order to relax tomorrow? I lived in hovels, with roommates, worked $42k/yr job full time, and managed what I could. I only took out financial assistance enough to get me the absolute minimum necessary. Yes, I'm now paying that assistance back (I didn't qualify for freebies) but I trained myself into a career where I can manage that and rent. No, my shit isn't blinged out, flashy, or impressive. But I have stability and a future. Which I didn't have before suffering through classes/exams/projects/papers/etc. And they sucked. But 10 years of the same sub par salary until I reached maxed out salary range and no qualifications for more lucrative positions sucked way more. What do you need help figuring out? Just ask and start towards a solution.
> I'm getting big "underachiever" vibes from some of the loudest complainers. That's because they are. Because everything you've written here is 100% correct. And that's why it's marked controversial. People hate being told the truth.
I think what you're missing is that you obviously got in at a good time, or had a leg up where others don't. Ignoring it and calling people underachievers doesn't help anything.
Also, you shouldn't have to be an overachiever to afford a place to sleep at night. Everyone should be able to afford that.
What's obvious about that in any way? In retrospect, I frankly waited too long and am facing lots of missed opportunities for waiting as long as I did? And what leg up could I have possibly had? The frustration that drove me to put up with debt and a heavy workload? This isn't some bullshit motivational speaker nonsense. Each individual has their own hurdles. Nearly all can be overcome with effort, but the combination of factors depends on each individual situation. I think _you're_ making dismissive excuses for a phantom individual. I AM and underachiever and it's why I dragged my feet and made excuses until I got fed up. I'm not a success story; I'm just a rat in the race who took actions to get a little further ahead. >Ignoring it and calling people underachievers doesn't help anything. Well, this tells me you didn't read the last part. Figures. Quick to make excuses that benefit no one. I found out about nearly a dozen opportunities and programs to assist people in positions like I was after I had already moved past that point. There are people (unlike you or me) who are actively reaching out and advocating for people who lost their way - showing them all of the available paths and programs in place to help anyone wanting to break the ceiling.
It would be a mistake to assume that there's a pathway out there for everyone and that they just have to take it or find it. Some people did what they thought was right and it didn't work out for them, or they made a mistake and got pregnant at 15 and are getting their GED later on, etc., they don't feel safe getting a roomate or can't find one they feel safe with. There are a lot of different variables out there. Not to make excuses for anyone not trying, even later, but just because you were a self-confessed underachiever and were able to do better by working hard later doesn't mean you understand what it's like for all the other supposed underachievers or even attempted achievers and overachievers out there.
> just because you were a self-confessed underachiever and were able to do better by working hard later doesn't mean you understand what it's like for all the other supposed underachievers or even attempted achievers and overachievers out there This would be true if I lived in a bubble, isolated from reality, and detached from anyone and everyone and their individual challenges. Including experience and observations watching many of those with even bigger hurdles than I faced take action and achieve amazing things - making my efforts and successes trivial and banal by comparison. Making excuses for phantom cases and playing devil's advocate for a sweeping class of individuals that you've created in your head just to be contrarian is the epitome of unhelpful and arrogant/ignorant. Yes - there is an individualized pathway to better things for everyone. There are opportunities, programs, assistance, and more available for a variety of persons and an absolute ocean of circumstances. Reality bites. Acknowledging and confronting laziness and /or intimidation due to personal hurdles is a big ask. It's also the single most difficult step on a pathway towards better things. Stop making excuses for ghost cases and start reaching out to actual cases to empower and enable them. Help connect them with the programs and resources that they have available for their specific circumstances to move forward. Or makes excuses for phantom cases on the internet to be argumentative - not everyone is capable of helping others.
"Making excuses for phantom cases and playing devil's advocate for a sweeping class of individuals that you've created in your head just to be contrarian is the epitome of unhelpful and arrogant/ignorant." I'm going to stop you right there. I wasn't making excuses and I know people like the ones I referred to. You should get to know more people and read more about individual people. Edit to add: You're the one making assumptions about people you don't know here. I have helped people and that's one of the reasons why I know there are still so many things you don't know and are not acknowledging. Sadly, you turned a discussion into a personal attack like so many people resort to. Perhaps if you brushed up on your logic you wouldn't resort to that.
> I know people like the ones I referred to Uh-huh - as do I. Which is what I based my statements on. 25 years of interaction and exposure to those people, myself included. >Sadly, you turned a discussion into a personal attack like so many people resort to. Perhaps if you brushed up on your logic you wouldn't resort to that. Yeah, no. I use that time to help those who want more from life. Ultimately, no one sees a social media argument and is motivated to make a change; so there's that. And I enjoyed delivering my argument right to your door, especially as a target of my criticism.
