Idaho Tent Cities Coming Soon to Where You Live?

Is there a right to affordable housing? What exactly is affordable housing in Idaho? We continue to cover the plight of Idahoans who will not have the ability to own their own home due to the excessive home price escalations that we continue to experience in the Gem State.

Now we have an entire Idaho city with the majority of its workers living in tents and other temporary housing structures. The Daily Beast holds nothing back with their headline describing the plight of the new working homeless in Idaho. "The Superrich Bought This Idaho Town And Regular Folks Now May Have To Live In Tents."

Is that a real headline? According to the article, the average home price in Ketchum, Idaho, is around $900,000. Folks interviewed in the article describe life in the area as one where you have to work three jobs just to have a home to live in. Like the rest of Idaho, the Idaho resort town has seen home values skyrocket. The entire state is seeing apartment rents continue to rise, and Idahoans not able to afford those higher rents.

Channel 7 reports that officials have put on hold a plan for a 'tent city' for workers who cannot afford a place to live. The plan would've allowed city parks and other areas to house teachers, hospital workers, and other workers. The city council says they will look at using the free federal money to help with the rent. The challenge is big money is in AirBnBs, vacation rentals, and second homes. Landowners can make more money than housing apartments with affordable rents.

The reality is that Ketchum is the first Idaho city to grapple with the issue of lack of affordable housing. What type of state are we living in when working people cannot afford a place to live?