Thu, Feb 01 2007

May her legacy be change

A little 7-year-oldgirl recently perished in a fire in Watsonville. She was living with her family in a garage that had been illegally converted into living quarters for a number of people. And the city knew about the building's use at least several months before this fire occurred. Watsonville Mayor Manuel Bersamin has been quoted as saying that the lack of affordable housing in Watsonville contributed to the little girl's death. The truth is that if people were paid better wages in our area there would be no need for 17 people to be illegally crowding into a house and garage. The mayor can blame the child's death on the lack of affordable housing if he wishes, but the true answer to such difficulties lies not in having cheaper and cheaper housing, but in attracting employers who pay reasonable wages in the first place, so that no one is tempted to overcrowd into substandard housing. People come here to find work. Many of them will take any job and employers know that. If this is an agricultural issue we need to be addressing the reasons behind why people are paid so little to work in fields. There's no excuse for it. Better-paying jobs have to become a priority for the city planners or this kind of madness will go on for a long time.

In the meantime, there is no excuse for illegal housing conditions. Some ethereal enemy did not kill this child. A series of bad choices on the part of many killed her. I hope the city leaders realize their power to help change the situation so that no child ever dies this way again.

posted at: 10:54 | category: /Politics | link to this entry