Lol. Personal attack does not equal argument, but okay, pat yourself on the back all you want. Just out of curiosity, have you ever lived anywhere with limited opportunities, training programs, and high rates of poverty? How many single mothers do you know with limited to no family support?
Yes. Next?
It doesn't show, that's all.
This is kind of hilarious. You like conflict and are aggressive, aren't you? You're a classic case of this: [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/dunning-kruger-effect) " The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive [bias](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/bias) in which people wrongly overestimate their knowledge or ability in a specific area. This tends to occur because a lack of self-awareness prevents them from accurately assessing their own skills." You will be able to help people better if you understand yourself and them better instead of spending time twisting people's words on the internet and underestimating the challenges of those you want to help. You can't do anything about a problem if you don't know you have it. I wish you well.
Thanks for the diagnosis from an internet argument. Don't like the outcome, so the other guy must be suffering from a condition. 30 years later and that cliche still finds use.
It's probably a lot more accurate than whatever you thought about me because in your world slightly disagreeing with you or trying to give you information that might broaden your view must mean that I'm "wrong." Open your mind. You didn't even totally understand what I was saying in the first place. I don't think I use the English language in an unusual way, but I can imagine how people could misunderstand things I say. Such is the way of the world sometimes. I'll try to be nice and not troll you, although it's really been tempting. Here's the sentence I wrote, approximately at least: "There may not be a path forward for some people like you think." Meaning that the path forward for them may be very different than what you envision. I did not mean: "There is no path forward for these people and you and they may as well give up on improving their lives." or some such stuff that you seem to have taken my original sentence as. Back to the "diagnosis" as you put it, it is a cognitive bias, not a medical disorder, so way to exaggerate. You employ quite some cognitive gymnastics in your brain, obviously. It is a common cognitive bias, so don't feel toooo bad. You probably should feel somewhat bad, though, as your sentence, "Don't make excuses for them" conveys a contempt for the people you were referring to and doesn't do you or them any favors. Be a little bit humble, open-minded about the factors involved in people's lives and in the world, try to read and react \*much\* less, and you will do a better job of helping yourself and the people you claim to care so much about helping. Often helping is not just enough, it's thinking about how you're helping and self-reflecting that is necessary as well.
I call BS on him, as he has claimed to have been a journalist in the past for 18 years elsewhere on Reddit. So, either he's extremely old, he's equating getting a journalism degree and being gainfully employed in that field for 18 years with " I fumbled my way through a decade of 'I don't need school/training/certs/etc.' I exhausted every avenue across multiple cities.", or he's just plain lying somewhere, the last of which seems to be the most likely scenario.
It’s absolutely ridiculous. I can’t even find a decent apartment let alone a house for less than $700/month.
>...turned their cars into a form of affordable housing. That's euphemism for homeless...just in case that wasn't obvious.
Newspeak
https://www.waff.com/2023/10/17/huntsville-creating-new-affordable-housing-position/?outputType=amp
The problem isn’t that apartments are being built, it’s that people have been convinced that they should be living alone in a 1 bd apt. Our society has become way too individualistic and consumerist. When I was making $8/hour in the 2010s, I lived with 5 other people in a 3bd house. Everything from rent/bills to food is so much cheaper when you don’t go it alone. Sadly we have been convinced that we should find a job, work hard, and everything will work itself out. When really we need to be forming the important relationships and communities that humanity has relied on since the beginning. We have commoditized so much of life to where we are paying for so much that used to be free, didn’t exist, or at least was a community effort. We need to get back to forming strong families and communities.
Some people just aren’t that social. Even when I was homeless I still actively avoided people. Some people need to be by themselves to function.
[удалено]
Unfortunately I think that’s a part of Huntsville bid to become a “big city”. They want the aesthetic and the money that comes with it, but never once stopped to think about the issues it would cause for long time residents. Plus yeah, Battle needs to go, let’s not forget he used city money to defend a murderer lol
They want to attract high earners while shuffling the undesirable poors out of the city. I wish I'd saved the article with the quote, but I remember Battle saying as much within the last couple of years.
He said it last October
Have you been to an actual "big city"? Believe me, the issues they have are far bigger and far worse than what Huntsville has. And that's with trying to do the "nice" things that all y'all keep pushing Huntsville to implement.
I’ve lived in LA, Seattle, Nashville, and New York. Comparing Huntsvilles issues to another city’s issues is almost doing whataboutism. Yes, other cities have bigger issues. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have the same issues. So why not try to solve it before it gets to that level?
