Florida’s affordable housing crisis is fueling a new population of homelessness in the state, middle-class working families. Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone explains how help for these ‘gap’ families isn’t easy to come by.
What they really need isn't "help" for middle class families, they need to make laws against CORPORATIONS buying up massive amounts of properties and raising the prices across the board. Where are the laws??
@@paxundpeace9970 Yes, aid would be helpful but it is very limited and doesnt solve the problem. They need laws that prevent the huge increases in prices (renter protection) and laws that would prevent corporations from buying up all available properties, which also drives up the prices and creates a monopoly.
it’s impossible. housing cheapest rent is 1,800 a month which is insane already. gas 60 a week insurance $200 and thats hoping you dont have a car note and drive something older. plus all the money u spend on food a month, phone bill, utilities, clothes, etc most people i know dont even make 50k a year so how the hell are they living i have no clue
u add a baby into that you might aswell pickup 2 more jobs, and that baby wont even know who u are because u are going to have to work all day every day
I’m a single mother in middle class and was homeless in dade county for 7 months during Covid ! I cried everyday asking why my job I had as a bachelors degree student couldn’t pay enough for rent. I decided to leave and move to Georgia and my life is more positive and I’m able to live in a decent apartment
This is why people need to understand that homelessness is NOT about being unemployed - It is about everyday circumstances that can happen to anyone - even the rich!
@@Budesolar_1 Please explain. You keep commenting "wrong" but offer no explanation. I'd love to read your bestselling book on how this doesn't happen to everyone or how it doesn't happen at all.
@@FG-bn3qq my brother was a millionaire with his ex wife runnjng a rehab clinic and things went bad and he ended up losing it all due to divorce and other long story details. years later hes now back up again about to get his masters to be a dr in the feild. it CAN happen to anyone
@@richyoung4051 There's a video of a man with an MBA that became homeless after his mother passed away and her house was lost. He couldn't find steady work due to him taking care of her.
All it takes is one broken down car, one medical bill, one accident, etc. It’s scary how easy it is for us to fall into debt. The gray area really needs to be more spoken about
I know exactly what they're going through me and my wife both had vehicles identity fraud officer slammed into my wife on her way home from work and now we're looking at maybe being homeless ourselves all over an officer who fell asleep at the wheel
@@27Killermike all talk but never action. whether we admit it or not, most of us always put our own well being first and won't take any extra steps to help others, especially if it affects us. we'd rather send prayers and condolesnces online than doing actual helping.
I was fine til I had a stroke I never even felt. But $2600 later (from $12k, which the balance luckily my insurance paid), I'm now struggling. God is good though, He controls things... and I'm sure He may have been telling me to slow it down (in my 60's).
Imagine working hard all your life, all the sacrifices you did, all those sleepless nights, pouring your blood, sweet & tears just so that you'll be able to have a decent life and suistained your family . And it'll all mean nothing just because of the decisions of a few decrepit people called the government, I think we need take some investment diversification so as not to depend on the government to bring money especially now that war and pandemic has hitted the economy pretty hard. I pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life, 🙏🙏🙏
Yeah investment is the key to sustaining your financial longevity but venturing into any legitimate Investment without a proper guidance of an expert can lead to a great loss too
I contracted Covid August last year. Spent 2 months in hospital & came home having to basically learn to walk again. My lung capacity is now at 55%. Last year September is the last paycheck I got. I filled in my unemployment claim & to date have not received a single cent from them. If not for my wife, I'd be on the street right now
Those of us older residents repeatedly warned people of this. They kept obsessing over property values and keeping undesirables out of certain neighborhoods. Year after year they kept loosening regulations and voting in officials who paved the way for more corporate ownership. Prices went up and they cheered as they priced their own children and grandchildren out of the housing market.
@@catholicfemininity2126 Heaven. Meanwhile, Jesus promised we will always have the poor. also my sis lives in florida, husband, 2 kids, and he pays like 2k or something rent on an apartment. but im in indy, paying 1.3k for a decent home, 0.5 acres. but my ex gets so many benefits, i agree, the poor get so many benefits, but the "middle class" cant afford to be middle class., especially these past few years.
GREED is going to be the downfall of America. It's a sin AND a shame that hardworking productive people like these families who get up every day and go work can't afford a decent place to live.
@@420bluegirl So TRUE!! That love, which is actually LUST, will lead some people to do evil things in order to get more money. Just look at the state of the world these days.
If it wasn't for my parents helping us, we would have been homeless. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a family that can help. I am still grateful that they were there for us when we needed it the most.
With the inflation, even when Im now in my 40's, my family is helping me to buy a new house. Because I cant buy if I use my own salary. Im here in asia. No kids. Single. Just inflation as the culprit of high priced houses
STOP ALLOWING CORPORATIONS TO BUY ALL THE HOMES. I was earning six figure income and still, prices in Port Saint Lucie forced me to move away. Prices are absurd.
This is why I can’t stand when people say “why don’t you just move to someplace cheaper.” IT IS SO EXPENSIVE TO MOVE AND START OVER. Only an ignorant person would say stupid stuff like that. Infuriating
Also the whole USA is going through the same thing as Florida. There are a lot of homeless middle class people in the Phoenix area where I came from. Thankfully I moved to Tucson in 2017 before things reached this point.
It can be expensive if you have a ton of stuff or are attached to things. I've moved across the country before with only what I could fit in my SUV. I sold the rest and bought second hand from marketplace once I arrived. It's doable, just have to get creative.
