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Boise: Welcoming of Refugees but not Californians

Californians are leaving their state in droves, fleeing the wake of California’s liberal politics for pristine and sparsely populated Idaho. For years, Californian cities have struggled with homelessness brought on by a dearth of affordable housing and a bearish job market. Idahoans attribute the rapid development, rampant homelessness, and rising housing prices to Californians, and blame the group for the many problems they bring with them. Californians have become the scapegoat, the go-to group by citizens who pride themselves in being welcoming, at least when it comes to refugees. Whereas many cars in the capital city Boise can be seen sporting locally supplied “Refugees Welcome” stickers, others can be seen bashing on Californians. It is common to dismiss reckless and inconsiderate California drivers, and for local Californians to preface admitting this controversial fact about themselves with how they know they are about to be negatively perceived. Californians are blamed for numerous growth-related problems, even when the government’s response is the real culprit, the most significant being their contribution to our affordable housing crisis.

Californians who sell their homes, pack their bags, and head for Boise Idaho are able to purchase houses upfront with cash. Coming from a place with a minimum wage of $12 per hour, thus significantly higher housing prices, Californians are able to pocket the difference and live better-off than local Idahoans. Idaho has a minimum wage of $7.25 and the highest percentage nationally of residents working for minimum wage. Idaho is one of the fastest growing states in the US, the majority of the population growth being from Californians (LA Times). The gem state is regarded as a diamond in the rough by Californians fleeing “changes in taxes, local ordinances or the curriculum taught in schools — and they were seeking more safety” (CNN). Idaho home prices are, in turn, skyrocketing. The LA Times furthers, “The median home price in Ada County, where Boise is located, has risen 19.3% since February 2018, according to the Idaho Statesman.” What is even more telling is that “the vacancy rate for apartments in the price range of the county’s lowest-income residents was 0.45% as of Oct. 18, according to HousingIdaho.com” (LA Times). This has resulted in increased rates of homelessness, and fueled ad hominem attacks against Californians.

Californians who move to Idaho for its “affordability, low taxes, access to world-class outdoors recreation and nonexistent traffic” (The Idaho Statesman) are met with xenophobia, intimidation, and hateful rhetoric. In 2019, Boise Mayoral Candidate Wayne Richey even ran on a platform advocating putting an end to the “California Invasion.” Cars and roadsides are decorated with sentiments like: “IDAHO LIVES MATTER GO BACK TO CALIFORNIA,” “Idaho hates Californians,” and “Warning Californians are known to Cause Cancer in the State of Idaho.” Such statements respond to growing Idahoan insecurity regarding the threat posed by Californians to their livelihoods. Growth leads to competition, which infringes on Idahoan rights perceived as inalienable and god-given. This is especially pertinent for those born and raised here, who have raised families here, whose families and lives here go back generations. These residents are beginning to realize that to have a stake in the state, all one must really have is property- the rest goes out the window like discarded chewing tobacco. According to Alzo Slade of VICE, “one of the best ways for an American family to create intergenerational wealth is to own some land. It’s in high demand, and they don’t make it any more.” Many locals work for years, often in low-paying jobs, and have nothing to show for it. This discontent is worsened by the harsh realization that Californians are coming into the state, taking advantage of an economy they have done nothing to build, have money to fall back on, and are seen to bring with them the very source of dysfunction in (which will lead to the eventual demise of) their state: growth.

In a state ranked 39th in the nation for education, commonly confused with Iowa and Ohio, where politics are dominated by old conservative white men and a liberal vote is technically a wasted one, locals already feel somewhat disadvantaged. The thought of anyone with more financial and cultural capital disrupting our delicately balanced, locally agreed-upon reality is deeply upsetting. We barely have enough jobs and housing for Idahoans, and those privileged in these areas have worked hard to develop and sustain the local economy. Local sentiment dictates that Californians can’t have their cake and eat ours too. People from rural Idaho see the capital Boise as almost a cosmopolitan center. As a shining liberal city on a hill, we have many eyes upon us. Moving to Boise is a big deal for those who have grown up in surrounding areas, almost like a rite of passage for liberal (and inevitably some conservative) young adults. These rites and dreams are tarnished when Californians flock to Boise, often as a last resort.

While locals love to obsess over the problems with California which Californians bring with them and play the blame game, growth is not all bad. KTVB states, “Many Northern and Southern California companies have moved to the Treasure Valley in the last several years which, in the long term, brings more economic opportunities to Idaho.” This stimulates the job market by bringing more high-paying jobs to the area which is dominated by low- paying jobs. As long as the system of Californians selling their expensive houses, coming here and buying a new one in all cash, and pocketing the difference, and the $7.25 minimum wage persist, Idahoans will continue to get the short end of the stick. Idahoans tend to play off their grievances as against Californians and growth, whereas I believe they really stem from structural matters. Affordable housing is much less common than large houses and hotels built to attract affluent out-of-staters. Housing prices rise, but wages do not follow suit.

