By Ari Armstrong | Commentary, Complete Colorado
“Democrats lay out plan to win supermajority in Colorado Legislature,” reads a recent headline from the left-leaning Colorado Newsline. So how might Governor Phil Weiser interact with the legislature, whether or not Democrats reach their goals for legislative seats? For that we can turn to his 109-page “blueprint”
Unsurprisingly, Weiser wants to be all things to all people. He talks about freedom, prosperity, and a business-friendly environment out of one side of his mouth while promoting tax and spending hikes and tighter regulations out of the other.
Housing affordability
Unaffordable housing exacerbates various other problems, starting, of course, with homelessness. It makes child care less available and more expensive, because people who otherwise would open in-home care centers are financially discouraged from doing so. Expensive housing makes it harder for businesses to attract employees and harder for households to make ends meet.
Last year, the Common Sense Institute found a substantial “housing unit deficit.” The governor’s office found the same problem.
The good news is that Weiser takes this problem seriously. And some of his proposals actually would help, starting with his push to streamline rules and speed up permitting.
Yes, housing costs rise with supply expenses and labor shortages. The core problem, though, is that local governments severely restrict the building and use of housing. It’s unclear to what extent Weiser would take on this problem; he has strongly signaled he would tend to defer to local control.
Weiser says, “I will work collaboratively with local governments, and push for legislation to offer incentives and partnerships to towns, cities, and counties to modernize land use, zoning, building requirements, and processes to support affordable housing development efforts.” This strikes me as all carrot, no stick.
Beyond that, Weiser seems easily distracted by marginal “solutions” that come at the expense of others’ liberties involving subsidies and controls on those who rent housing.
READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT COMPLETE COLORADO
Ari Armstrong writes regularly for Complete Colorado and is the author of books about Ayn Rand, Harry Potter, and classical liberalism. He can be reached at [email protected]
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