Quote:
Originally Posted by Diver
Most of the people who are service workers in the Villages are paid only $9 to $10 per hour. I am working two jobs,one of which is cleaning a rec center. I don't expeict to be tipped, but I would not say no to anyone who did. We are Villages homeowners and are just paying our bills.
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Thank you for a statement of fact and reality. (I read it a couple of times, unsure if the $9-$10 per hour is considered unjust, but I'll take it as just a statement of fact--not a complaint). I admire you for working two jobs and living within your means.
I respectfully ask:
a) As Villages homeowners, could you afford to live here as homeowners if our monthly amenities fees were raised to $450/mo instead of $145/mo, so that cleaning/janitorial and other maintenance workers employed by our community development district (our "city government") could be paid minimum $19/hour?
b) Could elderly residents of TV living on the lowest incomes here continue to afford to live here if our amenities fees were $450/mo instead of $145/mo so that cleaning/janitorial and other maintenance jobs here could pay minimum $19/hour?
Personally, I don't think so. There are reasons why wages are lower here, and one key reason is the
affordability the developers planned so that homeownership is possible for people of ALL income levels, and so they "can live like a millionaire"
without paying dues to country clubs, public golf course seasonal passes, YMCA and other fitness facilities, personal fitness trainers, paid fitness/sport instruction/clinics, etc. etc.
I think this quote below rings true, and
affordability for all income levels is what makes TV
uniquely inclusive with "diversity" of personal income. That affordability would not be available to the lowest income residents here if the amenities fees had to be twice as high so workers could be paid twice as much.
"“The nice thing about The Villages is that you have that small, hometown feel,” said Bock, who earned a silver medal in the Senior Games women’s doubles pickleball competition.
“Harold Schwartz, who was the founder, said his idea for The Villages was that the common person could live like a millionaire, and he’s made that possible.”
Florida community well represented, well prepared at Senior Games - StarTribune.com