@@davidgray1515 If you can't afford a decent place to live... then you're in poverty. It's not just how much you make... it's how much the housing COSTS. In the Netherlands it is AGAINST THE LAW to buy a house you are not going to live in. Using homes as INVESTMENT VEHICLES is illegal. There PEOPLE come first... as it should be.
This isn't something that is just happening in Florida, it's happening across the country. We are having the same issues here in CA when some businesses are buying out apartments and raising the rent to where it's not affordable to your average person.
@@mikeowns8440 I blame politicians not the people. It’s the job of the government to keep corporations in check and they aren’t doing it, specially democrats.
Corporations are the only ones that can afford to own real estate. The problem starts with the goverment passing high taxes on to everyone, corps have to make profits. thats what they do.
Only difference between the "working" homeless and the regular homeless is they haven't been broken yet. Those on the bottom are compounded by the "NIMBY's" and "NMP( not my problem)" people standing on their shoulders. But once that bottom.rung holding up every breaks, It slowly pushes people down the ladder to carry the weight
@@TimTams_64 Government does find ways to punish Protesters and those against their interest$. Artificial Intelligence with algorithm is already being used in hidden cameras all through the U.S illegally. Money, a home, education, privacy, and freedom are all going to be something harder to fight for. It's a very scary future approaching.
I know exactly what this lady is saying and I too can relate to a situation just like this! This year 2022! April 10- Jun 15 I was Homeless!! Living in a hotel paying RENT every week living in a hotel it's so hard to save money. I ended up finding a WONDERFUL HOME in a TERRIBLE MARKET so I know God blessed me big time!
A network of people who are in this situation needs to be created so that people can join together with others who are struggling and share the rent. People car pool, maybe they can house pool. Its better than sleeping in your car. I pray you all get through this. God bless you!
@@robertstirewalt7789 you are such a dumb troll. You are under other posts making fun of the black single mom and here you are telling a single woman to get a kid. What the hell? You just want black women to suffer
@@rewtdawg9852 What if communities funded the building of homes in their neighborhoods and it was sweat equity and connection that helped you get inside a home, not generational wealth and good luck or even hard work piling that cash if it was in an unfair way or stopped you from contributing to your community in meaningful ways? What if it was a willingness to grow native plants and food for others instead of having a lawn and showing off your wealth and status? This is already happening on a very small scale and if it catches on it could save the planet.
@@jojo5715 those people are at work making the money to take care of their own problems. Grow up and get a big person job and quit whining that the world isn't doing enough for you.
@Kevin Myers some of these people are nothing but whiners. They’re full of resentment towards those who have worked and suffered enough to justify their existence. I love hearing how housing is a right….
Currently living this situation and it is HARD. I don’t have any family willing to help and I can’t get any help from the state or county. I’m a single mother of four and I’ve been working throughout all of this. I’m trying to keep my head up but I get tired. I behave lost everything. All of the money I make goes towards staying in hotels. I finally got approved for a place but when they found out I had to go through an agency to pay the move in costs they pretty much canceled out my move in. At this point I don’t know what else to do…
My wife and I married in 1990. After three years of apartment living and watching the rent go up every year to match my pay I said we’ve got to buy. We sold a lot of our possessions to make the down payment but we got in at the beginning of the last bubble. No way could I afford to buy this house if I had to do it today. Advise : the next time the bubble bursts , and it will , be ready. Sell anything you can , work three jobs if you have to but buy a home and pay it off as quickly as possible
Florida broke. This is how everyone ended up on the streets on the West Coast. Instead, happy homeowners blame drugs and mental illness, the results of losing your home, not the cause. Eventually, they are the ones who get blamed, ignored and kicked to the curb. This happened to me. It can happen to you. It can happen to anyone.
You right, we are a family with kids, hard work people, never used drugs, mentally healthy but still we can’t afford the rent in South Florida anymore… it’s easy to blame people when you’re not in the investors hands, they own everything here and just want to make more and more money… even a family need to be kicked out because can’t afford the increase of the rent
@@sharronpettis384 what! Really? Wow I’ve heard about things happening out that way but I’m from nyc crazy too but you don’t hear about this kinda thing as much I’m so sad by this I really hope & pray for change it’s really needed.😔
I (25) am an engineer and my girlfriend (25) is a scientist and works in pharma. We are top educated and still have trouble finding afordable homes that allow us to save enough money to buy a home in the future. Prices are insane in Germany too and on top of that we have insane regulations when it comes to build energy efficient homes. So in popular cities where the jobs are we are talking upwards of 1Million dollars for a single house. Even for us it will be difficult to afford that house and we are top earnes. I really wonder what all the others are doing without high incomes... we life in sad times
Something that doesn't make sense to me is that, if a handful of large businesses bought a lot of properties and raised rent 100%, but at the same time the jobs and general income around are unable to pay that increase, that would very quickly empty the vast majority of their housing/investment, thus plumetting their own returns. It doesn't appear to add up. That's how exagerated greed usually tends to be counterweighted by offer/demand law. Not sure what I'm missing in this situation.
I suppose a major factor is inflows of capital from outside of the local area. We have a huge problem with this in the UK where the property/rental market is just off the chart. There is absolutely zero relation between what local people earn in the area and what the rent/property prices are in that area and a significant reason for that is that so much of the housing is being bought up by uber-weathy non-locals who only care about investment returns. We've very quickly gone from a situation where one could comfortably support a 4 person family on a single income to a situation where 2 incomes can barely support a 2 person family.
