Unjust Housing

The City of Kyle passed ordinances in 2003 to increase the minimum requirements for a single-family home. The lot size was increased by 200 square feet to 6,825 square feet. The home size was also increased to 1,200 square feet and must have masonry on all exterior walls including garages. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin (HBA), and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) filed a lawsuit against the city. Their claim is, by the city increasing their minimum requirements on housing, they have increased the total cost of housing. Increasing the cost of housing indirectly causes minorities the inability to buy houses in Kyle; thus violating the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Act states that housing cannot consist of more than 30% of a household’s income. The Plaintiffs claim that the houses went from being a $100,000 entry-level home to a $138,500 home. This would require that the yearly household income be atleast $44,282 to maintain the law of 30%. The annual income of Hispanics in the area, according to the plaintiffs, is $41,928 in the city of Kyle,$35,649 in Hays County,and $38,356 in Austin-San Marcos area. The city of Kyle would not be racist then because Hispanics make the most in the city compared to the surrounding areas. It would rather be the question of the city trying to flush out low income. They say that the average media wage for whites is,$53,813 in the city,$49,679 in Hays County,and $54,065 Austin-San Marcos. The Plaintiffs claims that 46.8% of Hispanics in Kyle will not be able to buy a new home. This figure only applies if every Hispanic that lives in Kyle want a new home from these builders. I looked up these figures and I found on HBA of Greater Austin that with Kyle's new ordinance, entry level homes would cost $120,000 rather than $138,500 HBAAustin. This is coming directly from one of the plaintiff's own sites. If the price is off by $18,500, would the other statistics on their complaint be reliable information? According to the plaintiff, this puts the average African-American and Hispanic family out of the housing market. The City of Kyle claims that the ordinance was in order to slow the growth of the city, and they deny the statistics that the plaintiffs presented. After an extensive examination of the area, done by a qualified government official, if the numbers are correct than I think the ordinance should be modified. The City of Kyle is not the only city worried about the outcome of this trial. The repercussions of this case have other small/developmental cities worried. The City of Manor, City of Round Rock, City of Pflugerville, and the City of Jonestown submitted a Trial Brief on Disparate Impact Claims. They built a form of questions that should be answered during the trail to make the case valid. I listed the link under "Trail Brief Support" below. The other two links are to the Plaintiffs' claims and the City of Kyle's defense.

Housing Article
Plaintiffs' complaint
City of Kyle's answer
Trail Brief Support

Lenient Spending

Monday, February 4th bush rolled out a $3.1 trillion budget proposal for additional military. He plans to cut projected spending for Medicare and Medicaid, having a noticeable impact in Texas. The plan assumes higher taxes on upper middle class, doesn’t include the additional funding for the wars in Iraq beyond 2009. Ideally it is suppose to cause a surplus by 2012 to get us out debt. It was cut funding from the state for Medicaid causing Texas to shift funds from other programs or drop the Medicaid amount reimbursed. This will cause lack of care or more money out of the pocket for the society. Some of the other programs that could be cut include but not limited to is, noncitizens in state prison, grants for undergraduate students, highway planning and construction, foster care, anti – poverty programs and subsidized housing. The $5.9 trillion hole we are in for “necessary” spending to defend against terrorism and to wage the wars in the Middle East. “Security is worth whatever it takes in order to make sure that we’re secure,” said Mr. Nussle. Defense and security are areas to grow in Bush’s budget. Defense would rise to $515 billion, the most inflation-adjusted term since WWII. 70 billion goes to the war in the Middle East. Bush would eliminate research funding for oil & natural gas exploration and provide a measly 1 million for energy-efficiency & renewable programs. I think all Americans should be aware of government spending for the fact that it affects their own life. How your money is spent effects your life through the money you take home to the services from your government you enjoy. Without people taking notice to government spending allows the government to choose for you, and no government official makes perfect decisions.


Bush's Spending Plan