P-I columnist Bill Virgin sees the increasing unaffordability of housing in the Puget Sound as just another example of the big squeeze being put on the middle class:
Billboard not yet spotted along state Route 99:
Will the last middle-class family leaving Seattle please turn out the lights?
The future — or lack thereof — of the middle class has been on the minds of a lot of people lately. Escalating housing prices have many worried that the middle class is being priced out of the city. Three locals of the United Food and Commercial Workers union are sponsoring a Town Hall forum Sunday that asks, “Is Puget Sound losing its middle class?”
…
The expectation (more than a hope) was that the upward migration would continue. A lucky few might move up to the status of wealthy. An unlucky few might drop into the category of poor. On the whole, though, the middle class would continue to grow.That notion is now under attack — from several directions. In Seattle, for example, the worry is that even with a job that pays what most would consider a comfortable wage, only a privileged few will be able to afford a house in the city, transforming the city into a resort community for well-to-do yuppies and empty nesters. (And if they can afford the pricey condos engulfing the city, do they still qualify as middle class?)
I’m not really one to pontificate on the philosophical social issues related to the housing bubble, but I thought the column might interest some of you.
So, does it?
(Bill Virgin, Seattle P-I, 06.05.2007)