the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Oct 24, 2022
Forty-six people bought new condominiums near the Anacostia metro station in Washington, D.C. in 2017 through a city program for low-income first-time homebuyers. For many, it seemed like the realization of a dream.
But the foundation of the condominiums had been defectively built, and the building began to shift, cracking floors and busting pipes. Leaks and mold spread. It’s so bad that an engineer declared the property unsafe, and the residents had to move out. Yet out of 28 who filed claims with their homeowners insurance, only one claim was approved.
Now the residents have to decide whether to repair each unit or tear down and rebuild the entire building themselves—millions of dollars, either way. But in the meantime they still have to pay their mortgages!
As for the city, officials approved the shoddy construction. They gave loans of two and then six million dollars from a city fund for affordable housing to the politically-connected developers. Three city agencies and the courts have done nothing to help the homeowners fix these problems. The homeowners even have to pay back the developer’s city loans!
Capitalist greed has made their American dream an American nightmare.