‘No Kings' Protests: Scenes From Across the Nation
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Forbes
12 minutes ago
- Forbes
Texas Delivers On Housing Reforms, Connecticut Stumbles
Mexican American family having a party in backyard of sustainable home with solar panels on the ... More roof. Suburb area of Houston, Texas. The median sale price for a home in the United States was $440,913 in May, about $140,000 more than five years ago. The housing affordability problem that started in a few coastal cities has spread across the country, and the only way to solve it is to build a lot more housing. This year Texas passed several laws that will do just that, while in Connecticut a similar bundle of reforms was vetoed by the governor. In its legislative session that ended earlier this month, Texas passed a number of reforms to make it easier to build more housing. The first law, SB 840, requires municipalities to allow what is commonly called missing-middle housing. These are housing types that lie between large single-family homes and multi-story apartment buildings, such as duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes. Many local governments have rules that effectively ban these types of homes, but now they will be allowed in any area already zoned for commercial or mixed-use development. This will enable developers to build affordable housing near shops, restaurants, and jobs, a pattern of development that was common across the country but has largely taken a backseat to residential-only suburbs since the 1960s. Another law, SB 15, will make it easier for developers to build smaller homes in Texas. The law prohibits cities from requiring lot sizes of more than 1,400 square feet in new greenfield subdivisions of at least five acres. Land is a big contributor to the cost of housing, comprising between 20% and 40% of the cost of a new house. Allowing builders to use less land will make housing more affordable for lower- and middle-income families. The third pro-housing law, SB 2477, removes regulations that discourage office-to-residential conversions. This law prevents local governments from tying up conversion projects with unnecessary traffic studies, parking requirements, and zoning changes. Last year, the Pew Charitable Trusts released a report showing that converting office buildings to single-room occupancy units is a feasible and effective way to add more housing in dense city centers. This new law will pave the way for such projects in Texas's big cities. The next law, SB 2835, allows developers to build apartment buildings up to six stories with only one staircase. Single-stair apartment buildings are cheaper to build—reducing construction costs by 6% to 13%—and can fit on smaller lots than double-loaded corridor buildings. Their flexibility is especially important for infill development in cities, where lots are often small and irregularly shaped. Finally, HB 24 eliminates a loophole that enabled small groups of anti-housing protesters to block new housing projects. The old law made it too easy for a minority of residents to use petitions and other mechanisms to stifle development. The new law modernizes the community feedback process to create more predictability for builders and ensures that property owners are not unduly prevented from using their land to help communities meet the growing demand for more housing. Texas has grown rapidly since the pandemic, and these reforms will make it easier and cheaper to build the housing it needs. The reforms are timely, too. In a recent study, economists Edward Glaeser and Joseph Gyourko find that many Southern and Western metro areas are not adding as much housing as they used to, which is pushing prices up. By passing these pro-housing laws, Texas is doing its part to reverse this trend so families can afford to live and work in the Lonestar state. Shifting to the Northeast, like Texas Connecticut had a chance to make housing more affordable this year. But unlike Texas, it whiffed on the opportunity when Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont vetoed HB 5002. Connecticut's home price-to-median income ratio is 4.4, below the U.S. average but still a signal that housing is too expensive. Worse, the gap between housing prices and income has widened over the last five years. HB 5002 would make several changes to the state's housing policies designed to improve affordability. These include reducing and eliminating parking requirements, making it easier to convert commercial buildings to residential units, encouraging more development near public transportation routes, and making it easier to build missing-middle housing such as duplexes and townhomes. The bill would also increase funding to support and improve governments' planning processes. During his veto announcement, Governor Lamont expressed support for many of the provisions in the bill. But in the end, he sided with local officials worried about the state infringing on local control. During his press conference, he said 'I think the only way to really make it work is if you have buy-in from the local communities.' In a unique twist, Connecticut Republicans—long thought to be the party of economic growth and property rights—led the effort to veto a bill that would have boosted economic growth and expanded individual property rights. Responding to Lamont's veto, Pete Harrison, the Connecticut Director of the Regional Plan Association and the Director of pro-housing organization DesegregateCT told me, 'We wish Governor Lamont let alone Republicans in Connecticut would show half the foresight and common sense that Red State Republicans have shown when it comes to housing policy. The disconnect is costing Connecticut billions in economic activity and future growth.' He added 'We hope the governor keeps his promise to call a special session where both he and Republicans will have another chance at stepping up as both the Democratic-controlled House and Senate have done.' While Governor Lamont's and Republicans' concerns about local control are understandable, it is important to remember local governments only have the control states grant them. If local governments abuse their authority—perhaps by making it unnecessarily difficult to build housing—state officials should step in to rectify the situation and uphold their responsibility to help the state prosper. When it comes to zoning and land-use regulations, there are powerful local incentives to restrict new development. Current homeowners, well-connected developers, and local politicians chosen from these groups often worry about the impact new development will have on their neighborhoods, so they hinder it. State officials are better positioned to overcome these concerns since they have an incentive to consider the broader economic effects more housing will have on the state's economy and budget. It would be wise for Governor Lamont to remember these dynamics the next time a housing bill crosses his desk. The high cost of housing is one of the biggest problems facing America. Research shows that high housing prices limit access to jobs and high-quality schools, delay family formation, and even reduce fertility. Young people are the most affected. According to one recent survey, 67% of Americans believe homeownership is unrealistic for young people. If this belief persists, it will undermine how younger generations view America: Not as the land of opportunity, but as a place where opportunity is hoarded by established homeowners at the expense of everyone else. Texas's officials are trying to fix the problem. We will see if Connecticut's join them.
