2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: #111 “Housing Crisis? Try Liberty!”

     On page B3 of the Sunday, March 19, 2017 edition of the Los Angeles Times, there were two stories bemoaning the unaffordability of housing in California.  So the lawmakers in Sacramento have been springing into action by proposing more than 130 bills that try to “tackle” the issue.  Included in these is a bill that would provide a fund of $100 million of taxpayer money to help build housing for teachers, who otherwise would not be able to afford to live in their school districts.  But the only law we really need to employ is the law of supply and demand!

Think about it this way.  If you were an investor, why would you invest in building apartment buildings if the rent was being capped by rent-control laws which would keep you from being able to get a maximum return on your investment.  You would put your money elsewhere – which directly results in a scarcity of apartment units which, in turn, drives up the rents.  Even worse, if you were an investor who already owned apartment buildings that were subject to rent control, you would do everything you lawfully could to convert your units into condominiums – or parking lots – so that you could get a stronger return on your investment.  And if that isn’t enough, these serious but foreseeable problems have been compounded by the fact that about 25 percent of the cost of building new homes, apartment buildings or condominiums is spent attempting to comply with basically unnecessary government regulations.  This is what has fueled the unaffordability of housing!  The resolution: Employ Liberty!  Reduce government involvement and allow the market to satisfy the demand, and this government-generated crisis will be a thing of the past.  In other words, get the government out of the affordable housing business, and let Liberty handle it.  That is what works!

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)
2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President,
along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please forward this on to your circle of friends for their consideration and to further the discussion. And by the way, these columns are now on Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejimgrayoai, and wordpress at judgejimgray@wordpress.com.  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.

from WordPress http://ift.tt/2otSzoz
via IFTTT