@@benghiskahn3673 Indeed, and that lack of correlation is the first part of the conundrum, however, who, if any, are the new renters? In New York, for instance, with rental renewals raising up to 100%, people are leaving the neighborhood or, in some cases, the city altogether. Thing is, there, amazingly, there has been people willing, even fighting, to jump on those surreal new rents. It seems to be a very unbalanced offer/demand site. Not sure if that model could be successfully copied to less dense cities/states, for there will be no demand for such high rates. Unless nowadays there are many families in USA living with one person income, and in that case work inflation will happen. It has happened here in the tropics 30 years ago. Meaning, it's not impossible, but very rare, to keep one family with child/ren based on one income only. Usually both work and, even so, it's not relaxed and easy, but we have a different palette of ghosts, it would be another topic.
Here’s what you’re missing: houses appreciate in value even if there is no renter. Corporations see this situation as “if people want to live in a home badly enough they’ll go into debt to be able to rent my place.”
I'm in this VERY situation and praying to be able to get out soon. I'm a single mom of 2 and I don't get food stamps or section 8 because I make too much to qualify and not enough to afford this outrageous rent. Praying we find something REALLY soon.
I'm in the same situations single mom of one and make to much for help. My daughter is a full time student with a partial scholarship and I have to pay for her housing. I do not want her to get into student loans like I did while I was in college because that's another battle I do not want her to have when she graduates from dentistry school. And of course people will say get a second job, yeah it sounds easy for some but it's not for everyone's situation.
@@naturallydope6971 Thank you SO much! Praying for you as well! Right about the second job. Being their only parent IS my second job and I already work 60 plus hours a week at the one job I have.
Along with this, the pay is terrible. I relocated to FL from WI in 2018 and fortunately got in front of this housing boom, but I took quite a pay cut as well. Everyone said, "It's cheap to live here..." Yea, not anymore.
This is me. Family of 5 making 5k a month. After medical and taxes over half of my check is gone. My rent went from 1000 to 2100 in 3 years. Parking now is also 150 per month. I can't find a rental unit less than 2500 within a hour to hour in a half from my job. Here I am a government employee on the brink of homelessness. I do understand some of it is my fault as I should have attempted to purchase a home when they were affordable.
My family isn’t homeless, but we are the squeezed middle class, unable to save because of cost of living. We have no debt, do not buy new cars, have old phones, buy used clothing, and keep our lifestyle minimal. It doesn’t help much other than keeping us out of debt and afloat. It’s unbelievable that this is happening to working people.
The way it goes, you may have to try to find additional work to keep up with the costs. Lots of people are in the same boat. They barely break even though they live very simple. The problem is that if you cannot save for anything, that car/dishwasher/furnace/etc does need replacement at some point. Then you have a problem...
@@eagle25311 I started a lawn buisness at 31.... I'm 38 now with 1 mill in the bank and a paid for house.... I wish I would have started it in my twenties
I've said for many years there will come a time when there are only 2 classes of people , those with untold wealth and those who have nothing. That time is here.
That is what it is like in some third world countries…Rich and poor, no middle class…The two extremes, no middle ground…People want to come to the USA under the notion that if they work hard 😓 they can survive and maybe even flourish but the chances of this are lessening even for American citizens…It is sad and troubling that you can graduate from college, have more education than your grandparents, and not be able to save money, afford rent, or pay off your home before you retire…I often hear my college graduate friends say they do not consider themselves middle class, they consider themselves working class, and they are only one paycheck away from a financial crisis if they are unable to work. They are unable to save for a “rainy day”, as told to them by their grandparents…
@@sharonluquis5823 The only type of immigrant that is making it in the US are Indians & South East asians working IT/Engineering/Medical for companies. Of course, they’re considered educated, so they get visas easier & they still make more than the average American at $60k & up.
There IS no Middelclass. "middle" is just people with real estate or no real estate. Its us and the rich. and as long as we think we are better than the homeless we will never look up at the real enemies
Seeing these good working people in tears is absolutely heartbreaking. The face of homelessness has been changing for the past five or so years with the housing market. Everyone thinks homeless people are junkies but everyone is on the brink of homelessness. I wish people had more compassion and that the bipartisanship in this country was stronger. We can't have both parties blaming each other and pointing fingers when we have a housing crisis on our hands. If these billionaires were really trying to help they would buy a house or pay rent for everyone because they have the funds to do it. The past two years we have made them richer while simultaneously we have gotten poorer.
@@ron4501 I agree. Nothing more sus than a conservative poor person. In Virginia, Florida and Texas that are staunch conservatives meanwhile they are living check to check and are in poverty make no sense to me. But it's not 1996 anymore. Both parties have become too tribalistic when they need to come together and fix it.
Maybe, the real focus should be on money management and survival skills and less on sympathy and blaming rich people? Why don't you reach out to these families Lauren and take them in free of cost for a year, so they can get on their feet?
@@ronkonkoma4223 money management doesn’t matter when you don’t make enough that all. Full stop with the bs. These hard working people shouldn’t be having such a hard problem.
@@AbsFabbs Of course it matters. If she had good money management skills she would know that she cannot afford to live on her own and would look for other alternatives. It probably would have been a good idea to stop at one child if you're picking deadbeat dads. Poor decision making and poor money management is why she's in the situation that she's in. If you yourself need help with money management, I am more than willing to help you.