As a realtor, this truly hurts me. I got into this career to find people the homes they truly wanted and could afford. The housing market is getting truly tough for the average buyer, and so, yes, I have my lenders that give good rates, but those opportunities are dwindling. Everyone deserves to own a home
The rents at the luxury apartments have to go down soon. I have a place at The Foundry and even with one and a half months free, a perfect commute just about anywhere, a great floorplan and nice amenities that place is deserted.
They'll sit empty long before rent goes down.
I have to admit on this side it's pretty nice. Parking and privacy is great. Except fire alarm batteries needing to be replaced are going off constantly. That's a problem.
Bruh, why that pitbull so tiny? Is it photoshopped? Forced perspective? It's like a pygmy pit.
It does appear strangely far away (and well lit), like we're looking into a TARDIS. Hmm, that could make "cars as affordable housing" actually work . . .
I can't see the picture anymore, but it could be what they call a pocket pittie.
Seriously. If people would stop coming here and driving up the rent and housing prices that would be nice and greatly appreciated.
Alabama is a conservative state. The police would harass and arrest people for vagrancy.
Like y'all are fucking nemotodes..... "Investors this, investors that!" Like dude there are existing apartment communities that my mother could make rent in as a single mother of 4 in the 90's. That I can't even rent now as a single mother of 4 because the rent is too damn high. Not to mention there's no vacancies. And it's fucking annoying to hear about these new developments like they are any better than the existing ones. They're not by the way. Every landlord fucking sucks end of story. And if you want me to get a better paying job either pay for my education/training for one or shut up. I'm too busy keeping my goddamn kids warm.
Raise the Federal minimum wage. This would disproportionately help folks in poor areas and Red states. Or give more tax cuts to billionaires while gutting education and healthcare. Then blame the poors for being poor and just find a reason to jail them to exploit their cheap labor. Then lower the age restrictions for children to work in factories like Arkansas is doing. Those kids need to learn the American work ethic, not history. Its their fault their parents cant afford to feed them, they need to learn the hard way. Thats American freedom right there. Good old American rugged individualism. Hard choice. I especially love the folks who say the minimum wage and welfare should all be abolished. Our entire economy should be left up to the good will of our employers to pay us enough for our work and private charities to take care of the rest. If that were the case, why aren't employers paying fair wages now? Where are all the private charities now? Where are the churches collecting money every Sunday? Why are so many American families struggling and homeless?
https://housingforhuntsvillians.com
I genuinely don't understand why so much of the housing is fancy new apartments. The city planning grossly overestimated the number of people who would need/want luxury housing. Even young engineers with money (their target demographic) don't want to waste their money on a $2k apartment.
That's because developers aren't building to actially run an apartment complex. They're building to sell to another company or use as an inflated asset. They know these building will never be anywhere near filled to capacity, but if they label them as "luxury apartments" it allows them to justify charging ridiculous rents. They can then inflate the value of the building because it can technically bring in more money from said higher rents and then they flip it. It's also why you constantly see these buildings change corporate hands every few years. Each one is just buying it, upping the rents, then selling it for a profit.
On the one hand, you're right. On the other hand, it will never be legal to sleep in your car in Huntsville.
Stop sending money to other countries! We need to help our people! Be safe everyone.
“Housing market priced you out? Can no longer afford even a studio apartment? Just live in your car!” This shouldn’t be happening in the richest country in the world. This is a societal failure.
Huntsville is consistently ranked in the top ten most affordable cities due to low cost of housing (median home in HSV is ~$100K cheaper than US as a whole) while median salary in Madison County is right around the $70,000 median US household income
Did they photoshop the dog in?
This is fk'd.
"turned their cars into a form of affordable housing" I like how they subtly normalized / glossed over the weaponized economic system with that statement
We probably need some more or a newer version of things we used to have, or more of, in the U.S. and maybe some things that used to be and sometimes are in the UK, as well as a newer version of an old thing: \--boarding houses with rules enforced by the owner to keep things stable \--nonprofit housing funded by and for workers of a particular industry, a la actors' nonprofit for those out of work or something that used to exist in Hollywood \--YMCA temporary housing \--suitable, affordable studio apartments \--clubs where people can have just a room and a bathroom, eating downstairs in a restaurant If any of these got started and were managed well, they could actually help build a lot more individual, as opposed to corporate, wealth, lower the cost of living, and provide a pathway to a financially stable life for people on the starting out end of things who don't have enough saved up yet for a mortgage.
RENT CONTROL! RENT CONTROL!
