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Housing Is a Moral Imperative

Why Buncombe County Must Act Now

Affordable housing is not a side issue. It is not a niche concern or a talking point to be dusted off during election season. It is the foundation upon which every other promise we make—to workers, families, seniors, and young people—either stands or collapses.

Right now, too many people in Buncombe County are doing everything we ask of them and still falling behind. They work full time. They contribute to their communities. They serve our food, care for our children, teach in our schools, staff our hospitals, and keep our local economy running. Yet they are being priced out of the very place they help sustain.

That is not a market failure alone. It is a moral one.

When rent rises faster than wages, housing stops being shelter and becomes a source of fear. Families are forced to choose between rent and medicine, between childcare and groceries, between staying rooted and being pushed out. Teachers commute an hour each way. Service workers live doubled up or on the edge of eviction. Young people grow up believing they’ll have to leave home just to survive.

A community that cannot house its people is a community in trouble—no matter how strong the tourism numbers look on paper.

Housing should be understood the same way we understand roads, schools, and clean water: as essential infrastructure. Without it, nothing else functions properly. Economic development stalls. Small businesses can’t find workers. Emergency services are stretched thin. Homelessness increases—not because people failed, but because the system did.

Some will say this is simply how the market works. But markets are shaped by policy, priorities, and values. We already intervene—through zoning, tax incentives, public investment, and regulation. The real question is not whether government plays a role. It’s whose interests that role serves.

For too long, housing policy has favored speculation over stability and profit over people. We have allowed homes to be treated primarily as financial instruments rather than places where lives are built. The result is displacement, insecurity, and a slow erosion of community trust.

Affordable housing is not about handouts. It is about fairness. A person who works a full-time job should be able to afford a safe place to live in the community they serve. That principle cuts across political lines. It is rooted in basic dignity.

And dignity matters.

When people feel secure in their housing, everything changes. Children do better in school. Workers are healthier and more productive. Seniors can age in place. Neighborhoods become more stable. Civic life grows stronger because people feel they belong.

This is not theoretical. Communities across the country that have invested in mixed-income housing, workforce housing, and protections against displacement are seeing real results. The question is whether Buncombe County is willing to make those same commitments—or whether we will continue to manage crisis after crisis without addressing the cause.

We need policies that expand affordable housing supply, protect renters from predatory practices, and support first-time homebuyers and working families. We need to align wages, transportation, and housing so that people are not punished for doing honest work. And we need the courage to say that the health of a community is measured not by how attractive it is to outsiders, but by how well it cares for those who already call it home.

Housing is not a luxury. It is not an afterthought. It is a moral imperative.

The future of Buncombe County depends on whether we are willing to act like it.

A Living Wage Is Not Radical—It’s Responsible

Why Buncombe County Must Ensure Work Pays

Work is supposed to provide more than exhaustion. It is meant to offer stability, dignity, and the ability to live—not just survive. When full-time workers cannot afford basic necessities, something has gone deeply wrong.

In Buncombe County, thousands of people are working hard and still falling behind. They clean hotel rooms, serve meals, care for our elderly, staff our hospitals, teach our children, and keep our local economy moving. Yet many of them cannot afford rent, healthcare, childcare, or reliable transportation—often while working more than one job.

That is not laziness. That is not personal failure. That is a broken system.

A living wage simply means this: if you work full time, you should be able to afford the basics of life in the community where you work. It’s not a luxury wage. It’s not about excess. It’s about meeting the real cost of living—housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and a small margin of security when life goes wrong.

For too long, wages have failed to keep pace with reality. Productivity has risen. Corporate profits have grown. Executive pay has soared. But paychecks for ordinary workers have stagnated while the cost of living has climbed steadily upward. The result is economic anxiety baked into everyday life.

When wages fall behind, the consequences ripple outward. Families are forced into impossible choices. Workers burn out. Small businesses struggle to retain staff. Public services absorb the costs through emergency healthcare, housing assistance, and crisis intervention. We end up paying anyway—just in less humane and less effective ways.

A living wage is not just good for workers; it’s good for the entire community.

People who earn a living wage spend their money locally. They are healthier. They are more productive. They are more likely to stay in their jobs and invest in their neighborhoods. Employers benefit from lower turnover and a more stable workforce. Communities benefit from reduced strain on social services.

This is not theoretical. Regions that have adopted living wage standards have seen stronger local economies and healthier communities. The idea that fair wages destroy jobs has been repeatedly disproven. What actually harms economies is instability—when workers can’t plan, save, or stay.

Some argue that wages should be left entirely to the market. But markets are shaped by rules, incentives, and values. We already intervene—through minimum wage laws, tax policy, zoning, and economic development subsidies. The real question is whether those interventions serve people or simply protect the status quo.

Buncombe County prides itself on being a place of creativity, hospitality, and care. But those values ring hollow if the people who make this community run cannot afford to live here. A county that depends on underpaid labor is not thriving—it is quietly eroding its own future.

A living wage is about respect. It says that work has value, that people matter more than margins, and that prosperity should be shared, not hoarded. It is a commitment to economic dignity and long-term stability rather than short-term gain.

If we want a strong Buncombe County tomorrow, we must ensure that work pays today.

A living wage is not radical. It is responsible. And it is overdue.