A reasonable proposal
Much has been made of the recent proposal by the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform to modify the current, virtually unlimited mortgage interest deductions available to homeowners. The NAHB, The National Association...
EPA’s back-room “Sue and Settle” deals require reform
Imagine, also, that the EPA and the Kochs then got a federal court to issue a decree ratifying the deal and giving it the force of law? The sun would not likely set on...
Why is California behind Texas and other states in curbing homelessness?
Homelessness is surging nationwide. Homelessness rates rose an astonishing 15 percent on average in major cities last year. It seems like the rest of the U.S. is waking up to what California has been...
The new housing problem facing low-income renters
There’s a new problem facing low-income individuals seeking affordable housing: Even if they have a housing choice voucher to subsidize rents in the private market, landlords do not want to accept voucher tenants. A...
Criminals vs. property owners
But adjudication processes by regulatory agencies are different, and sometimes result in property owners being treated worse than criminals.
In criminal law, due process works to ensure that innocent people are not convicted of crimes....
Sub-prime bail out
Encouraged by the housing bubble, easy credit, along with the expectation that housing prices would continue to appreciate, many subprime borrowers took out mortgages they could not afford in the long run, particularly if...
The recession is a media myth
But over the last half-year, the media and politicians have said we were in a recession even while the economy was still growing.
Gas prices are going up. The economy is slowing. Talk of recession...
Government must step in to prevent rental housing shortage
Rents are starting to rise dramatically and in every major metropolitan area are expected to rise from 3 percent to 10 percent in 2011 and beyond. That means a family paying $1,700 a month...
Pre-pandemic economy was reaching unprecedented heights for Black and Hispanic Americans, new data show
The grim and isolated life many Americans have adopted during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is often referred to as the “new normal.” But when it comes to the economic side of the pandemic, we...
Property rights versus labor unions in the Supreme Court
As the Supreme Court’s recent Obamacare case illustrates, the justices no longer enforce most of the Constitution’s limits on the federal government. But a new property rights decision demonstrates how they are super-enforcing the...
State of the multihousing union
As punditry is appropriately colorized by the perspective of the teller, our industry leaders may be the clearest sounding bell on how it affects not only to our own livelihoods, but the tipping point...
The day the leasing office died
The landlord selected an apartment for the prospect, that is, as soon as the results of the leasing application and credit screening were deemed acceptable. An obedient tenant could sit and wait for the...
The moral economy
But despite the politicians' rhetoric, it is not hard to understand why America is in trouble.
First, there has been too much madcap real estate speculation. In recent years, housing prices were driven sky-high on...
How deregulating real estate markets can solve America’s shortage of affordable housing
The deregulation of real estate markets doesn’t just make economic sense. It is also a moral imperative.
In the early twentieth century, known as the “progressive era,” the United States embarked on a spree of...
Why Biden’s plan to help make housing affordable will make it more expensive
Because the 2020 election was largely a referendum on President Donald Trump, many of Joe Biden’s policy proposals have been overlooked until now. The recent announcement of some of his cabinet picks shows that...
