Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has proposed costly “affordable” housing policies that would be damaging to the U.S. economy.
Massachusetts Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren has a plan for “affordable housing” that has the hallmarks of the costly policies that helped cause the Great Recession. It’s a policy that America can’t afford, as Goldwater Executive Vice President Christina Sandefur explains in a new article:
“The Warren proposal offers financial
assistance to first-time homebuyers living in areas that were once excluded
from government housing programs, and to those who lost their homes during the
recent mortgage crisis. It would also commit $500 billion over 10 years to
build ‘affordable housing.’
“During the housing crisis, low-income and
minority homeowners witnessed a dramatic decline in the value of their homes—a
predicament Warren seeks to remedy. But as the Manhattan Institute’s Howard
Husock notes, minimizing or eliminating down payments doesn’t ensure
stable homeownership. To the contrary, it increases the likelihood that
homes will fall into disrepair or be foreclosed. The point of a down payment is
to act as a form of insurance for the property owner. Eliminating it makes
it more likely
that the owner will have to seize the property in the event of default. And
that, of course, has lasting financial consequences for the owner and
neighbors.
“In fact, it was the federal government’s
guaranteed mortgages that helped cause the Great
Recession in the first place. People who would
have moderated their purchases, or opted to rent, instead bought homes they
could not afford, thanks to encouragement from Uncle Sam. Warren’s proposal
would double down on that foolhardy approach and further incentivize people to
take unwise risks that could devastate them, their families, and their
communities.
Click here to read more about how
heavy-handed government policies can make housing worse for homeowners—and what can be done to give everyone a
shot at their American Dream.
Just look at poor Aaron Elinoff, with
his bloodshot eyes and an expression somewhere between fear and despair. He
must have done something pretty awful to deserve this mugshot, right? Well,
only if you think that peacefully renting your property to someone on Airbnb or
HomeAway should be a serious crime, because that is ultimately all that
Elinoff is
accused of doing.
Elinoff faces felony charges in Denver that could land
him in prison for six years and result in a $500,000 fine. Find out why he’s
facing such a steep penalty for a crime that harmed no one in a new article from
Goldwater Senior Attorney Matt Miller.
It is fundamental to American government that taxpayer dollars should not be used for funding political campaigns. In other words, citizens should not be forced to support candidates or causes they do not agree with. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening in Phoenix, Ariz., and that’s why the Goldwater Institute is taking a stand.
Although Arizona state law wisely
prohibits the use of taxpayer resources for electioneering and other political
activities, Phoenix’s Valley Metro public transit authority appears to be using
public resources to influence the outcome of Phoenix Proposition 105, a
voter-led ballot measure that would prohibit the expansion of light rail and
redirect revenues to other transportation requirements.
The Goldwater Institute is challenging Valley Metro’s apparent use
of taxpayer resources and has demanded that it stop using its personnel and
resources on influencing the outcome of the proposition. Read more about the story here.
Since 1988, the Goldwater Institute has been in the liberty business — defending and promoting freedom, and achieving more than 400 victories in all 50 states. Donate today to help support our mission.
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