By Heather Cox Richardson
June 7, 2024
These news items illustrate a larger story about the United States in this moment.
The Biden administration has quite deliberately overturned the supply-side economics that came into ascendancy in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan took office and that remained dominant until 2021, when Biden entered the White House.
By Greg Dieguez
May 22,2024
There is much to question about a Housing Bond which will cost $48B in total debt service, yet
yield only $16B in proceeds for housing. At an average of $178K per unit, what will be built are
not Homes, but Corporate Rental Apartments, owned by wealthy investors who can benefit from
the 9% investment tax credit, and depreciation writeoff. And this Bond would continue a trend to institutional ownership of housing, not unlike the Mining and Mill towns of the 19th century.
By Ann Duwe
May 14, 2024
What is clear is that many of the 150 state housing laws enacted since 2017, together with the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) system administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), will not produce a large supply of housing for Bay Area residents with annual incomes below approximately $100,000.
Steve Frank
May 13, 2024
How do you lie in plain sight and make it seem real? You pretend you have a problem, put a LARGE number to it and then use the State government to control the process.
This is a scam for developers and unions to make money at the cost of taxpayers. The Bay Area is looking to put a $20 billion bond on the November ballot—that is $40 billion including interest. We are told that San Fran, which is losing population MUST build.
by Jennifer Hernandez
May 10, 2024
Much of the Democratic party’s traditional constituency include small business owners, first responders, and “essential workers”. These groups earn too much to qualify for housing assistance, but too little to live in the state’s most expensive population centers. Economist John Husing showed that even the highest-paid construction workers cannot afford to buy a median priced home in any Southern California county that touches the ocean, or any Bay Area county that touches San Francisco Bay
By Julie Testa
May 8, 22024
On April 22, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled Senate Bill 9 unconstitutional for five “charter law” cities.
This court ruling signals an opportunity for more California cities to follow the lead of the five courageous “charter law” cities who stood up against state overreach. The 150 state laws that erode local democracy have not and will not make housing more affordable for those who need it most.
