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Apple Pledges $2.5 Billion to Help CA’s Housing Crisis

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4 years ago

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  • Apple has pledged $2.5 billion to help address California’s housing crisis, which will be used to build affordable housing and aid first-time home buyers, among other things. 
  • Other major tech companies like Google and Facebook have made their own contributions to this cause, though Apple’s is the largest. 
  • The state’s housing crisis has led to massive issues due to the increasing prices of property in the state. Residents are being priced out of the Bay Area, with many saying that the presence of tech companies is behind this.
  • Housing demand is another facet of the issue, as the state is not building enough affordable housing for its population.

Apple Pledges $2.5 Billion

Apple has become the latest tech giant to pledge money to aid the housing crisis in California, offering $2.5 billion to the cause. 

Their plan will give $1 billion to an affordable housing investment, which they say will be the first of its kind in California. The fund will allow the state and others to open a line of credit for new housing for very low-to-moderate-income residents. Another $1 billion will go to a first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance fund, which will help with downpayment assistance and provide more opportunities to buy for people like service personnel, school employees and veterans. 

Apple will also give $300 million in Apple-owned land in San Jose to make available for affordable housing. The rest will go to a Bay Area housing fund and means to support vulnerable populations. Currently, the company anticipates it will take two years for this plan to be utilized.

California’s housing crisis is not a new issue, and many have pointed to tech companies for pricing long-time residents out of now expensive areas. In the company’s statement, CEO Tim Cook said the company feels a responsibility to make sure Silicon Valley can continue to be a home for its residents.

“Before the world knew the name Silicon Valley, and long before we carried technology in our pockets, Apple called this region home, and we feel a profound civic responsibility to ensure it remains a vibrant place where people can live, have a family and contribute to the community,” Cook said. “Affordable housing means stability and dignity, opportunity and pride. When these things fall out of reach for too many, we know the course we are on is unsustainable, and Apple is committed to being part of the solution.”

Apple is not the first major tech company to contribute to this ongoing issue, though it has offered the largest sum to it thus far. In October, Facebook committed $1 billion to address the housing crisis in California. In June, Google also pledged a $ billion to build homes in the Bay Area. Over in Seattle, which is experiencing a similar problem, Microsoft pledged $500 million for affordable housing. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom applauded Apple for taking this recent step and encouraged more companies to follow suit

“This unparalleled financial commitment to affordable housing, and the innovative strategies at the heart of this initiative, are proof that Apple is serious about solving this issue,” Newsom said in Apple’s statement. “I hope other companies follow their lead.”

Housing Crisis In California

Finding housing in California has become increasingly difficult due to both cost and demand.  According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, California has the second-highest housing wage in the country. In order to afford a 2-bedroom rental home, renters would need to earn an hourly wage of $34.69. If someone were making the state’s minimum wage, which is $12 per hour, they would need to work 116 hours a week to afford that same space.

On the demand side of the issue, homes are also not being added at the rate of the state’s growing population. According to the McKinsey Global Institute’s 2016 report on California’s housing gap, “Since 2005, California has added 308 units for every 1,000 new inhabitants.” To put that number in perspective, New York added 549 houses in the same timeframe.

Tech Companies’ Role in the Crisis and What is Being Done

Apple addressed some of these issues in their press release, noting that in the Bay Area, homeownership is at a seven-year low. They also stated that just between April and June of this year, 30,000 people moved out of San Francisco. The company pointed towards residents being priced out as a potential cause. 

This idea of residents being priced out is where tech companies come in as a cause of the housing crisis. With so many major tech headquarters calling California’s Bay Area and neighboring areas home, prices there go up. Not just tech moguls live in Silicon Valley, however, and these increasing prices are impossible for low and middle-income residents to afford.

In a 2018 report, CNN spoke to Karen Chapple, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who researches governance, planning, and development of U.S. cities. She told them that having these wide income gaps causes a “mismatch” when it comes to housing. 

“We have high tech jobs which generate a lot of service jobs: hair-cutting salons, nail salons and masseuses, yoga studios and dog care,” Chapple told the outlet. “High-end jobs and low-end jobs [are] created at the same time, but you have a housing market that is really only producing for folks at the high end of the scale. There is a mismatch.”

Housing crises do not just lead to residents moving, but also a homelessness problem throughout the state. San Jose alone has said their homeless population has increased by 40 percent in just two years. 

Tech companies are not the only ones trying to find answers to the problem. In October, Governor Newsom signed legislation that will cap annual rent hikes throughout the state. It caps rent increases, in most cases, at five percent plus inflation for the next decade.

See what others are saying: (NPR) (Wall Street Journal) (The Hill)

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Survey and Census Data Shows Record Number of Americans are Struggling Financially

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2 weeks ago

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May 23, 2023

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Americans are choosing not to pursue medical treatment more and more frequently as they encounter money troubles.

A recent federal survey shows that a record number of Americans were worse off financially in 2022 than a year prior.

Coupled with recent census data showing pervasive poverty across much of the country, Americans are forced to make difficult decisions, like foregoing expensive healthcare. 

According to a recent Federal Reserve Bureau survey, 35% of adults say they were worse off in 2022 than 2021, which is the highest share ever recorded since the question was raised in 2014. 

Additionally, half of adults reported their budget was majorly affected by rising prices across the country, and that number is even higher among minority communities and parents living with their children.

According to recent census data, more than 10% of the counties in the U.S. are experiencing persistent poverty, meaning the area has had a poverty rate of 20% or higher between 1989 and 2019. 

