Editor,

This is an open letter to all those who rent or manage rental properties. The last two months several of my friends have commented that people they know have had their rents raised by as much as $500 a month. I think this greed is appalling!

Some of these people live on a fixed income and simply cannot afford such an increase. At least one subsidized housing list is closed and it takes years to get into a low income apartment. These people have nowhere to go. Anacortes, Mount Vernon and Burlington are experiencing the same rent increases.

Raising rents just because you can is callous and inhumane. Please think about what you are doing to the people in your rental properties. Would you like your financial institution to raise the mortgage on your personal home by $500 a month? Could you afford it?

Alma Clark

Oak Harbor