The Root Cause of Flagstaff's Poverty

[wayne...@earthlink.net]

I have lived in Flagstaff for over 30 years and feel that overall it
has gotten better through time. Sure the traffic is worse and there
are more "overhurried" people, but overall I think it's gotten
progressively better. And I attribute that to the kind of people that
Flagstaff attracts. Our people are our second greatest attribute - the
natural environment of course, is its foremost attribute.

Your premise, Poverty With A View, says to me that we have economic
shortcomings and world class natural amenities. Not many dispute that.
Perhaps your question begs a discussion of the ultimate cause of our
economic poverty? I believe its not so much that wages are low (they
are) but compared to what? Do people expect wages here to match those
of Phoenix or Las Vegas? That would be nice but perhaps unrealistic. I
think the main cause for our poverty is that the cost of owning a home
here is so high. And the cause of that is people from Phoenix and Las
Vegas taking their high incomes there and buying second (or third)
homes here. When you have a limited number of housing units and they
are bought up by folks with high incomes, prices will rise to levels
that only those with high incomes can afford. It's supply and demand.
I'm not against second home owners here, but that is truly what causes
our inflated housing costs.

Members of Flagstaff's building community would probably respond to
this "housing shortage" by asking to build more homes and while we're
at it, deregulate it so its cheaper. But could we really build enough
housing to keep the hoards of high income earners away from the view?
Only if you want "Poverty With An Obscured View". If we want to end
Flagstaff's "poverty", we might as well ask that capitalism be
outlawed here. Most everyone recognizes the generous benefits of
capitalism. Why isn't there more of a discussion of capitalism's
hidden costs and its real detractions? Geology, unfettered and
unchecked, created the view - capitalism, unfettered and unchecked,
created the poverty.