Affordable Housing and Oregon’s Two-Faced Democrats

By William MacKenzie,
Oregon writer,

Talk about duplicity.

Oregon Democrats are taking opposite sides on affordable housing and dealing with homelessness.

First, Gov. Kotek and the Democratic Party trumpet their support for affordable housing and secure passage of  two bills, HB 2001 and HB 5019,  known as the Affordable Housing & Emergency Homelessness Response Package, that will inject $200 million into speeding up construction of affordable housing in Oregon

Then Senate Democrats turn around and push out of the Committee on Housing and Development a bill, SB 611, that would modify an existing rent control law to cap rent increases at buildings more than 3 years old at 10% or 5% plus the consumer price index.

So what is it folks? Do you want to spur more affordable housing and cut down on homelessness or do you want to sabotage the housing market with counterproductive restraints on the free market.

The fact is, rent control doesn’t work. Any short-term benefits, including the applause of some misinformed constituents, are always overshadowed by the long-term problems rent control creates.

As Swedish economics professor Assar Lindbeck has observed, “Rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city — except for bombing.”

Time for some consistency.