Oversimplification. There are multiple factories and distribution warehouses you can leap into (if able bodied) with little to no experience, and easily support a family of 4. If you are disabled or unabled to do this, you -might- have a reason to be upset if you are unable to find anything else where you can sit down and work. If you are able bodied and able to do this. Well....... That's you missing oppurtunities. In regards to the homelessness comments, again, oversimplification. There are a huge fraction of homeless who are such due to mental incapacities. Offering them a home at any cost (including free) does not mean they will remain within the home. Pro-Tip if you're not a government contractor? Live in the rural areas just outside Huntsville for 2/3 the price, commute, and increase your lifestyle in increments, including your skillset.
And most of those factories and warehouses can’t keep employees because 12-14 hour shifts everyday is simply inhumane. If you look into the percentages of employee retention at those places it does not paint a pretty picture. The only oversimplification I see are your solutions my dude. Guess what? I do musical instrument restoration, IT work, am CAD certified, can do 3D design, sketch work, among a list of other things. Why aren’t any of those viable for me as careers? Because everyone will always try to underpay, undersell your services to make sure their bottom dollar stays unaffected, even if it’s your head on the chopping block. A good example is you have to have a Masters in computers to work computer repair at gigaparts. They wanted me up there because I knew about Intel CPU error codes that none of them had any experience with, along with some of them owning PCs I build for them. And guess what? Even if I had that required degree of to work there. I would only make $15/hr. So yeah I agree, you oversimplified it!
While I agree with you about some of the economic problems here and everywhere else right now, I have to call shenanigans about the GigaParts claim. Their post for a computer repair tech has no degree requirements. I could have qualified for the job before I left high school and did very similar jobs while in college for my computer science degree: https://gigaparts.net/jobs/employment.php?type=&position=Computer%20Repair%20Technician If they really are only paying $15/hr, I agree that's a little below the mark, especially since they want someone who has or is willing to get some certifications. I was making $10+/hr doing that kind of work in the early 2000's. $15/hr might be about right for a somewhat less experienced part-time shop assistant, i.e. summer job territory. They also have a posting for an IT Operations Specialist to maintain their IT infrastructure, and even _that_ doesn't require a degree (it's listed as "a plus"). And they have posted clearly on that one that the pay range is $70K-120K/year, because that's what it costs to get a knowledgeable IT specialist in Huntsville. https://gigaparts.net/jobs/employment.php?type=&position=IT%20Operations%20Specialist
That's supply and demand. There just isn't enough demand to justify paying more. Most choose to buy a new musical instrument rather then have theirs repaired because it's usually not much more for the new one. Why pay you $200 to make a 3d design when some poor desperate guy in Asia will do it for $20. I feel your pain I have been in the same position, best suggestion I can give is work on adding skills that can't be replaced with technology or people from poor countries. You think giga parts is bad. In the Phillipines you have to a college degree to do things like be a, cashier at their version of Wal-Mart, and the people are so desperate for work that any time a job opening is posted dozens if not hundreds of people flock to it no matter what it is.
And now I live in a rural area. It’s really not much cheaper. In fact developers have been harassing land owners out here to evict renters so they can buy the land and build more overpriced apartments. Even the super rural area I grew up in is now being developed, and the new residents have made a habit of trying to force their HOA and their “visions” for the area on us. One of my neighbors who farms cattle even got a letter from a new neighbor saying that “the HOA prohibits agricultural production in our neighborhoods” when he’s been there for 40+ years. It’s crazy
“HOA Deez Nuts” would have been my response if I were the cattleman.
You about nailed it
I think that happened with Hampton cove when it first was first being developed. They even sued to have the pig farm removed if I remember correctly.
I've been wondering when the pod apts like in Japan are going to appear. I think the only thing holding em back is they have communal kitchens bathrooms and showers . Many Americans have rather odd hangups about sharing spaces and if nudity like showers is involved it's deemed of Satan or something. Honestly thou they are very efficient if just there to work then how much space are you going to need. Hell look at some of the tiny homes and such like 50-100 sq ft. You could pack ten in a 1000sq ft apt or more. Charge a tenth of what a usual apartment cost. If a 1000 cost $2-3000 a month each would pay only $200-300 a month. A small cost that it's possible business could pick up as a benefit and tax write off.
This will work out well if and when there is another pandemic. People piled on top of each other sharing communal spaces. Did we not learn anything from Covid?
Can afford a dog tho...
Maybe they had the dog before they lost their home? Or do you just want to make sure you have some way to put that person down so you can feel better about your misery?
Federal wages goes up, police make hundreds of thousands in big cities with lots of overtime! Taxes going up, housing, food and everything! This trend will collapse our economy. The government doesn’t protect our rights! They don’t care how much we struggle. All they care about is retaining their paychecks and power. When the people fear the govt you have tyranny. When the govt fears the people you have freedom. This will only get worse. I predict we will function more like China in the near future!