Politics & Government
To Root Out Corruption Given Corrupt Behavior Must be Exposed=Homeless
Affordable Housing an Example of Corporate-Advocacy-Govt-Big Media Misses: Scott Turner, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Don Jr – LOOK at Fact$
According to the Cato Institute on December 12, 2024 by Jeffrey A. Singer: "Autonomy and Affordability: Solving Homelessness Without Coercion" are the following observations.
"Both [Elon] Musk and [President Donald J.] Trump appear to give short shrift to a major cause of homelessness: a growing shortage of affordable housing. As Vanessa Brown Calder wrote in a Cato briefing paper, “Reforms that eliminate zoning, improve permitting speed, legalize greater housing density, and remove barriers to housing innovations—including co-living units, tiny homes, and manufactured homes—are all part of a successful strategy to reduce homelessness. Building codes and land use and zoning laws are largely state-level issues."
It isn't just Cato authors Calder and Singer who have claimed that a lack of affordable housing is part of the problem for growing homelessness. The Biden-Harris (D) era HUD annual report to Congress on homelessness said among their key findings: "The number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2024 was the highest ever recorded." Among the non-woke or DEI connected factors cited by HUD? "Several factors likely contributed to this historically high number. Our worsening national affordable housing crisis, rising inflation, stagnating wages among middle- and lower-income households..." It is almost as if the exiting Democratic-linked 'leadership' in Washington, D.C. was pointing a finger at themselves.
Find out what's happening in Lakelandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
So, while Cato was finger pointing at Musk and Trump, who are not at this time public officials or "DOGE" advisors, HUD admits that recent record federal spending didn't solve the affordable housing crisis. It only got worse.
That said, Cato's Calder raised several relevant points when she wrote that: “Reforms that eliminate zoning, improve permitting speed, legalize greater housing density, and remove barriers to housing innovations—including co-living units, tiny homes, and manufactured homes—are all part of a successful strategy to reduce homelessness. Building codes and land use and zoning laws are largely state-level issues."
Find out what's happening in Lakelandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Some of HUD's own researchers have said similarly. Pamela Blumenthal and Regina Gray said the following via the HUD Edge.
"Although home production has recently been on the rise, building permits, one indicator of new housing supply, remain below historical averages and far below the level needed to eliminate the deficit in housing. The consequences of inadequate supply are higher housing costs for both renting and buying a home. More than 37 million renter and owner households spent more than 30 percent of their income for housing in 2019."
"Without significant new supply, cost burdens are likely to increase as current home prices reach all-time highs..."
"The regulatory environment — federal, state, and local — that contributes to the extensive mismatch between supply and need has worsened over time. Federally sponsored commissions, task forces, and councils under both Democratic and Republican administrations have examined the effects of land use regulations on affordable housing for more than 50 years. ..."
Pardon me, but this writer for MHProNews, MHLivingNews, and this Patch does not plan to tire sharing those remarks by HUD’s Blumenthal and Gray. If HUD can’t fix the affordable housing crisis after 50 years, why are we going to think that they will do so without a major shakeup after 55 or 60 years?
The oddity is that HUD's own people are pointing out HUD's own failures. Because what is HUD's job? Per the HUD website: "Department of Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 creates HUD as Cabinet-level agency." With most if not all Biden-Harris (D) era HUD press releases footer including the following: "HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all." Clearly, they are NOT providing enough affordable housing for all, which HUD's own 2024 annual homelessness report to Congress underscored.
The remark by Danny Ghorbani of "post production" representation means the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). Ghorbani is the founding president and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) and is a former MHI vice president.
https://patch.com/florida/lake...
So, Cato has raised some valid issues. But Cato has at various times reported on the importance of manufactured housing as a key part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis. Yet, Cato curiously doesn't mention anywhere on their website that Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000?
This is where Musk, Ramaswamy, Don Jr, plus former and future President Donald J. Trump's stated HUD nominee Eric Scott Turner should be leaning in. The Manufactured Housing Improvement Act (a.k.a.: MHIA, 2000 Reform Law, 2000 Reform Act) included a provision that was specifically intended to overcome local zoning barriers that barred the placement of HUD Code manufactured homes. That provision is known as "enhanced preemption" because the HUD Code for manufactured housing enacted in 1974 that went into effect on June 15, 1976 already had a federal preemption provision.
These lawmakers shown below signed onto a letter explaining the legislative intent for the 2000 Reform Law.
https://www.manufacturedhomeli...
Failure by HUD to consistently enforce the 2000 Reform Law's enhanced preemption provision is costing the U.S. economy an estimated $2 trillion dollars annually.
This is a problem that would cost taxpayers virtually nothing, because it allows the free market to produce the homes that are inherently affordable.
https://manufacturedhousingass...
https://www.manufacturedhomepr...
https://www.manufacturedhomeli...
Let's do some math and fact checking for the sake of DOGE, Trump 2.0, all members of Congress, and incoming HUD Secretary-nominee Turner. Given that HUD admits that for 50 years it has been known that zoning barriers, and specifically affordable manufactured housing zoning barriers, are fostering homelessness, they are essentially saying that this pattern costs the economy 2 trillion dollars a year.
Conventional builders have admitted that they can't build a home at the same price-point as a manufactured home producer does.
So, in less than 965 words, someone can be introduced to the problems and possible cures for the U.S. affordable housing crisis. The National Association of Home Builder's prior CEO Jerry Howard said they can't build an entry level home that a first time buyer can afford. Manufactured home producers can. The lack of affordable housing costs the U.S. economy some $2 trillion dollars annually. While MHI and MHARR often see matters differently, at least on paper, they agree enforcing enhanced preemption under the 2000 Reform Law would "unleash" manufactured housing.
https://manufacturedhousingass...
https://manufacturedhousingass...
It has arguably been either incompetence of corruption that has allowed this scenario to fester for so long.
https://patch.com/florida/lake...So, while Cato's research on manufactured housing is incomplete, they do have a point when they argued that if the marketplace is allowed to do its job, homelessness can be solved by allowing more affordable housing, including more manufactured homes.
More on other political, social, affordable housing, economic, and other topics follow.
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> Blankley-Goodbye American Dream? Only 10% Polled Can Buy a House; But
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---> Renting? Rent too High? Odds Are DOJ Suit vs RealPage Matters to You
> New-Certified “Half Price Homes” - Affordable Housing Solution Redux
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> Solution: “Would-Be Homebuyers Need 80% More Income Than 4 Years Ago”
L. A. “Tony” Kovach is a publisher who has earned multiple awards in history. He and his family live in a manufactured home on private property in Winter Haven, FL. He is the co-founder of Manufactured Home Living News.com (MHLivingNews.com) and Manufactured Home Pro News.com (MHProNews.com), trade publications serving segments of the manufactured home industry. Having worked in several segments of the manufactured home industry for over 3 decades, Kovach is a widely acknowledged and often praised expert on manufactured housing. ###
