My two roommates & I live in “informal housing” in DC. We’re all working white collar professionals. I live in what is supposed to be the dining room so we can lower the rent of the 2BR.

Stuff like this isn’t a solution; it’s a farce. https://t.co/vedCaleCU1

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018

There are lots of ways to tackle the problems in US housing, but it's a really, really big problem with many factors. Zoning, public transportation, amenities, and government tax (dis)incentives are among them. So, where to begin? The first thing is to define a couple terms:

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018

NIMBY: Not In My Backyard --- idiot racists
YIMBY: Yes In My Backyard --- idiot racists who think they're woke
PHIMBY: Public Housing In My Backyard --- ppl who want to take the profit motive out of the housing market and are still a little woke but it's fine (the good ones)

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018

Housing Sorting: an econ term that deals with how households "sort" across neighborhoods - fanning out from city-center - "according to their wealth and their preferences for public goods, social characteristics, and commuting opportunities" (read: the rich choose the good spots)

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018

THE 1ST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT THE ENTIRE HOUSING MARKET IN THE US IS INHERENTLY RACIST. From separate but equal, to red-lining, to racially-restrictive covenants, to black families being hit hardest in 08, to an ongoing trend of discrimination by realtors/landlords

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018

So what has the US done to fix this?

Since we've let our public housing stock wither away by slashing their maintenance budgets in the mid-century, it's mostly been tinkering on the margins: vouchers & incentivization programs, both of which don't help lower housing costs.

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018

Vouchers (section 8) and incentivization programs (LIHTC, tax abatements) only "feed the beast," propping up a very unwell market by funneling federal/state/muni dollars into the hands of developers, landlords, & the 'wealthy' (homeowners) [quotations because ppl will quibble]

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018

there's also a massive tax expenditure, the Mortgage Interest Deduction ($70 billion flew out the door for this program in 2015), that allows ONLY PEOPLE WHO ITEMIZE THEIR DEDUCTIONS to write off their interest. This disproportionately benefits the upper-middle & rich. pic.twitter.com/XVE3lsWALx

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018

Okay I gotta work, so things we an do:
- Massively reform the MID
- Reinvest in public housing. Put them in wealthy neighborhoods, don't listen to the whiny rich people who complain.
- Invest in public transportation infrastructure
- Massively reform zoning policies

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018

Finally, some pieces to read:
On the MID: https://t.co/QmM9CPGUGJ
Social housing (h/t @peterjgowan & @ryanlcooper): https://t.co/94PDPa1Rsy
Informal housing (spec in LA): https://t.co/uqQbVU8Khk
LIHTC: https://t.co/3TuzzxfHx3

Books: The Color of Law, Showdown at Gucci Gulch

— Spooky Marge (Mags for friends) (@peg_mclaugh) October 22, 2018