I always said why don't the billionaires build affordable housing; they would get most all of it back anyway it's housing. Here's the last names of them: Gates, Musk, Buffet, Zuckerberg, Bezos, Winfrey, Cuban, Trump, Walton Families, Mars families, just to name a few.
I’m working middle class. I work for a warehouse I’ve been at for 4yrs and started a second job I’m going to have to start living out of my car for the first time this weekend as wvrything I’ve been looking for is too expensive or I make to much. They just take all my money in application fees. It kinda hurts that I work so hard and I feel like I can’t get a break.
Although I'm not homeless, I do feel hopeless during this time of crisis. I'm getting paid more than I ever have, but I still can't afford to buy my own home because everything on the market is being sold within a week of listing and on top of that people like me are being out bid by cash buyers (mostly investors). When I first got this current job, I felt like i took a giant step forward.... Now I felt like I was pushed back another 10 years, making pennies. What a time to be alive.
This is a residual effect from when the housing market crashed in 2008. This is why instead of bailouts the people responsible should have been given jail time. Home ownership is no longer feasible for lower to middle class households.
I went the “tiny house” route thinking this was a good solution for me. I found a cheap lot in the country, bought a 320 sf shipping container house, but first have to put in well & septic. The problem is costs have gone up so much, it costs more than the 1200 sf 3 bd/2 bth house I bought in the city 10 yrs ago!
2022 not looking so good for the housing market. Already considering moving funds to dividends stocks which have shown enormous rise despite previous predictions to the contrary.
I'm so thankful that my landlords are renting me a place to live in at a reasonable rate . Inflation is uncomfortable but i'm thankful that my job pays for my life.
You are lucky because rents are going up everywhere . Rent prices rose by 0.8% in june from a month earlier, according to the labor department it is the largest monthly gain since 1986.
How can the typical family with average income afford a higher rate+ more expensive home? in my area multi generational home is becoming the norm . Don’t forget to add the inflation which just this week was 9.1 on the CPI , producers index 11.3, it’s going to be a rough ride for sure.
@@Natalieneptune469 Time will tell how this period will treat people that never save, invest, lived beyond means, paycheck to paycheck, too many kids, too big of home, keeping up with the joneses with FOMO,YOLO, paying alimony, child support, etc
The solution can be found in Finland, with their "housing first" program: Major funding for housing programs by the state, while sending homeless ppl right away to these housing programs for nominal rent they pay the state, with an option to purchase their apartments from the state later, when they manage to start saving money. This rent is extremely affordable, in the direct intent to allow these ppl to start somewhere.
Finaland is homogenous white and doesn't have diversity that's why it runs so well. We have open borders and completely different groups living here do you see why that won't work in America?
@@manager4409 Are you seriously saying black people are the problem right now? Would match your knowledge of Europe, which actually has open borders, as opposed to the US.
it really breaks my heart to see the pain of this accountant and the transport gentleman. i hope things get better for them. Yes, it is a mystery how many people are able to afford the high rents and live there.
@@KC-dr3cg that’s funny! My parents bought a mobile home in 2005 way in the middle of nowhere in florida and it was still 90k. Ever heard of hurricanes or tornadoes? We experience them a lot too. They would rip apart a mobile home quickly.
I’m a teacher here in florida and the only way I was able to afford a mortgage on a condo was with state down payment program. Today, there is no way I would be able to afford a mortgage payment. This is just awful to see. The guy hit the nail on the head when he said how can people afford these homes? In my neighborhood the average home price is around 273k and the average salary is around 62k. How can a two family income with kids make a down payment let alone pay a mortgage at this price?
Those salaries don't include the WFH migrants/ transplants from out of state. They brought their higher paying jobs/salaries with them to Florida. That's what is causing this. A result of the pandemic in some other states. That and inflation. Your dollars are worth less.
Homes 🏡 are worth what a bank 🏦 will loan since 98% of people will need to borrow. That's why when rates are low demand is high and when high, low. The HOA fees alone for many condos and town homes 🏡 are high and continue rising so affordability is still out of range for those options. The only way prices will come down is for the fed to increase borrowing costs by raising rates. 😶
Your comments lead intelligent people to wonder where are you spending your money? And how many kids? You need a revisited budget or you each need 2nd jobs...or both. Move to S.C. ..Alabama?
A mortgage of $260, 000 = $1,500 piti... if you have two teachers earning $62,000 a year each , your take-home pay (around$4,000 a mo each) makes a $260,000 house affordable.
I'm seeing this up close. My aunt - who is disabled since 2015 - finally got approved for that "Section 8" help. They gave her a figure that she was allowed to spend (and may not exceed) on rent + utilities, and they would pay a percentage of that. The figure is lower than any rental in this area. ANY rental. They're using rent averages from who knows how many years ago. 7 years of waiting for assistance, just to basically have the door slammed on her.
very true..even people on housing that live in homes are being made to move because the owners are making 3x more selling the property. And with limited to nowhere to go with section 8 vouchers they are going to shelters while on housing.
Yes, if people are willing to relocate come to the Midwest, Sioux Falls SD is growing and plenty of small towns with big factories looking for help. Currently a lot of Mexicans have been grabbing the jobs and even I have a group of Mexicans that speak little to no English. There are enough English speaking Mexicans that help translate. But the management team rely heavily on our English speaking Mexicans. Construction is another huge industry out here that has more Mexicans. So the Midwest needs more Americans here for these jobs. Sell most of your stuff but keep essentials and important stuff and Road trip down with a Uhaul trailer. Just have to make sure your car is up to date on upkeep from a mechanic.
