Friday Roundup 12-3-21

NBC news reports that in early 2020 the Trump administration gave $100 million to a federal agency for the purpose of fixing the supply chain of COVID medical supplies. At the time, the agency was run by a college friend of the President’s son-in-law.  As of the time of the report in mid-November, no money had been spent, even though we are now twenty months into the pandemic. While the government has been doing nothing, private companies quickly and effectively found ways to produce and distribute medical supplies.

In 1982, “starter homes” accounted for 40 percent of new construction. In 2019, that number was down to 7 percent. In 1982, developers could profitably build homes for first-time home buyers. By 2019, that had become increasingly difficult. The primary reason is single-family zoning, though environmental regulations, building codes, and other land-use regulations also play a role. As long as local governments insist on restricting land use via zoning laws, developers will continue to build higher-end properties. It’s the only way that they can make a profit.

Two city council members in Philadelphia are pushing a plan for “mixed-income overlays”—i.e., inclusionary zoning. Before a developer will receive the city’s permission to build new rental housing of ten units or more, he must agree to set aside 20 percent of the units for households making 40 percent of less of the area median income. In Philadelphia, that is about $37,800 per year. Like exclusionary zoning, inclusionary zoning is founded on the premise that government should control what is built and where it will be built. Both forms of zoning prohibit developers from acting freely. Instead, they must obtain the government’s permission to build the housing the nation so desperately needs.