Although it’s great that you are
talking about the housing issue, one sweeping statement —
“Don’t blame water or oil for the cul de sac’s
decline. Blame creative financing.” — is skirting the
fact that, yes, transportation costs (and hence oil) play a key
role in many people losing their homes (HCN, 4/30/07).
According to the Center for Housing Policy, for every dollar saved
by moving to a house that’s affordable but away from a job, a
family pays 77 cents to cover additional transportation costs
(buying a car, maintenance, gas, insurance, parking). In 2005, the
average Colorado family spent 29 percent of their income on housing
and 29 percent on transportation. That means that a family earning
$40,000 a year spent $23,200 on housing and
transportation.
Transportation costs do play a key role in
housing, and in this crisis, people are losing housing. If you have
to drive 50 miles a day for work because the housing you could
afford was out there in the suburbs, you don’t get much of a
choice. Oil plays a role and — at $3 a gallon — even
more so.
James Balliett
Erie,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The cost of driving ’til you qualify.
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