Washington Post
18 minutes ago
- Washington Post
The Latest: The House returns in a rush to pass Trump's bill
Republican leaders in the House are sprinting toward a Wednesday vote on President Donald Trump's tax and spending cuts package , determined to seize momentum from a hard-fought vote in the Senate while essentially daring members to defy their party's leader and vote against it. It's a risky gambit designed to meet Trump's demand for a July 4 finish.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US Wants Vietnam to Pay Higher Tariff Based on Foreign Content
(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam and the US are said to be close to a trade framework that will see goods given a scaled range of tariffs depending on the percentage of foreign content, according to people familiar with the talks. Struggling Downtowns Are Looking to Lure New Crowds California Exempts Building Projects From Environmental Law What Gothenburg Got Out of Congestion Pricing New York Port Authority Shut Down Due to Multi-Bus Accident Exports to the US that contain the highest proportion of foreign components would be charged at the top end of the range, around 20% or above, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are confidential. Products that contain a lower percentage of foreign components would be set a slightly reduced rate, while those entirely from Vietnam would face the lowest rate — potentially the existing universal 10% levy, the people said. The details continue to be discussed and could still change. Vietnam has been engaged in weeks of intense diplomacy with the US, its largest export market, during which the US has pressured Hanoi to get tougher on trade fraud and do more to prevent Chinese goods being rerouted and repackaged through Vietnam to skirt higher tariffs. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said last week he expects to see 'positive results' from the negotiations with the US sooner than the July 9 deadline, when the so-called reciprocal tariff rate of 46% is due to come into effect. Chinh also said the nation needs to balance relations with the US and China, its two most important trading partners, underscoring the challenge facing the country's leadership. Even a more moderate levy will create significant challenges for exporters, including navigating tighter trade protection requirements and investigations into rules of origin, according to Can Van Luc, a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council. 'If tariffs are 10%-15%, then there would be roughly $25 billion additional tax to be paid, but it would likely have minimal impact,' Luc said. Vietnam is heavily reliant on China for the raw materials essential to maintain its manufacturing-driven growth. China accounted for approximately 38% of Vietnam's total imports last year, according to customs data. In the first five months of the year, imports from China reached $69.4 billion, making it the nation's biggest source for items such computer and electrical components, machinery and fabrics. Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The Southeast Asian nation has offered to remove all tariffs and repeatedly promised to purchase more American goods. Senior Vietnamese officials have flown to the US to rally support and sign billion-dollar deals. The trade minister wooed executives from Nike Inc., Gap Inc. and others, for which Vietnam provides a critical hub, producing goods ranging from T-shirts to basketball shoes. The industrial shift from China to Vietnam over the past decade, which saw brands rush to relocate as trade tensions rose, also helped build the kind of massive trade gap that made it a prime tariff target. Last year Vietnam's trade surplus with the US was the third-largest globally on a country basis behind only China and Mexico. In a sign of how much hinges on a pact, Communist Party chief To Lam is preparing to travel to the US in coming weeks with a delegation of Vietnamese officials and business executives, as the nation looks to seal more deals to buy additional American goods. --With assistance from Nguyen Kieu Giang. SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too How to Steal a House America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried China's Homegrown Jewelry Superstar Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
