Vayera 5773: RI Ballot Question 7: The Positive Mitzvah of Providing a Decent Home

In Psalm 119 (verse 126) we read: 
עֵת לַעֲשׂוֹת ה', הֵפֵרוּ תּוֹרָתֶךָ
It is a time to act for Adonay, for they have violated Your teaching.

When 1 in 4 renters in Rhode Island spend 50% or more of their income on housing, we have violated God's teaching.
When 275 veterans in Rhode Island are homeless, we are violating God's teaching.  http://www.yeson7.org/HousingFacts/ForHomes/tabid/202/Default.aspx
When Rhode Island's homeless shelters need to accomodate growing numbers of people in need: families, singles, children, we are violating God's teaching.

Question 7 on our Rhode Island Ballot this coming Tuesday will provide the resources for our state to provide 600 new, affordable, respectable housing units.  The construction of those housing units will provide jobs for Rhode Islanders.  People moving into those housing units will support the local businesses in their new neighborhoods--grocery stores, gas stations, laundromats and more.

In my estimation, this is not a matter of politics, it is a matter of principle:  Our tradition elevates the care for the needy in our community to a mitzvah, a commandment:  "When there is among you a needy person from any one of your brothers, within one of oyur gates in the land that God is giving you, you are not to toughen your heart, you are not to shut your hand to your brother, the needy one.  Rather, you are to pen, yes, open your hand to him, and are to pledge, yes, pledge to him, sufficient for his lack that is lacking to him.  You are to give, yes, give freely to him, your heart is not to be ill-disposed in your giving to him, for on account of this matter Adonay your God wil bless you in all your doings and in all the enterprises of your hand!  For the needy will never be gone from amid the land; therefore I comman you, saying:  You are to open, yes, open your hand to your brother, to your afflicted one, and to your needy one in your land!  (Deuteronomy/D'varim 15: 7-11).

Republican, Independent, Democrat:  we can all vote "yes" on question 7.  This is an issue that goes deeper than any political affiliation.

I have downloaded a basic information page from the "Yes on 7" website.  Please read on.  Please vote for the candidates of your choice.  And vote "yes" on question 7.

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Yes on 7
What is a Bond? Ballot Question 7 requests voter approval for the State of Rhode Island to issue General Obligation Bonds to finance the construction of affordable homes.  Financing long-term capital assets, like homes, over the long-term is more feasible than paying for it all in the year of construction. The bonds will likely be repaid in less than 20 years and the homes will remain affordable for more than 30 years.

What Does Approval of Question 7 Do? Approving this critically important ballot question would provide for $25 million to finance the construction of long-term affordable homes for Rhode Islanders. It will likely be matched by $125 million from other public and private sources generating over $150 million for the construction of more than 600 affordable homes and supporting more than 1,000 construction jobs over the next few years.

How Will the Money Be Spent? The $25 million in bond funding will be allocated over two years.  The funding decisions will be made by the Housing Resources Commission (HRC), a 27-member housing policy-making board that includes representatives from a wide range of public, philanthropic and private sector housing and business organizations. The HRC sets program priorities, solicits applications and makes decisions through a competitive and transparent process. The funds will be administered by the Department of Administration with technical assistance provided by Rhode Island Housing. 

Why do we need a bond issue now?

• Affordable homes are assets that provide a long-term benefit to the state.  Homes constructed with funding from the Housing Bond will benefit Rhode Islanders for more than 30 years. 
• Most homes, whether publicly or privately financed, spread the cost over the long term
• For renters, the need for affordable apartments is even greater now than when the recession began.  The foreclosure crisis, combined with high unemployment, has left Rhode Island far short of the affordable homes it needs to meet the State’s housing needs. 
• Homelessness, among families and single adults, has increased in each of the past four years.
• Rhode Island especially needs more affordable homes for its senior citizens, returning veterans and residents with special needs.
• There has never been a better time to borrow.  Interest rates are at historic lows, allowing the state to maximize its investment at the lowest possible cost.
• Rhode Island needs to put our construction workers back to work now.  With the unemployment rate continuing to hover around 11% with significantly higher rates in the hard-hit construction sector, we cannot afford to wait.
• Rhode Island contractors need the work now and prices are highly competitive.