One important thing missing from the discussion about the Newberg City Council awarding almost $743,000 to SPARK Newberg, is that the money is being used to “build wealth” for a demographic that the SPARK organization admits already is, “people who are employed, oftentimes in jobs that pay well, but still cannot afford to buy a home in Newberg and are forced to commute long distances,” per the recent Graphic article.
I would argue that money that is supposed to help with affordable housing should first go toward getting people who have no housing or who are currently in unstable housing situations into affordable housing before we focus on a demographic of people who likely already have stable housing situations. Housing instability negatively affects people’s employment, health and mental wellbeing.
Unfortunately, there are far too many people in our community and several in our city government who would much rather enrich those who are already doing fine, than invest in the folks that are consistently getting left behind in an economy that constantly funnels wealth upward. We all benefit from a community where the poorest folks aren’t left out in the cold. Do better, city council!…