No vow for affordable housing at new Parrish apartment complex

Congressman Vern Buchanan and a who's who of other local dignitaries have proudly invested in the construction of a $22 million apartment complex in northeast Manatee County with no provisions for affordable rents (Bradenton Herald, Oct. 20).

Yet more than 60 percent of Bradenton renters are overburdened with sky-high rental costs. These are costs beyond 30 percent of income, according to a recent fact-filled United Way study titled "ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) Florida: Study of Financial Hardship." More affordable apartments, not simply more apartments, should be the focus.

Bernie Sanders has it right. We need a political revolution in the country to elect politicians who will place people before profits.

FDR did it in the New Deal in the 1930s with massive low-cost public housing. It can be done again. Go Bernie.

Robert Phillipoff

Bradenton

This story was originally published October 26, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "No vow for affordable housing at new Parrish apartment complex ."