16 states report at least 10% of their population living in persistent poverty. But most of the suffering counties were found in the South — which accounts for over half the people living in persistent poverty, despite making up less than 40% of the population. 

These financial realities have placed many Americans in the unfortunate situation of choosing between medical treatment and survival. The Federal Reserve study found that the share of Americans who skipped medical treatment because of the cost has drastically increased since 2020. 

The reflection of this can be found in the overall health of households in different income brackets. 75% of households with an income of $25,000 or less report being in good health – compared to the 91% of households with $100,000 or more income. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (The Hill) (Federal Reserve)

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Montana Governor Signs TikTok Ban

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3 weeks ago

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May 18, 2023

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The ban will likely face legal challenges before it is officially enacted next year. 

First Statewide Ban of TikTok

Montana became the first state to ban TikTok on Wednesday after Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed legislation aimed at protecting “Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party.”

The ban will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, though the law will likely face a handful of legal challenges before that date. 

Under the law, citizens of the state will not be held liable for using the app, but companies that offer the app on their platforms, like Apple and Google, will face a $10,000 fine per day of violations. TikTok would also be subject to the hefty daily fine. 

Questions remain about how tech companies will practically enforce this law. During a hearing earlier this year, a representative from TechNet said that these platforms don’t have the ability to “geofence” apps by state.

Roger Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics, told the Associated Press that app stores could have the capability to enforce the restriction, but it would be difficult to carry out and there would be a variety of loopholes by tools like VPNs.

Montana’s law comes as U.S. politicians have taken aim at TikTok over its alleged ties to the CCP. Earlier this year, the White House directed federal agencies to remove TikTok from government devices. Conservatives, in particular, have been increasingly working to restrict the app.

“The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented,” Gov. Gianforte said in a Wednesday statement. 

Criticism of Montana Law

TikTok, however, has repeatedly denied that it gives user data to the government. The company released a statement claiming Montana’s law “infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people” in the state. 

“We want to reassure Montanans that they can continue using TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community as we continue working to defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana,” the company said. 

The American Civil Liberties Union condemned Montana’s law for similar reasons. 

“This law tramples on our free speech rights under the guise of national security and lays the groundwork for excessive government control over the internet,” the ACLU tweeted. “Elected officials do not have the right to selectively censor entire social media apps based on their country of origin.”

Per the AP, there are 200,000 TikTok users in Montana, and another 6,000 businesses use the platform as well. Lawsuits are expected to be filed against the law in the near future.

See what others are saying: (Associated Press) (Fast Company) (CBS News)

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How a Disney-Loving Former Youth Pastor Landed on The FBI’s “Most Wanted” List

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1 month ago

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April 24, 2023

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 “Do what is best, not for yourself, for once. Think about everyone else,” Chris Burns’ 19-year-old son pleaded to his father via The Daily Beast. 

Multi-Million Dollar Scheme 

Former youth pastor turned financial advisor Chris Burns remains at large since going on the run in September of 2020 to avoid a Securities Exchange Commission investigation into his businesses.

Despite his fugitive status, the Justice Department recently indicted Burns with several more charges on top of the $12 million default judgment he received from the SEC. 

Burns allegedly sold false promissory notes to investors across Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. The SEC claims he told the investors they were participating in a “peer to peer” lending program where businesses that needed capital would borrow money and then repay it with interest as high as 20%. Burns allegedly also reassured investors that the businesses had collateral so the investment was low-risk. 

The SEC says that Burns instead took that money for personal use. 

Burns’ History 

Burns began his adult life as a youth pastor back in 2007 before transitioning into financial planning a few years later.  By 2017, he launched his own radio show, The Chris Burns Show, which was funded by one of his companies, Dynamic Money – where every week Burns would “unpack how this week’s headlines practically impact your life, wallet, and future,” according to the description. He also frequently appeared on television and online, talking about finances and politics. 

The SEC alleges that he used his public appearances to elevate his status as a financial advisor and maximize his reach to investors.

His family told The Daily Beast that he became obsessed with success and he reportedly bought hand-made clothes, a million-dollar lakehouse, a boat, several cars, and took his family on several trips to Disney World. His eldest son and wife said that Burns was paying thousands of dollars a day for VIP tours and once paid for the neighbors to come along. 

Then in September 2020, he reportedly told his wife that he was being investigated by the Securities Exchange Commission but he told her not to worry. 

The day that he was supposed to turn over his business documents to the SEC, he disappeared, telling his wife he was just going to take a trip to North Carolina to tell his parents about the investigation. Then, the car was found abandoned in a parking lot with several cashier’s checks totaling $78,000

FBI’s Most Wanted

The default judgment in the SEC complaint orders Burns, if he’s ever found, to pay $12 million to his victims, as well as over $650,000 in a civil penalty. Additionally, a federal criminal complaint charged him with mail fraud. Burns is currently on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. 

Last week, the Justice Department indicted him on several other charges including 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud. 

“Burns is charged for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from clients in an illegal investment fraud scheme,” Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement to The Daily Beast. “Financial crimes of this nature can cause significant disruptions to the lives of those who are victimized, and the FBI is dedicated to holding these criminals accountable.”

His family maintains that they knew nothing of Burns’ schemes. His wife reportedly returned over $300,000 that he had given to her. 

She and their eldest son, who is now 19, told The Daily Beast they just want Burns to turn himself in, take responsibility for his actions, and try to help the people he hurt. 

“Do what is best, not for yourself, for once. Think about everyone else,” Burns’ son said in a message to his father via The Daily Beast. 

See what others are saying: (The Daily Beast) (Fox 5) (Wealth Management)

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