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Now a Crime to Consider a Criminal Record
When government moves beyond its proper purpose of protecting individual rights, the law often becomes a morass of confusion and contradiction. A law recently passed in Montgomery County, Maryland illustrates this point. The Housing Justice Act was unanimously approved by the county council in an effort to reduce homelessness in the county. The law prohibits…
“Solutions” without the Full Context, Part 2
A recent article on The Conversation asserts that “building more homes won’t solve the affordable housing problem for the millions of people who need it most.” While the authors acknowledge that we need more housing, they don’t believe that this is a sufficient solution. The authors present numerous facts to bolster their argument, but these…
Friday Roundup 1-14-22
Last week, a judge ordered New York State to reopen its portal for rental assistance. The portal was shut down in November. On one hand, the state is dawdling in its efforts to provide relief to tenants (and by extension landlords) impacted by the pandemic. On the other hand, with its eviction moratorium and other…
Racism and Housing
Housing advocates frequently claim that racism explains the large gap in home ownership between whites and non-whites. To overcome this racism, they call for government programs to help non-whites purchase homes. It is true that past racism did deter home ownership among non-whites, but that fact must be considered in the full context. The source…
The Chickens are Coming Home
Throughout the pandemic, government officials have made policy decisions founded on short-term thinking. They have made decisions to solve an immediate problem while failing to consider the full context. It was inevitable that eventually the chickens would come home to roost. For example, when government forced businesses to close, tens of millions lost their jobs…
Adding Insult to Injury
Property owners in Maui have suffered tremendously because of the recent wildfires. Now, Hawaii’s governor proposes adding insult to injury. He has directed the state attorney general to draft a moratorium on the sale of damaged properties in Lahaina. The stated goal is to protect property owners from being “victimized” by investors, i.e., protect owners…