(SAN RAMON) --- The word affordable is not what it used to be.
In the past, it meant that you could pay for one item without it keeping you from paying for another.
Not the case today.
Now, affordable means survival: so many are required to buy less food and essentials so they can afford to pay the mortgage or rent, with a January Ramsey report proving the same in "The Average American's Monthly Expenses."
Ramsey Report Key Takeaways on Average American Household Expenses
I am running for District 16 because of the second Key Takeaway's above, noting that "monthly expenses vary widely by household size and location, but the cost of most items has gone up due to inflation."
Even California's own San Francisco Chronicle admits the Golden State is far from shiny when it comes to finances, touting the top infamous headline below.
Needless to say, Silicon Valley District 16 makes the cost of living in California even higher.
"Well, here's what we do know: The average monthly expenses for an American household total about $6,545," according to the Ramsey Report. "That adds up to about $78,540 per year."
Additionally, the report notes, "these numbers come straight from the folks at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), who keep track of what Americans spend on everything from cereal to toilet paper to housing."
Here is that BLS report.
The Ramsey report also offers a cost-of-living calculator, which you should take a moment to use.
Unlike most candidates who promise to lower taxes, I will do more than that. Taxes will not change overnight, but getting back to a more "affordable" way of life is possible in the meantime.
How?
I propose holding monthly and individual sessions with citizens on budget management. I want to help people save for a rainy day rather than have to spend their extra money on a leaking roof.
We need to help each other, one neighbor at a time. That will in turn become one community helping the next, which is why I want to help govern a district. It is an opportunity to share local resources with each municipality, making local agreements between the government and the school more advantageous.
While announcing my run, I have gone from city to city seeking the leaders' needs, finding out that there are so many issues all local governments are challenged with.
As a most important point i want to highlight is Affordable housing this days is only rental not really purchase. This is visible across California. We have not really built smaller starter homes for sale which young families can move in, eventually seeing more development, loss of open space and surprisingly leading to loss of population and school enrollments.
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