3 generations back a father could work an honest job while the mom could stay home and raise the kids. 2 generations back came the 'latch key' kids where mom started to have to work to make ends meet and remain middle class. Next gen we had 2 parents working full time just to make ends meet. Now we have 2 parents working full time and coming out of college with massive debt just to be 'educated' enough for a typical middle class job. The trend is right there in front of all of us. Its easy see why crime is skyrocketing too..... America is not a failed state yet, but we are heading straight in that direction.
I agree but i also want to point out that we consume too much. Last night the waitress was telling me about her massage therapist! We could have also stayed home and ate at 1/3 of the cost.
I refuse to rent from one of these huge corporations buying up homes, there’s several houses in my area I’ve been eying for years, they don’t answer the phone, they don’t return voicemails, they already want hundreds above the average rent in my area and they just sit empty, long grass and even has a for rent sign! Irritating!
It has been reported that people by the house and do not want the hassle of tenants they simply wait for the house to appreciate and sell it at a good profit
@@KC-dr3cg In Canada, investors buy the house and resell it for $100k more 6 months later. While the housing cost may be expensive to us in the states, our residential cost are relatively cheap compared to those in other developed nations. Investors are not worried about things like mortgage rates, They are able to crowdfund all cash offers for housing. PLEASE IF YOU ARE IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS VIDEO, GET TO A PLACE, IT MAY BE THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE, BUT PURCHASE A HOME. Business people around the world are looking for places to park their cash, American real estate is seen as great value.
@@MaximilianGros Your reply is all one needs to know that you lack reading comprehension. I’m sure you saw “can’t afford to make ends meet” automatically means homeless.
I understand how this people feel and it's so hard to be homesless. I've been there myself and living in hotel's is so hard. I used to cry myself to sleep. I finally found a place to live for my family. Although it's not what I want it's what I need for my family. A roof over my head. I'm praying for these families to get them a forever home. Sending all of you my prayer's and love. God is watching over all of you. ❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏🙏
That “I need a moment” was heartbreaking, honestly! I wish these families the best and that they get the help they need asap! I’m sure there’s plenty more out there too with similar situations. I own my 1/1 condo that I purchased luckily back in 2018 and right now I can sell and make 100k profit BUT I STILL wouldn’t be able to buy another place other than another 1/1 (so what would be the point in selling!?) and that’s IF otherwise I’d be the guy with 100k in the bank but living in a box or his car. That says something!
> Yes, it proves you made one smart decision. So what smart decision are you planning to invest your life in NEXT? For most people, life is a series of wise or foolish decisions made over decades that shape and decide the outcomes of their life. Will you make wise or foolish decisions for yourself?
@@SeattlePioneer I’m hoping to continue making more wise decisions. In the meantime I work hard and put a good chunk on my savings so that hopefully in the future I won’t need to sell my property and will still have enough again to buy another property, perhaps something a little bigger while renting out the current one and so forth.
This breaks my heart the people who made Florida what it is are being kicked out due to out of state people moving in. I'm so sorry this has been in the making for a few years. Rent has been going up for years with little wage increases.
it breaks my heart that the seminoles who made florida were kicked out due to the out of state people moving in. this has been in the making for many years
i been laid off a month now and the biggest obstacle is job rejections and then the jobs that are available barely pay above $10/hr. my last job started at $15/hr and i got raised to $20/hr within 2 years. i live alone with no help so i cannot afford to settle for less especially cause i have a great work ethic and experience and education
Sadly, this is us too. Though we aren’t homeless, we makes just enough to not qualify for government assistance (which we don’t want to have to be on) and we are struggling bad with everything getting sooo expensive now… not qualified for Medicaid and even with insurance, our medical bills are too much and that put us in debt which affects our credit scores and makes it hard to purchase a home. Renting is very expensive. We’ve been trying to move to a cheaper place but it’s not working out so well… to see some others not working but get to go to the doctor anytime for free, get food stamps, get checks sent to them every months, get housing assistance,….. we are pretty devastated not because we don’t want them to get the help they need but because the reality is brutal and makes no sense. We don’t want to quit our jobs and stay at home hoping for some assistance from the government. Because we want to make more money, have a better life, eventually buy house and doing some more businesses to build wealth for our kids but how can we get there when so much stuff right now keeps setting us back, keeps us struggling on daily basis.
I earned a MA in Modern European History despite my father being illiterate. I taught community college history until Bipolar I disorder stole my life. I'm on 5 medications for my Bipolar & yes I receive govt assistance because I can no longer keep a job. I would be fired all the time. The 5 medications don't always work & Bipolar I gets worse with age. I worked hard for my degrees & I loved teaching. I cared deeply for my students. Furthermore, I made very little money, but I didn't care. I contributed to society until I couldn't. I shouldn't be demonized & vilified for needing help now.
I learned the lesson "It dont matter how much you work" young. My family was denied assistance and free lunches growing up because we made 25 cents to much. Me and my siblings relied on school lunches to have food for the week, and my parents had to pay out of pocket for it. This country dont care about you if you arent rich or famous
Huh??? Something is wrong with your thought patterns. So because your parents made just a little bit too much money for you to get free lunch you got from that that the country only cares about the rich??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
She’s right. I hope she gets help. She is smart and seems like a good mom. This is sad. Yet there are celebrities buying purses and watches that could buy this lady a house.
