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| Robby Starbuck |
By Jon Styf | The Center Square - Tennessee has the healthiest state public pension system in the country based on the amount of unfunded liability per capita, according to a new report from the American Legislative Executive Council.
by David Plazas, The Tennessean, June, 27, 2021- The Thomas B. Fordham Institute assessed K-12 civics and history standards. Four states and District of Columbia ranked exemplary, including Tennessee.
Yue Stella Yu, USA TODAY NETWORK – TENNESSEE -Tennessee’s first-ofits- kind lawrequiring businesses to post signs about transgenderfriendly bathrooms is expected to take effect July 1. Now, that law is being challenged in federal court. The American Civil Liberties Union and its Tennessee chapter filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two business owners on Friday.
(a) A public or private entity or business that operates a building or facility open to the general public and that, as a matter of formal or informal policy, allows a member of either biological sex to use any public restroom within the building or facility shall post notice of the policy at the entrance of each public restroom and at each entrance of the building accessible by the general public.
That is kind of vague. I suspect that most businesses have no such formal or informal policy on the topic. Unless forced to establish a formal or informal policy because of complaints, they most likely have never considered it an issue about which to have a policy. And since I doubt the transexuals announced their biological sex, when they entered a bathroom that conformed to their outward appearance, I doubt no one knew when a transsexual was in the bathroom. Since no one knew, there would be no complaints so management would not have to establish a policy. The way it is written, if the business has no policy, they do not have to post the signs.
Since I doubt very few businesses are going to post such a sign, unless maybe to please a gay clientele in a gay bar, this law will have little impact and will not result in much of a burden to businesses. The law does not require businesses to have a policy. Since a business without a policy does not have to post the sign, this seems like a weak case of "compelled speech," but I am not an attorney and do not know the case law on the topic. So, I will accept as resonable and correct whatever the court rules.
I don't see much point to this law but neither do I see much point in having it overturned. I actually think it was petty of the legislature to pass this unnecessary law but think it is hardly worth fighting over. But maybe, we ought to only fight battles that matter. Mutilating children matters. I am not sure forcing a business that has established a policy on who can use which restroom, to post signage making people aware of that policy really matters all that much.
by Yue Stella Yu, The Tennessean, June 25,2021- Metro's legal fight with the Davidson County Election Commission over the anti-tax hike referendum is anything but over.
by Natalie Allison, The Tennessean - The Wilson County Republican Party has selected a keynote speaker for this year's annual Trump Day Dinner: U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a controversial member of Congress stripped this year of her House committee assignments.
by Rod Williams - This is unbelievable. If I were a Republican in Wilson County, I would not be attending this event. I would not contribute to the local party or attend any functions of the party. The leadership of the party would have successfully driven me out. I might protest the appearance of Green outside the venue.
She is a nut-job! She is a Q-anon supporter. She was a regular contributor to a conspiracy web site. She has supported almost every right-wing conspiracy theory circulating. She touts the Pizzagate theory, the Clinton Kill-list, mass shootings as a false flag theory, and 9-11 as an inside job theory. She has advocated executing Democrat politicians. She has equated the Democrat Party with Nazies. She continues to claim Trump won the election in a landslide and that the election was stolen. Her Covid-19 theory is that Dr. Fauci is criminally liable for helping create the virus as a bio-weapon.
It is hard to think of a person more committed to crazy conspiracy theories than Marjorie Taylor Green. I think Congress was right to deny her any committee assignments. I think the Republican Party should have denied her the right to caucus as a Republican. She should be condemned and shunned; not honored.
Is this what has happened to the Republican Party, that the honored guest speaker at an annual Republican banquet is someone like this? Also, I am dismayed that what used to be called Lincoln Day Dinners and then Reagan Day Dinners are now called "Trump Day Dinners." Even if the speaker was someone I respected and admired, I would not attend a "Trump Day Dinner." Trump should be disgraced; not honored. I wonder how many other annual Republican banquets are now called "Trump Day Dinners." I hope not many.
I believe that the policies of the Democrat party will destroy our country. Massive deficit spending is the biggest threat to our future. That and policies such as the Green New Deal, Medicaid for all, open borders, imposed "equity" policies, defund the police, and others will cause a decline in America's standard of living and ability to be a world leader. We will see greater unemployment as a permanent feature of our economy, inflation, less productivity, and a decline in upward mobility. A continuation of cancel culture and an emphasis and race-based "equity" will lead to less freedom. With America in decline, there will be no other country able to step up to the plate and lead the world and democratic countries will decline and have to kowtow to China. China, Russia, and Islamism will ascend as the US declines. I do not see the US having an apocalyptic event, but a steady decline in the standard of living, productivity, economic vitality, and the ability to lead the world. In a few more years we may more closely resemble Portugal or Greece or some Eastern European country than the country we currently know.
