-
-
Seattle Moves Closer to the Edge
Like a swarm of lemmings, Seattle keeps moving closer to the edge of the cliff. Since the beginning of the pandemic, city council has enacted a series of destructive ordinances under the guise of protecting tenants. The latest insanity includes: Tenants must be given six months’ notice of rent increases Landlords must pay a tenant…
-
Another Open Letter to the Montclair Property Owners Association
In an open letter to the Montclair Property Owners Association (MPOA) in February, I wrote: MPOA isn’t opposed to rent control as a matter of moral principle. The association just doesn’t like the particular version passed by the town council. This approach will fail in the long-term because it cedes the moral principle involved—the right…
-
Satirical Saturday: Seattle takes a Bold Step
Sometimes, a guy just wants to have fun. Last week, the Seattle City Council voted to eliminate single-family zoning. However, unlike other cities that are actually abolishing such exclusionary laws, the council boldly voted to change the name of “single-family zoning” to “neighborhood residential zoning.” Council members admitted that the name change does nothing to…
-
Actions Speak Louder than Words
Politicians on both sides of the aisle are infamous for saying one thing and doing something contrary to their words. For a voter who values free markets and property rights, it is particularly disconcerting when politicians express support for such principles and then abandon those ideas when it is politically expedient. Texas Attorney General Ken…
-
It’s Always Time to be Greedy
Officials in Clark County, Nevada, are upset with the state’s association for realtors. In its August newsletter, the association told members that Nevada has no rent control laws and “landlords can raise the rent as much as they like, as long as the rent increase does not occur during the current lease.” A county commissioner…
-
When the Wind doesn’t Blow
Europe is experiencing record high energy prices, and with winter fast approaching, many predict the situation will get worse. Like most of the developed world, European countries have been rushing to adopt “renewable” energy sources like wind. However, when the wind doesn’t blow, there is no power generated. Alex Epstein has been making this point…
-
Those Who don’t Learn from History…
Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck once asserted, “In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city—except for bombing.” Economists disagree on many things, but almost universally agree that rent control is a bad idea. But this hasn’t stopped politicians and housing advocates from calling for more rent…
-
Property Rights without Morality
Libertarians believe that individual liberty is compatible with virtually any moral code. However, politics is the application of morality into a social context. To separate the two is to place liberty on a foundation that cannot support freedom. In a piece titled, “Native Americans Had a Lot More Private Property Than You Think,” Daniella Bassi,…
-
Rights are not a Privilege
An opinion piece in the San Bernardino Sun essentially claims that zoning is an application of property rights: When someone “owns” property, they own a “bundle” of ancillary rights. Bundle of rights is a term for a group of legal privileges granted to the owner at the time of purchase. The bundle contains ownership. Right…
-
Yelp is Causing Gentrification
A professor in San Diego has concluded that Yelp reviews of ethnic restaurants are contributing to gentrification and displacement. The reviews “contribute to the transformation of urban foodscapes — the physical, symbolic, cultural, lived, and imagined food environments — that have been built by people of color….” And because the reviewers are “primarily young, white,…
-
Subsidies aren’t the Solution
An article at MultiHousingNews.com examines Biden’s proposals for addressing the housing shortage, and concludes, In the end, the affordable housing problem is about money. To create housing that costs less, either the cost of construction must be reduced (not likely, given rising costs of land, materials and labor costs); developers must accept reduced profits (which…