I've been saying this exact thing for over a year. I feel for them. Born and raised in Naples fl. I'm being evicted from my hometown in the name of profit. 3 bed homes for $3000 on up? $9k-$12k just to move in? That is absurd. Some places here are requiring a full years rent paid in advanced. When it crashes, noone will be left to help pick up the pieces. Us working class got evicted from our city
I hear you. I'm a native of Naples and this is the absolute worst ever. Rent has always been a little high but this is out of control. They're going to run out the very people who take care of this town. Who's going to do that when the majority can't afford to stay anymore. I'm worried about my future here as well.
I lived in Naples for 1 year back in 2019...such a beautiful city but it was CRAZY expensive so had to move again. Then the pandemic happened, now the whole damn state is impossible to live in :'-(
And if minimum wage goes up then all they do is keep raising the cost of living. That's what happened here in California it's ridiculous. Investors buy up all the properties in cash so first time homebuyers have no chance. Everyone is forced to rent. The middle class literally disappeared. It seems like everything happening here has a ripple effect.
@@rust-0hspray156 Exactly. High minimum wage hurt mom & pop businesses not Amazon, Google, Walmart or McDonald's. These big corporations will simply raise the price of their products to make up for paying employees more, while small businesses go bankrupt. Higher minimum wage will just mean higher cost of everything else. If a McDonald's employee is paid $25 an hour, then McDonald's will raise their burger meals to $19.99 per meal.
It will come to a point where even the investors are going to stop buying. The cost of a house is rediculous. The ones who are benefiting now are retirees getting out of Commafornia.
This problem is not unique to Florida . It is in New York; California and other states and the system refuses to do anything about it. Human beings are now throw aways.
This is what happens in a society where, despite rising productivity, employee wages stagnate (for like 40 years now) while the cost of living and inflation inevitably rise. Basically modern day feudalism, where giant mega-corporations, with all their tax breaks, loopholes and stock buybacks buy up everything on the cheap and then bleed the tenants for everything they have. Zoning laws that prohibit certain types of housing only contribute to the problem. But the problem is a lot more about stagnating wages than it is rising housing prices.
Yea, and people instead blame the poor because they've been conditioned to do so by the very people keeping them down. We desperately need some class solidarity in this country, too many in the middle class identify more with the wealthy and see themselves closer to them than the poor when the opposite is actually true.
I am so sorry for that woman in the interview. So true! The middle class is getting squeezed out! The rich will always be rich and fine. The poor will always be subsidized by the tax payers, aka the middle class but then the middle class make too much to qualify for any benefits but still suffer from lack of!
proud asian girl Rich people will remain wealthy as long as people like you keep purchasing their products. I'm very positive the device you're using now was owned by a rich company.
It's heartbreaking💔🙏😭 I now live in Cleveland Oh. I'm 67 yrs old, totally disabled and in heart failure. I've tried every agency in Ohio. No help is available. It's terrifying. My income is too low to to rent an apt. 🙏💔🛐
She's right about getting into an apartment is tough. Getting into my current apartment in Las Vegas I had to pay first and last month's rent plus a $2,000 security deposit. My total move in payment was just under $6,000. Add on a non-refundable application fee and fees for background checks it was around $6,300.
Damn! Cost are rising here in Houston, TX as well! But you don't have to pay 1st or last mth rent to get a apt here. Maybe you can consider moving more south if things don't get better in a year.🤷🏽♀️
I live in Las Vegas too I was a loyal tenant for 6 years pre pandemic some days we ate just Ramen not to hurt are landlord paid rent on time during the pandemic even though we both lost our jobs sucked our savings dry to keep a roof over our 4 children heads Just to be slapped in the face with a no cause 30 day notice because they want to sell the home thank God I got a pro Bono lawyer to help When they came with the 30 day notice we still had nine months left on our lease our lease runs out the end of August and I’ve been looking nine months and we can’t find anything this is not the Vegas I know it’s become California
@@PRIMETIMEBUFFS If ur life is not going as planned, just say that! You sound hella bitter bout somethin 🤷🏽♀️ Moving to Houston 16yrs ago was a excellent decision for me & I work in furniture sales so I meet new ppl wkly from Cali & the Mid West. They are happy w/ their decision of moving for their own reasons also.
I've never wanted the housing market to crash so bad, it's impacting people I know. The whole thing needs a correction and most importantly a ban on firms like black water from being able to swoop in and be the vultures they are.
@@kevinsouza7744 not really it's just a matter of we the people the little guys coming together as groups and purchasing just as they do but nobody wants to believe that it's a war on average people not race or gender so we all need to get together and beat them at their own game
Oh man,I can't wait!!!!!! I'm literally counting the days/weeks till the meltdown!!! Then,"we can't find renters ,we can't find buyers! Government bail us out!" I will laugh my ass off!!!!!
As someone who has always been interested in the housing market, I keep waiting for the market to turn around and the prices drop. From what I understand the demand (at least here in NJ) is slowing, but the prices aren't dropping. I cannot explain it.
Im in Canada and live with my parent, because the rent is too high to be able to save money anf invest it. Also very hard to buy a house now for young people.
When I was becoming disabled, I paid all my debts, bought a vacant cheap property and built a tiny cabin. It's off grid, in the country. At the time, I didn't have better options. I really feel for people stuck in her situation. They're everywhere. As tiny and rustic as my place is, I cant help but be thankful Im not stuck in that trap.
