How to Make Housing Affordable?

  I recently read that US Senator Bill Hagerty supported the 21st Century Rd. to Housing Act that seeks to reduce regulatory barriers to new home construction and ends the requirement for mobile homes to be placed on a permanent chassis.  These two items were put into place in the past to increase safety.  That is why we have regulations.  Why would anyone who cares about public safety reduce those things?! Why doesn’t Hagerty talk about reducing the cost of building supplies that have increased so very much under this administration?  That is the cost problem.  We do not need to go backwards as we have done in so many things with this administration such as in healthcare.  The article also states that Hagerty is sponsoring a bill to streamline permitting regulations that could save up to $100,000 on a house. That sounds good but permits are a necessary part of a good building program to ensure safety codes compliance.  I don’t believe there could be a savings of $100,000 on a $300,000- $500,000 house that a middle-class income would be building.  It sounds like savings for a multi-million-dollar house that a wealthy person would be building and that is not who needs the savings.  This kind of misinformation is very misleading to the public.  We must now pay very close attention to what is being said, or more importantly, to what is not being said. 

Martha  Shepard