Page One

Roll back the rents

Marion Syrek Oakland
Friday July 26, 2002

About this homeless problem. The poor we have always had with us, and also a certain number of free souls who love fresh air and actually prefer to sleep out in the open, under the stars, at least in summer. But homelessness didn't get to be a major social problem until some time in the 1980s, when the greed of the landlords in raising rents coincided with the greed of employers in holding down wages, and more and more people were caught in the gap between. 

The obvious solution is to close the gap. For starters, we could roll back all rents by 10 percent, and increase all wages by 10 percent. And also, to make sure there are enough jobs for those who want them, let's reduce the workweek by 10 percent, with no reduction in pay and all overtime to be strictly voluntary. The only other essential measure would be to provide adequate medical care for everyone. 

 

Marion Syrek 

Oakland