Free Housing
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I'd like to see IRS rules changed. I'd like to see a return to free housing for clergy, medical residents and teachers (specifically college professors).
With today's high cost of housing, some people can no longer do the jobs of clergy or teaching, at the salaries that many places are able to pay. In the case of residents, their pay is often very low for the services rendered and having residents in close proximity to the hospital has obvious benefits.
Many places have excess space that could easily be converted into apartments, from small to multiple bedroom. I see benefits for all sides...
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In all fairness, the clergy housing allowance was often abused. I heard a lot of stories about pastors with a median salary but then a $6K a month housing allowance…
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The housing allowance stuff is still out there. Very typical for clergy to have more in benefits than salary.
No, I'm talking actual, physical housing. The country church parsonage. The on-campus housing for college professors. The floor of a hospital or an adjacent building that housed medical residents.
Example...I worked at a teaching hospital that received rotating residents from Tulane. We had a seperate, two-story building, that at one time was housing for many of those residents. The rooms were set up like one room efficiency apartments, but with no kitchen facilities other than a small frig, a small sink and a counter-top microwave. On the first floor was a common lounge and a common kitchen.
If they weren't on call, they might bitch and raise hell if we HAD to have them, but it was nice to know you could lay your hands on a Gyn, Ortho or internal med consult in minutes.
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I would say that safety engineers benefit society every bit as much as clerics and college professors.
Where's my free shit?
