Why Middle-Class Americans Can't Afford to Live in Liberal Cities

[Ptarmigan]

Why Middle-Class Americans Can't Afford to Live in Liberal Cities
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/10/why-are-liberal-cities-so-unaffordable/382045/

On April 2, 2014, a protester in Oakland, California, mounted a Yahoo bus, climbed to the front of the roof, and vomited onto the top of the windshield.

If not the year's most persuasive act of dissent, it was certainly one of the most memorable demonstrations in the Bay Area, where residents have marched, blockaded, and retched in protest of San Francisco's economic inequality and unaffordable housing. The city's gaps—between rich and poor, between housing need and housing supply—have been duly catalogued. Even among American tech hubs, San Francisco stands alone with both the most expensive real estate and the fewest new construction permits per unit since 1990.

But San Francisco's problem is bigger than San Francisco. Across the country, rich, dense cities are struggling with affordable housing, to the considerable anguish of their middle class families.

Liberal cities are less affordable and have more income inequality.

But there's a second reason why San Francisco's problem is emblematic of a national story. Liberal cities seem to have the worst affordability crises, according to Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko.

There is this article.

Blue Markets Face Bigger Housing Challenges Than Red Markets
http://www.trulia.com/trends/2014/10/blue-red-markets-housing-challenges/

The housing crisis hurt Democratic- and Republican-leaning markets similarly, but today blue markets have lower affordability, lower homeownership, and greater income inequality.

As Election Day 2014 approaches, we see sharp differences in local housing markets depending on whether they are blue or red. As the political urgency of the housing crisis fades, longer-term issues like declining affordability, low homeownership, and rising inequality are taking center stage. And these issues play out differently in Democratic- and Republican-leaning metros.

To show this, Trulia categorized the 100 largest metros as red or blue depending on their 2012 presidential vote. In 32 metros—the red markets—the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, got more votes than the Democrat, President Obama. These include places like Houston, Cincinnati, and Salt Lake City. In 40 light-blue markets, including St. Louis, Austin, and Buffalo, Obama beat Romney by less than 20 percentage points. And in 28 dark-blue markets, including Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, Obama’s margin exceeded 20 points.

When we looked at housing trends in these metros, we found that the housing crisis and recovery affected red and blue markets similarly. But today’s pressing housing issues are more severe in blue markets.

[thundley4]

How much does the local and state tax burdens have as a role in increasing the costs?  Liberals demand "free" things from the government, but don't care that those things make life harder for the working class and blue collar workers in particular.

[JohnnyReb]

I hear there are plenty of cheap houses available in Detroit.

[longview]

I hear there are plenty of cheap houses available in Detroit.

Back taxes alone make many of them unaffordable. 

Add to that the costs of having water, sewer, electricity (if the area isn't served) and security.  $$$$$