@@dcg590 Not everyone can just buy a piece of land and live in an off-grid cabin. If you have kids, you could have them taken away for doing that. And Florida does not have the most hospitable environment for that. Plus, even vacant lots are becoming very expensive.
You are absolutely blessed to have your own place. I’m also disabled but my roommate recently died. Of course SSI doesn’t cover $1200 in rent. Can’t afford to be here but can’t afford to move.
My heart breaks for them and ALL who are experiencing this. May God bless you with exactly what you need to get through this. This could happen to anyone.
@@sharronpettis384 Well I don't have any hands. I used to work at a sawmill and lost a hand. I lost the other hand when I worked at an alligator farm.🪚🐊
@@Danny451 what!? My God! Hunting with no hands?! That is fascinating! You are like a super human! And now you only have one foot? Your story is incredible!
middle class people can not afford homes, you have be touching nearly 80-100k to be honest and those jobs are very hard to land, its an insane world out there. i literally have no reason what we are doing and what our goal as a humanity is. i feel like its just a bunch of chosen few who reaps the benifit of the 99 percent, its so sad because we only life once.
Seeing these people cry and they are actually working and trying I understand how they feel. It hurts me looking at this cause I’m living paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes I have to choose rent over food, or gas over food. It’s really hard and my household makes $60,000 a year
i wanted to feel sorry for those people, but all of them are overweight. if youre overweight, that means youre not budgeting your money correctly. an account in florida makes enough to pay rent for a 1 bedroom apartment. what i dislike the most about this video is that the reporter blamed homelessness on ''unaffordable housing''. housing isnt unaffordable in florida if youre an accountant
@@IIII...... Not necessarily. They could be doing all their grocery shopping at the dollar store. You can easily buy 1000 calories of sugar-food for a buck or two. I doubt they're feasting on chicken and vegetables every night. If they're eating out every night that's a different story but still shouldn't mean the difference between a roof over your head or not. They probably qualify for food assistance too which can be stretched pretty far if used responsibly.
@@IIII...... You sound like an ignoramus! Haven't you ever heard of reverse starvation... when people are forced to survive on foods that are high in carbohydrates, and lacking in other nutrition, because they can only afford a high carb diet. Carbohydrates are among the most inexpensive foods, but the result can be obesity, diabetes, or other deficiency related illnesses. Secondly, not everyone can be an accountant, or any other professional! Life doesn't work that way! If everyone was a professional, the supply would exceed demand and professionals would be hard pressed to eke out a living! Besides many wage earners are essential workers!
@@IIII...... um, hypothyroidism exists. Also, the most unhealthy foods are usually the cheapest. Prices of vegetables in some areas are through the roof.
This statement is false, that is not at all what conservatives believe. Don't rely on the media to explain what conservatives believe, go out and talk to some. Conservatives tend to criticize giving out an excessive amount of help because this may incentivize some to stay on government help forever, and there is some truth to this. Both things can be true at once, that some are struggling even after working hard, while others are relying on government help and never improve.
@Inrivaallagofornow Most Conservatives tend to stereotype the poor and homeless as lazy, undisciplined, degenerates who deliberately made bad choices! It's a pathetic attempt to justify their own selfishness, inhumanity, arrogance, and their support of a system that's nothing more than legalized thievery and glorified avarice!
My problem too. I can't afford rent but still earn too much to qualify for any low income programs including food stamps. I cut my workweek down to 32 hours so I can still qualify for healthcare in my state.
had a friend in the same problem as the first lady. Working homeless. It's not the rent, it's having to scrap up a lump sum for 1st month, last month, security deposit, background check fee, credit check fee, and so on, that kills people
I lived in my minivan for two years to save enough money to buy two acres of land. I continued to live in the van to save up to build a small house. Then a heart attack and quadruple bypass put me out of work. But I don't owe anything on the land or the van so I at least have a place to park the van. Don't know what I would do otherwise. I consider myself fortunate.
But by the grace of God, you could have been on the street. Most people don't seem to understand you can do everything right and STILL find yourself in a messed up position. Where is the Christian charity?
@@cynthiacolton4951 Christian charities and Catholic charities and other places such as food banks are very overwhelmed because there are so many people needing help
My wife and I live in NC with our two little boys and it's getting bad here too. We are good hard working class people. We too are looking down the barrel of homelessness as our landlord is selling, but now cannot afford these new rents and availability in our region is becoming slim to none. Savings running dry, cars are old, walls closing in, have decent paying jobs, and are thrifty to boot. We are out of options. You don't think it can happen, but it totally can. My heart and prayers go out to everyone going through this. It's heartbreaking and feel we arent talking about it nearly enough.
My sister in law is going through this right now in South Carolina. Her property management sold her rental, and she can’t afford to live in the town they’re in, so they had to move two towns over, to a significantly poorer town, to find a place in their budget. Her kids had to switch schools at the end of the school year.
I feel you... I had to throw my life's savings to be able to buy a house in the triangle area. I was in a bidding war. It's crazy. I miss Maryland now.
The one aspect you all always miss is this part; Aging and Age discrimination. Meaning not only are they trying to survive but also keep a job or finding work. It gets harder to climb out of this Spiraling situation.
The state in Florida doesn't pay enough because it doesn't have an income tax source and moves the majority of the funds to infrastructure (in mostly rich places of course).
