City officials in Charleston, South Carolina want to pay homeowners to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on their property. Relaxing zoning regulations that limit or prohibit ADUs, also called granny flats or mother-in-law suites, is one way many cities are addressing the shortage of affordable housing. Ending the prohibition on ADUs is a proper step. But paying homeowners to build ADUs isn’t; it will force taxpayers to foot the bill for improvements to the property owned by others. The city is working on the permitting process for those who want to add an ADU. So, while the city has legalized ADUs, property owners still need the city’s permission to build one.
In January, Amazon launched its Home Equity Fund, committing $2 billion to build or preserve over 20,000 affordable housing units for low and moderate income families in the three regions where the company has a significant presence: Puget Sound, Arlington, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee. The Biden administration has proposed spending $300 billion to build or preserve two million affordable housing units. Amazon intends to spend $100,000 per housing unit while Biden’s affordable housing plan will spend $150,000 per unit. And that shouldn’t be surprising. Jeff Bezos has made his immense wealth by creating and trading values and investing his money wisely. Joe Biden’s experience has been trading political favors and spending taxpayer’s money.
In St. Paul, a coalition of housing advocates is attempting to get a rent control referendum on the ballot. To address all of the evil in this proposal would require a book. So, two brief points must suffice for now. One, these advocates believe that might makes right, that if the majority of voters support a policy, then that policy must be moral and proper. But neither truth nor morality are determined by a vote. Two, if it is proper (and it isn’t) for consumers to vote to set price caps on goods and services, then it would be proper for consumers to vote for price caps on automobiles, smart phones, televisions, and every product or service. One doesn’t need to be an economist to know that if producers can’t make a profit, they won’t continue producing for long. And that is precisely what happens in cities with rent control. In such cities, very little new rental housing is built, and many rental properties are taken off the market.