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The Market isn’t the Failure
Housing advocates frequently claim that the housing crisis represents a market failure, which Investopedia defines as an inefficient distribution of goods and services in the free market. In market failure, the individual incentives for rational behavior do not lead to rational outcomes for the group. In other words, each individual makes the correct decision for…
The “Right” to Housing
Material values must be created. And to create material values, individuals must be virtuous. They must adhere to certain moral principles if they are to successfully create the values that we want and need. Morally, those who create material values are the rightful owners of those values. Those values are their property, to use, trade,…
The Solution to the Housing Shortage
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Texas has a shortage of about 600,000 rental homes that are affordable and available to extremely low-income renters. Across the state, there are just 29 affordable and available housing units for every 100 extremely low-income families. The shortage is slightly more than 170,000 for the Houston-Woodlands-Sugar Land…
Friday Roundup 6-4-21
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…
“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…
Protecting Property Rights is Moral and Practical
Shortly after taking office, Argentina President Javier Milei issued an executive decree that repealed the country’s rent control laws along with a host of other economic regulations. The results were predictable and almost immediate. The supply of rental housing soared, and prices significantly declined. Protecting property rights is moral and practical. Introduced in 2020, Argentina’s…