So what is the point of showcasing a modest-sized city council proclaiming self-congratulatory definitions of ‘affordable’ about the chamber?
Manteca is just such a modest size city, and some on council are quite smug about how well they are doing in the daunting task of building ‘affordable’ housing.
Is that ‘hawk’ affordable? Or ‘handsaw’ affordable?
Others on the city council are claiming from hands-on experience that Manteca is currently not, and has not been for years, building any affordable housing at all. Hawk or handsaw?
Given that the councillors are undoubtedly intelligent people, we need to turn to the feigned madness of Prince Hamlet1 to explain how conveniently councillors in many cities are unable to appreciate the difference between hawks and handsaws — between not terribly confusing but very different definitions of ‘affordable.’
Are local citizens part of this false madness? Supporting councillors who propose one definition, or another definition, in order to avoid coming to grips with the true scope of a national affordable housing crisis? Or are citizens merely dupes of canny councillors, who would co-opt any faint breeze of affordability in the marketplace and claim it for their own if it serves their political fortunes?
Whatever the answer, simply following council discussions about something as important as affordable housing conjures up a wealth of images such as ostriches with their heads in the sand, and emperors fiddling while Rome burns.
Is there no practical and desirable mental bridge to be built between different kinds of affordability (ultimately as many kinds of affordability as there are people to do the affording)?
Certainly, witnessing the spectacle of wind-blown clever-mad Danish Princes that constitute council deliberations is to yearn for leadership. Where to look for leadership that will address affordable housing for all? The state level at least, but far more hope and promise lies in a nation-led call to arms.
Read more on the apparent convenience — even nobility — of strategic affordability muddle in the Manteca Bulletin: What’s Affordable Housing?
