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Vienna's Successful Social Housing Model: A Potential Solution to America's Housing Crisis?

Eva Schachinger, from Vienna, and her husband Klaus-Peter lived in a city-provided, affordable apartment for most of their lives. Despite the rent increasing over the years due to inflation, their income rose even more, so the proportion of their earnings spent on rent became smaller over time.

Vienna has a long history of providing public housing to its residents, starting from 1919. This model of public housing, called "Gemeindebauten" or "social housing," benefits a broad range of people, not just the less affluent. Surprisingly, about 80% of Vienna's residents qualify for this housing and the contracts last for life, unaffected by any future increase in income.

In comparison to the average American household, Eva and Klaus-Peter paid a significantly smaller portion of their income towards rent. This shows how Vienna's social housing system helps to make housing expenses more affordable, promoting economic diversity and better outcomes for residents.

However, the housing situation in the U.S. is worrisome. Real estate prices have been rapidly inflating, creating a wealth gap between homeowners and renters. This problem is largely due to policies that encourage home buying and the influx of investors purchasing homes as investment opportunities rather than for living.

Replicating Vienna's social housing model in the U.S. would be challenging. It would require significant political will, a shift in public attitudes toward housing, and a great deal of financial investment. But, Vienna's system does show that it is possible to create a different, more equitable approach to housing policy.

Overall, the Vienna model of social housing offers an alternative approach to addressing housing needs, but implementing these practices in the U.S. would need substantial policy changes and a shift in public attitudes towards housing and affordability. The historical path of U.S. housing policy has shaped the economic and social landscape of the nation, including the creation of racial disparities and wealth inequality.

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WHO's Cancer Research Arm May Label Aspartame as Potential Cancer Risk Amid Industry Concerns

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) may declare aspartame, a common artificial sweetener, as a potential cancer risk. Aspartame is found in many products, including Diet Coke, ice-cream, and chewing gum. This classification would mean there is some evidence linking aspartame to cancer, but the evidence is limited.

The IARC's decision has been criticized for causing unnecessary worry about substances or situations that are hard to avoid, such as using mobile phones or eating red meat, which it has previously classified as possibly or probably cancer-causing.

However, this new evaluation doesn't consider how much aspartame one can consume safely. That guidance will come from another WHO expert committee that has also been reviewing aspartame use this year. Both groups' findings will be announced together on July 14.

The food industry is concerned about the IARC's move, noting that aspartame is one of the most researched ingredients and has been deemed safe by numerous food safety agencies.

Despite this, some research suggests a potential link between aspartame and cancer risk, although the evidence is not conclusive.

The final evaluation by the IARC and the other WHO committee will provide clearer guidance on the potential risks and safe consumption levels of aspartame.

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Meta Set to Challenge Twitter with New App, Threads, Amid Users' Growing Frustration with Recent Changes

Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, is launching a new app called Threads. This app looks a lot like Twitter, which is now owned by Elon Musk. The Threads app will allow text-based conversations and discussions on various topics, similar to how Twitter works. You can even use the same username from Instagram and follow the same people on Threads.

Elon Musk, who recently bought Twitter and has made some changes that not everyone likes, might have to deal with this new competition. For example, he's made it so people have to pay to verify their Twitter accounts and put a limit on how many tweets people can view each day.

Matt Navarra, a social media consultant, thinks that people who are unhappy with Twitter might start using Threads instead. But he also points out that Meta has had some issues with protecting user data in the past, so some people might not trust this new app.

And to make things even more interesting, Musk and Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg have jokingly suggested they might have a physical fight, although it's not clear if they were serious.

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Always Be the Sun: A Simplified Tale of Kindness Over Force

There's an old story about the Sun and the Wind. They were arguing about who is more powerful. They decided to have a competition. They saw a man walking in a large coat and agreed that the one who can make the man take off his coat first would be the winner.

The Wind tried first. It blew really hard, trying to snatch the coat off the man. But the harder it blew, the tighter the man held onto his coat. So the Wind couldn't make the man take off his coat.

Then it was the Sun's turn. It started shining brightly on the man. It became so warm that the man started sweating and took off his coat himself. So the Sun won the competition.

What this story is trying to tell us is that being kind and gentle is often more powerful than using force.

For example, let's say you want to change something about someone. You can't do it by forcing your ideas on them, just like the Wind couldn't get the man to take off his coat. But if you show them your ideas by how you act, like the Sun, you might be able to convince them.

The best way to find someone who has the qualities you want is to practice those qualities yourself. Always be like the Sun, showing your qualities through your actions.

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