I advocate for an increased emphasis on building affordable housing structures and increasing the minimum wage to a livable one. Housing is a legitimate concern, which is why I support continuing efforts to build more houses and develop the region. Californians will bring a revival of diverse cultural perspectives to Boise (as many millennials are moving here), support for the arts, and a more vibrant college experience for my peers at Boise State University. Locals should not have to live paycheck-to-paycheck and be pushed into competing with Californians (and each other) for housing. This will ease tensions between locals and Californians, promoting social harmony and diminishing harbored resentments. Once Idahoans feel they no longer have to compete with Californians, we will no longer feel inclined to corrupt our bumpers with invective, and anti-Californian, vituperative graffiti will become a thing of the past.

Vancouver: Welcoming of economic growth but not the housing crisis and Mainland Chinese businesspeople that come with it

Global housing crises do not stop in Boise Idaho, however. With the rise of bitcoin and liquid currencies in China, people with nowhere else to put their money invest in second, third, fourth houses- buying up real estate and leaving others insecure. According to Mother Jones, “In an era of low interest rates, sluggish economic growth, and rising political uncertainty, rapidly appreciating real estate in stable Western countries offers wealthy hedgers an increasingly rare opportunity for profits and safety.” According to Forbes, “In a world awash with (global) liquidity and Bitcoin riches, everyone is buying real estate right now just to put their money somewhere. A lot of the buyers are second home investors.”

A prime example of such a situation lies in Vancouver, Canada- a hot destination for Chinese millionaires, who buy real estate in the region and are, in turn, given Canadian passports. Even though many of these investors own property in the area, many of their residences remain empty as Chinese continue to work in China. Mother Jones asserts that “Instead of fueling entrepreneurial prosperity, foreign capital was inflating a massive housing bubble” in Vancouver. Mother Jones goes on to describe, “Accounts of sprawling, multimillion-dollar mansions, supercar driving clubs, and free-spending Chinese trust-fund babies have filled the local papers and drawn the scorn of the international press.” NPR, on the topic, says, “Wealthy Asian immigrants and investors also started buying up businesses and property in the city. The result has been a real estate market now out of reach for many residents, something that is straining the city’s reputation for welcoming newcomers.” It also details the changes to a Vancouver neighborhood with “New condos and construction cranes loom overhead. Dozens of signs, many only in Chinese, announce future projects.” With their money and property, Chinese people have changed the fabric of Vancouver, disenfranchising locals, especially those who do not speak Chinese. Mother Jones clarifies, “some of the bitterest complaints about Vancouver’s housing crisis come from second- and third-generation Chinese immigrants, who are no less hurt by rising real estate prices than their non-Asian neighbors.”

Like Boise, while housing prices rise, incomes do not follow suit. Mother Jones states, “As Chinese money poured in, housing prices quickly outpaced local incomes, which remained among the lowest of any major Canadian metro area.” NPR furthers, “Vancouver’s real estate prices are the third-highest throughout the U.S. and Canada, Yan says, after the San Francisco/Oakland/Hayward metropolitan area and Silicon Valley’s San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara area. He says those two areas claim the top spots in terms of income, but Vancouver falls well behind — it’s №50.”

“In neighborhood after neighborhood, the city’s middle-class character was giving way to something more like an upscale resort town — hardly a surprise for a place that one estimate says could be home to more than 100,000 Chinese millionaires.” One resident describes how “Her own grown children cannot afford to live in the town where they were raised. Her neighborhood continues to feel like a cross between a ghost town and a war zone. Construction noise is constant. On virtually every block, homes are still being either built or torn down.” Like Boise’s fabric being altered by an influx of wealthy Californians, Vancouver natives have been backed into competing with Chinese millionaires for their livelihoods and beloved city.

Mother Jones outlines a larger trend about globalization when it offers, “But if current trends continue, over the next decade the 1 percenters of emerging economies will continue to move trillions of dollars overseas.” People are moving to new countries, or simply investing money into foreign real estate because of low interest rates and various other perks (like the allure of citizenship and undervalued real estate). Our economy is becoming rapidly globalized, with finances flowing into foreign streams. Growth of certain regions is inevitable, but we must ensure that the less powerful are protected at all costs.

Growth does not have to bring along resentment of and jealousy towards the exotic “other”. The basic right of shelter should not inspire competition and lead to blaming individuals for taking anything away from another. Instead of spreading hatred and xenophobia, we must insert ourselves into the political process by exerting our inalienable rights as citizens to enact change at a higher level. We can do this by raising the minimum wage, taxing those higher who own multiple properties, and emphasize the necessity for city planning which vies for representing the underprivileged and building affordable housing structures (instead of novelties to attract wealthy others).