Want this, Get that

Wilmette is polling selected residents and workers on whether they would like to live in Wilmette, and how much they can afford.

This is all very well-intentioned, but where do you draw the line? It is one thing to look at helping disabled adults, but you can't insulate people from their life choices without pushing other people out of the community, who can no longer afford the taxes.

There are consequences to subsidies. Higher taxes make Wilmette a less affordable place to live, harming some of the same people this effort is designed to help.

When it comes down to it, there is no housing in Wilmette that qualifies as Federally defined affordable housing without subsidies, read higher taxes. Period.

Wilmette is surrounded by affordable housing, we are not an isolated community.

You can't always get what you want.

Unless the government forces other people to give to you, and forcibly takes it away from others.

Not a very neighborly approach.

And given there are so many little old houses in town, the cheapest solution is probably to tear them down and build cheap high rises. Since the land is so expensive you'll have to go higher than you would have to anywhere else. And then tear down a few more little old houses to build a few more schools. And then tear a few more down to widen arterial streets to bear the added traffic. And cut down some more trees.

Is that what we really want? Will it be Wilmette any more?

Or look like lots of places nearby that already have affordable housing.