Rant time! Sorry, I just really need to get this off my chest.
I'm getting really sick of seeing this story over and over again. It seems like every couple of days, someone over in my Twitter feed mentions that either they, one of their friends, or one of their partners has been made homeless or is seriously facing said prospect because their family found out that they are LGBT.
Sometimes, those are the lucky ones.
Rent prices across most of this country are utterly out of control. Jobs are hard to come by in the first place, and you need multiple minimum-wage jobs in order to afford just a one bedroom. For rent prices to make sense, they should be approximately 20% of full-time minimum-wage workers per month wages. Thinking about where the prices are now, it's no surprise that the screwed over millennial and zoomer generations have to live with their parents. Their parents are the only ones with the wealth to afford housing. If those parents are bigots, that can spell disaster for a child who is LGBT. On top of that, even without that factor, the fact that so many have to put so much of their income into housing hurts the rest of the economy. After all, who can spend money on a night out when 50% of your income is going to just keeping a roof over your head.
Given the vast wealth of America, there was no need for us to develop in this direction. In Vienna, they have a strong social housing program. These are not “projects.” These are luxury apartments by American standards, and the rent is about €300 a month. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/vienna-affordable-housing-paradise_n_5b4e0b12e4b0b15aba88c7b0?ri18n=true
In a more sane system, where social housing is widespread and housing is a human right, along with a basic income, LGBT young adults would not be under near as much threat to stay in the closet. At 18, if their parents are bigots, they can walk over to an administration office, get their own apartment, and leave that toxic environment behind with no fear of becoming homeless. They would have the power, if they wanted and had the wherewithal, to force the parents to come to terms with it and overcome their own bigotry if they want to have a relationship with their child. The basic income would enable them to survive in the worst case, and with a sane education and job placement system, even thrive.
I'm not LGBT myself. I'm just an ally who has a fucking heart and enough brain cells to see that this current system is killing people.
Rant over. Sorry, just had to get these words out because they’ve been itching inside my brain for too long.
-JA