The Mexican author Don Miguel Ruiz writes in his Four Agreements: “Don’t make assumptions.”

My wife and I have worked hard all our lives. No inherited money. We took care of our parents when the time came. We purchased and rehabilitated (lots of sweat, labor and overtime) our first home together and then sold for a profit. We bought another, sold for profit; purchased another – you get my drift.

We are now at retirement age and own three properties: a main house, a single-family home we rent at market rate (annual lease) and a summer cottage. We never could have owned this cottage without using VRBO for the first seven years while we worked toward the next step of creating financial security.

We are a giving couple and donate to many, but I must draw the line when people accuse us of being elite because we have used our intelligence and strong work ethic to get to the place we are now.

I think the community of people unable to find housing must not lay the problem on the backs of a few who have managed to make the system work. We will add our own personal beef here: Why is it that deep-pocketed Portland developers can create so much unaffordable housing in this city and are gifted the option to be relieved of the requirement to provide some portion of their condos to those with lower-income through the use of a puny $150,000 opt-out fee? They must laugh all the way to the bank with that one.

Vincent Veligor
Portland