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Why Is That A Reason To Oppose?

Sometimes, while reading a news story, a single phrase will appear to jump out at me, essentially telling me all I really need to know.

That was the case recently, when a proposal to build a senior housing complex was strongly opposed.  The audience groaned when they learned that the vast majority of occupants would be "low income."

As someone who definitely qualifies as “low income,” and for whom home ownership is an abandoned dream, I'd like to offer these thoughts:

Low income, per se, has no relationship to morality, competence, ambition, or level of intellect.  And the economic system we live in almost guarantees that not everyone participating in it can be a winner in life.

Allow me to live in your neighborhood, and I promise to be a responsible citizen.  I won't burglarize your home or assault your family members.  

Join me for coffee, and my two college degrees and 66 years of living -- most of that as a low-income wage earner -- should provide a solid base on which we could discuss or debate a wide range of topics.

In these final years of my life, I would like to think that safe, affordable housing will be the one thing I can count on in this community.

I'm Jim Kline, and that is my perspective.

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