I am 43 years old and in these 43 years I have seen gas go from under $1 a gallon to $4 a gallon. Rent from $300 a month to 3K a month. Minimum wage from $4.25/hour to $15/hour. A 16 oz. Soda used to be 25 cents (they don't even have that symbol on my phone) to $2.50. Cars $5K to $25K. The pay, poverty line, and tax rate are not even relevant, proportional, it is way off. If you make a little extra you got to give that to Uncle Sam. We don't qualify for any assistance. We Middle Class are in Purgatory...
This is happening in NC where I live, its happening everywhere. There needs to be some type of regulation done for affordable housing. My husband and I both work and we can't afford to buy a house or move to a bigger rental home. By the grace of god, my landlord hasnt raised our rent to a ridiculous level yet, but I know its coming. These landlords see what they could get for rent in our neighborhoods and they will soon follow suit. Its pure greed, nothing more...
Yeah when landlords were going bankrupt from nonpaying tenants . No one helped them , people said too bad that's what you get. Now corporate landlords are taking over. People are getting what they asked for.
Some landlords raise rents out of pure greed, no doubt about it. However, some raise rents because of increasing cost for taxes, repairs and labor. Everything is being pushed up due to inflation.
The same thing is happening in Australia over the last year or so. Made worse by the collapse in construction because of building supplies/ inflation issues.
Just got out of being homeless (thanks to a friend). I continued working throughout being homeless so it's not about working. It's about these over inflated prices that are neverending. It's hard to keep up when you aren't paid enough and the government says you make too much to assist. At the end of the day we are the ones that get blamed.
You are fortunate have a friend who cared/loved enough to help pull you through. Wishing you and your friend a beautiful, mutually respectful, mutually supportive, life-long friendship. Cheers!
@@miffedcuttlefish6139 doubtful....companies are making record profits all around, AND getting more and more tax loopholes to exploit. but because the govt is so shitty ppl just blame them. truthfully its only going to get worse.e
This is exactly why I left Florida. Wages are pathetic and the cost of living is easily as high as California. I went from solid middle class in Michigan to poor in Florida after 2 years and homeless within 15. Didn’t matter how hard I worked or how much I cut down. I could never get ahead. Lost half a million trying to make it in Florida. Screw that state!
I’m so sorry about your experiences… Before it became crowded and the place everyone was moving to florida was a gem. No traffic, beautiful beaches, cheap , cheap land. My grandfather retired from the navy and was able to afford to buy 11 acres in 1984 while paying on a mortgage with 3 kids. It was in the middle of nowhere but still in the state.
Same here in arizona,damn all that work just to try and pay high rent,I stay on blm land even though it's hot as hell here,people are moving here also and now everything is going up like crazy,funny how I see these "new" people from other countries moving in,hmmm,interesting.
My state is unaffordable, particularly in my local region. I’m living with my older brother, he bought at just the right time. If he had waited any longer then he couldn’t have afforded his house.
Welcome to working class poverty. The foundation of capitalism. We’ve been there our entire lives working sometimes 80+ hours a week. Built our own home because we couldn’t get a loan, used firewood we cut to heat our home, made just enough to NOT get help. Drove crappy vehicle’s, seldom vacation or visit restaurants. As an adult and parent it was unbelievably hard. The hardest part was telling our children repeatedly we can’t do what many of their friends did because we didn’t get the big inheritance, handouts or the big tax breaks the wealthy get. Except for family and friends no one gave a crap about our situation. We’re closing in on what we hoped would be retirement, but beginning to realize that’s another fabrication of the American dream. This interview is 30 years late and somewhat insulting. Next time find some people who actually worked there ass off their entire life and struggled.
Make no mistake, this is only gonna get worse. 10 to 20 years from now, there will only be the super rich, and the extreme poor...no more middle class. Children born today in middle class families have no chance of owning a home when they are adults. Everyone will be living in government provided boxes in the future whilst the super rich live in lavish spacious luxury. Buckle up, We are heading for absolute dystopia.
I’ll live in the brush, with my rifle in hand. If I die fighting on my feet from government storm troopers raiding my camp, it beats living on my knees in servitude.
LOL, thats too funny. Where ARE you living? You think the GOVERNMENT is going to GIVE you boxes? What do you think the homeless ARE. The government is going to give you NOTHING. It could not care less about you. You realize in past days in most countries government DID give people housing. They were called council houses and other forms of accomodation. They weren't great but go ask people in tents whether they prefer tents or 'government provided boxes'.
Corporate and private investors are driving housing prices up. They're concerned with profit, but not thinking of the long term impact. Average people are being priced out of the housing market, including rentals. These investors need to be limited (capped) in the number of homes they can purchase/own in any given neighborhood.
It's actually pretty funny to see the middle class crying about being homeless . Probably because I'm low class lol ...literally no class;) lmao ...imagine...had these pigs corrected the exact same problem in the previous class ??? They wouldn't be nearly as rich !lol..they clearly don't give a fuck who's homeless . Good thing too ...because soon it'll be them. Homelessness is currently climbing the corporate ladder . This shit rolls uphill hehe . I'm pretty sure it's called societal collapse . About damn time !💚🍀
Yes, I totally agreed with you. Not only we are dealing with food shortages, surging gas prices, housing insecurities; an uptick of homelessness with the working middle class, where is the silver lining! 😢
Exactly. We are becoming a country of renters since regular working families don't even get a chance nowadays. Even if they qualify to buy a home they have to compete against the cash offer of investors.