Housing advocates lament the fact that a full-time worker making minimum wage can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment. This, they want us to believe, is an example of the affordable housing crisis. But they fail to explain why a two-bedroom apartment is the standard. They fail to explain why a one-bedroom apartment or a studio apartment…
In an editorial, the Los Angeles Times has called for the federal government to dramatically expand its housing subsidy program (often called Section 8). Currently, the Los Angeles Housing Authority administers 58,000 Section 8 vouchers. However, the authority estimates that 600,000 vouchers are needed to provide vouchers to everyone who qualifies. If the Housing Authority…
A coalition of residents, activists, and students is conducting a public shakedown on Rice University because of its Ion technology development building in Houston’s Third Ward. Rice has already given tentative approval to an agreement with the city that would have the university establish a venture fund to provide financing for black and Latino entrepreneurs,…
While proclaiming that the city has an affordable housing crisis, Seattle’s city council is doing everything imaginable—and a few things that are unimaginable—to make the crisis worse. In 2020, the city council passed a law that prohibits evictions from December 1 to March 1. But apparently that wasn’t enough to satisfy housing advocates, and Seattle’s…
Since 2016, California has enacted numerous pieces of legislation that pave the way for the construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). ADUs are also known as granny flats and in-law units, and they serve as a secondary housing unit on a parcel of land. The purpose of these laws is to stimulate the production of…
Two weeks ago, the Texas Senate passed HB 2730, an action that many are proclaiming as a victory for property rights. However, the bill is a non-victory because it does absolutely nothing to protect property rights. The Texas Farm Bureau, which supported the bill, reports two positive aspects of the bill: [A]n entity [using eminent…
The Texas General Land Office recently announced that it will be seizing private property along the Gulf Coast. Tropical storms in 2020 moved the tide lines along the coast, and according to the Texas open beach statutes, the state owns land from the average low tide line to the vegetation line. The result is that…
In cities across the nation, zoning laws are being revised to allow duplexes, fourplexes and other small multifamily housing in areas previously restricted to single-family homes. The argument behind these measures is that fewer government controls and restrictions on development will spur the construction of more affordable housing. The argument is correct, but relaxing land-use…
Since the sixteenth century, depictions of Lady Justice have her blindfolded to represent impartiality. Justice should be applied equally without regard to such characteristics as wealth, status, or race. Justice should be wealth-blind, status-blind, and color-blind. A group—Inwood Legal Action—in New York City rejects this concept, arguing that color-blindness kills and justice requires that race…
In a previous post, we examined a Maryland law that prohibits landlords from asking prospective tenants about certain types of criminal convictions. Now, both Savannah, Georgia, and New Jersey are considering similar laws. Supporters claim that those with a criminal history face difficulties finding work and housing and this constitutes discrimination. Damn straight it is…
It is difficult to read anything written by a Leftist without seeing the words “systemic racism” used to explain an issue. Systemic racism is blamed when a white police officer kills a black thug resisting arrest. When a black woman is raising her children without the father, the cause is systemic racism. When a black…
In a post about systemic racism, John McWhorter writes: A science teacher conference in Washington state last year included a PowerPoint slide preaching that “If you conclude that outcome differences by demographic subgroup are a result of anything other than a broken system, that is, by definition, bigotry.” This should have been corrected: “If you…