Suth End residents are not paying 80% of their income in rent

The recent Boston Housing Report Card suggests that a growing number of Boston residents, in particular in areas such as the South End and the Fenway, are paying out upwards of 80% of their income for rent.

Rubbish, John says. The report assumes that everybody lives in a two-bedroom apartment, while obviously many people live in less expensive stuidos or one-bedroom apartments. It's based on the 2000 federal census, which included our zillions of college students, most of whom report below-poverty-level wages (the census does not take into account parental subsidies). And it fails to take into account the fact that people living in subsidized housing do not pay the full cost of their rents.