Housing advocates frequently talk about the imbalance of power between landlords and renters. Their solution is to use brute force to provide a more “equitable” balance. This policy is founded on the premise that individuals should experience the same results, regardless of their actions or character. As an example, a growing number of jurisdictions are…
The pandemic has exposed how widely misunderstood concepts like freedom and rights are. Many claim that rights conflict, and policy must balance there rights. For example, in a piece titled “COVID brings front and center the tug between individual rights and the public good,” the author writes: Why should anyone be allowed to spread a…
In May, a federal district court ruled that the eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is unconstitutional. The judge stayed her injunction, which would have ended the moratorium, pending appeal. The case reached the Supreme Court in June. In late June, four justices voted to vacate the stay. Justice…
When we have a disagreement with another person, we have two options. We can attempt to change his mind by offering facts and explanations, or we can use force. We can appeal to reason, or we can threaten harm. Unfortunately, a growing number of policy discussions resort to the latter. Consider housing policies as an…
A group of New York City landlords is challenging the city’s rent control laws. They contend that such laws constitute an unconstitutional taking of private property. In an OpEd piece, two legal scholars argue that rent control does not physically take the landlord’s property, and therefore, rent control is not a taking. The authors go…
California lawmakers are considering legislation that would effectively abolish single-family zoning across the state. This isn’t sitting well with local government officials, and they have formed a coalition to lobby against the legislation. In an OpEd in the Los Angeles Times, three leaders of the coalition argue against the proposed zoning changes. These changes in…
As the Bellaire City Council contemplates restricting or banning short-term rentals (STRs), it is important to consider the full context, as well as alternative policies. The concerns voiced about STRs by home owners—such as loud noise, trash, and similar disturbances—are legitimate complaints. Nobody wants to live next to a “party house.” Admittedly, there are some…
Freedom enables innovators to find new values to create and new ways to create values. Airbnb found a new way to provide vacation housing. Uber found a new way to provide transportation. And PadSplit is attempting to bring innovation to affordable housing. Founded in 2017, PadSplit acts as a broker between property owners and individuals…
When confronting a problem, some individuals have difficulty seeing a solution that is right in front of their nose. And this is particularly true when they are busy looking down their nose. The affordable housing crisis provides an example. Virtually everyone agrees that there is a substantial shortage of housing for low-income families. The primary…
Nightclubs can make for very poor neighbors. Loud noise, traffic, and drunken patrons can be disruptive to the residents of nearby homes. These types of nuisances are the basis for a controversy brewing in Abilene. A developer wants to build housing for low-income families near a nightclub. The club’s owner fears that the residents of…
A character in George Bernard Shaw’s play “Man and Superman” utters a sentence most of us have heard: “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” That statement, of course, is not true. However, an adaptation of that statement is perhaps much more accurate: Those who can produce values, do; those who can’t, become a…
No solution to the housing crisis is without pros and cons. This is true of the myriad schemes proposed by government officials as well as free market solutions. Government programs do help some low-income families, but the demand for that assistance far exceeds the supply. As an example, over 20 million families are cost burdened…