So, I cannot become a Democrat and believe the Democrat Party must be defeated. However, I do not want to be part of a party that hosts Marjorie Taylor Green as an honored speaker. I must feel the same as one felt on the eve of the Spanish Civil War. Should one support the Communist-supported Republic or the Nazi-supported Fascist, or stay on the sidelines and let others decide the fate of one's country?
I still believe the Republican Party will come to its senses and again become the party of responsible conservatism. If it does not, however, I cannot feel at home in a Donald Trump- Marjorie Taylor Green Party.
Rod Williams- I think the term "crisis' is overused so I am not going to call what is happening in housing affordability a crisis. However, a concerning trend is taking place before our eyes. The dream of homeownership is getting further and further out of reach for many Americans. While I would not call what is happening a crisis, it is a serious concern. This trend can have profound consequences for the stability of the middle class, can lead to greater wealth inequality, and can have social and political consequences.
When one spoke of the issue of "affordable housing" in the past one was often thinking of low-income people and their inability to buy a home. Homeownership was out of reach of the working poor unless they got some sort of assistance or subsidy. Over time, there was a realization that it was not only the poor for whom housing was out of reach but also those who one would not consider poor but simply of modest income. Housing became hard to afford for teachers and firemen and people in the hospitality industry. "Workforce housing" became a term to refer to the housing needed by this segment of our society. And, it was in short supply.
Home prices have gone through the roof. It is happening here in Nashville but this is not just a Nashville problem. (Look at chart #1 below.)
Why is the happening? There are several reasons. One, the Federal Reserve has kept home mortgage rates extremely low. It has increased its purchase of mortgage-backed securities, which drives interest rates lower and frees up more money for mortgage lending. With low rates, the same amount of monthly payment will purchase more house and prices rise.
When prices rise, if you were a couple that could afford a $500,000 and prices increase 12% you may not be able to afford a $560,000 house and may have to settle for a $500,000 that last year was only a $446,000 house. If, however, you are a couple that can afford only a $250,000 house, good luck; there are almost none. But there are a few, however. If that $250,000 house goes up to $280,000, you may not qualify for that price home and there are no cheaper price houses to fall back to. You are out of luck.
This is one reason why home price appreciation hurts the person of modest means more than the person of better means. Another reason is that lower price homes experience greater HPA than higher-priced homes. (See chart 3 below.)
When we say that Home Price Appreciation was 6.6% over last year that may not sound like a lot, but it is cumulative. If the appreciation was a steady 6% the price of a home would double in twelve years.
This chart from the most recent Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index report shows the cumulative housing appreciation in the Nashville MSA.
Since the 3rd quarter of 2013, homes in Nashville have increased 93.6%. If one compares Nashville's cumulative price appreciation since 2007 we have had considerably higher price appreciation than the nation, represented by the gray line above.
So what does this mean for the future? I hate to be so pessimistic but I believe the dream of homeownership will remain a dream for more and more people. Homeownership which has been a source of middle-class security and stability and the greatest source of wealth creation for the majority of people will be less and less obtainable for more and more people. Are the good times really over for good? Maybe. I do not see this situation getting better anytime soon. Government at the federal, state, and local levels continue to make the problem worse.
One thing that I think should happen is that the Federal Reserve should allow mortgage rates to rise. This would, unfortunately, in the short term, put homeownership out of reach for some low and moderate-income people. Some people who can afford to buy a home today at current rates could not afford to buy a home with higher rates. However, it would slow home price appreciation and in the longer term help more people of modest means. To have any chance of reversing this trend and saving the dream of owner ownership, we must slow HPA.
In addition to the Federal Reserve causing home price inflation, there is a slew of other things that cities and states are doing across the country to destroy affordable housing and inhibit the development of affordable housing. At the end of this article are some links that explore some of these issues.
Unfortunately, Nashville like many other big cities will continue to make the problem worse. Taxes will continue to rise, redevelopment plans will promote gentrification of what is the remaining affordable parts of town, the city will continue to discourage manufactured housing, restrictive zoning and downzoning will restrict the supply, and government imposed overhead cost and the obstacles government puts in the way of developers will continue to inhibit the construction of homes at a more modest price-point.
In addition to the wrong government policies, the market is going to drive up prices in Nashville. Oracle will bring over 8500 jobs to Nashville over the next decade with an average salary of over $110,000. There will certainly be a plus to this kind of economic growth, but it also means there will be 8500 people who can afford to pay more for housing than what the average Nashvillian can pay. That will cause even greater HPA.
So, while I have lots of advice to government for making housing more affordable, I also have advice for the young couple of modest means dreaming of homeownership. Don't delay! Every day one delays makes the dream of homeownership more elusive. Homes only stay on the market for a few days. Make looking for a home like a job. Be aggressive. Get a good realtor to help you find a home. By the time a home gets listed on Zillow, it is probably already sold. Get pre-approved by a mortgage company. Get something, even if is not your dream home, and start building equity and benefiting from that home price appreciation. If you think there is not much in your price range, next year there may be nothing.
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