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Articles by Bob Brownstein
Opinion: Why California should pass rent control legislation
People should feel safe and secure in their homes. It’s a critical part of health and happiness. But at the moment more than 113,000 San Jose residents are facing displacement from their homes, with a further 155,000 people at risk, according to UC Berkeley’s urban displacement project. The problem of displacement, evictions and skyrocketing rents is an urgent priority for San Jose and numerous other places in California; it demands immediate action.
Opinion: Why California should pass rent control legislation
People should feel safe and secure in their homes. It’s a critical part of health and happiness. But at the moment more than 113,000 San Jose residents are facing displacement from their homes, with a further 155,000 people at risk, according to UC Berkeley’s urban displacement project. The problem of displacement, evictions and skyrocketing rents is an urgent priority for San Jose and numerous other places in California; it demands immediate action.
How Our Inequality Corrupts Success
Inequality.org: At what point do material rewards for success, however defined, become problematic? Anderson: Anyone who accumulates great wealth needs to ask two questions. First, did they acquire that wealth in ways that made people better off and the world a better place to live in? Or did they acquire their wealth at others’ expense, in ways that made others suffer, that corrupted public institutions, or that undermined environmental sustainability?
These Ballot Measures Could Bring More Democracy to Your State
Is it possible to get public policies out of our political system that benefit common people rather than moneyed elites? Yes! We the people can bypass corporate-purchased lawmakers and write the laws ourselves. In 26 states and numerous cities, grassroots people can put statutes and constitutional amendments on the ballot through a citizens initiative process. In this era of plutocratic rule, that’s become a major avenue for achieving progressive change.
Net Worth v Self Worth: Do We All Need Inequality Therapy?
In a hyper-capitalist world where advertising and financial pressures channel the drive for status into an obsession, no one can really win — even those who appear to have it all. Commerce infiltrates even the language we use to describe our deepest concerns: am I worth it? Am I valued? Do I count?
The Price of Innovation for Silicon Valley’s Workers
Yet as it has grown, the tech giant has shifted towards hiring more contract workers instead of full-time employees. Contractors often have lower wages, fewer benefits and more job insecurity. Bloomberg reports that contractors now make up the majority of Google’s global workforce. Meanwhile, Google has driven up the cost of living near its Mountain View headquarters, pricing more and more residents out of their homes.
Brownstein: San Jose rent control law still falls far short of the need
By adopting only minimal improvements to San Jose’s rent control law, the City Council has allowed our affordable housing crisis to grow worse each year. Wildly escalating rents are the most damaging effect of the region’s housing problems. High rents displace seniors and low wage workers; they force multiple families to crowd into a single apartment; they make it impossible for working parents to meet the needs of their children.
The Saga of San Jose
How San Jose’s suffered under Chuck Reed A once fine city now gone to seed No A’s, no cops, no libraries open From the Merc, not a word of dissent is spoken Reed’s buddies got millions that could have fought crime While the firefighters can’t reach the blazes on time There aren’t safe parks for a family to play And the potholes will swallow a whole bus one day Increasing crime rates are scary and steep While the crooks are laughing and the victims weep And mothers and fathers just can’t see...
Brownstein: San Jose rent control law still falls far short of the need
By adopting only minimal improvements to San Jose's rent control law, the City Council has allowed our affordable housing crisis to grow worse each year. Wildly escalating rents are the most damaging effect of the region's housing problems. High rents displace seniors and low wage workers; they force multiple families to crowd into a single apartment; they make it impossible for working parents to meet the needs of their children.
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