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Affordable Housing? Not with the current campaign finance system The state of Minnesota is facing a severe housing shortage. The Greater Minnesota Dousing Fund estimates that as of February 1999 between 3,500 and 4,000 housing units were needed in Greater Minnesota, while only 1,W0 are built annually. Especially severe is the affordable hous- ing shortage in the Twin Cities area. Vacancy rates for apartments in the Twin Cities have fallen from over 6% in 1990 to a mere 2% in 2000. In order to achieve the healthy level of 5% vacancy, 11,000 units would have to be built at a cost of over $1 billion. The low vacancy rate is resulting in rent increases; between 1993 and 1998, rents in Minneapolis climbed 28%. In addition, the problem has been exacerbated by the fail- ure of incomes to keep pace with rising housing costs. Single-parent families in lower-wage and service sector jobs are now finding it extremely difficult to afford housing, Over the years the federal government has drastically reduced its support for affordable housing and has left it up to the states to make up the dif- ference. Minnesota legislators had made a strong demonstrated commit- ment to affordable housing in previous years. However, during the 2001 legislative session, the legislature chose to provide $759 million in gener- al fund tax reductions and to send Minnesotans a $791 million tax rebate, while scaling back funding for affordable housing by $67 million from the previous biennium. Why such an exclusive focus on tax cuts and rebates? The answer, in large part, is that the business community shaped the debate long before the legislative session began. The question became, "How much will we get back?," rather than. "What would be the best use of the surplus?"