Homelessness
Blog
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Six ways Trump administration will change urban policy
The following policy possibilities have been derived largely from Trump’s statements. Housing. “We’re going to open up tracks of federal land for housing construction,” the real estate magnate announced on Aug. 15 at a news conference. “We desperately need housing for people who can’t afford what’s going on now.” He ...
Blog
Grants Pass and Prop 36 Will Help Policymakers Control California’s Homeless Crisis
Between 2007 and 2014, homelessness declined faster in California than the rest of the country – an 18 percent total decline in California compared to a 9 percent total decline in the rest of the country. And then something happened in 2014. While the number of homeless in California began ...
Blog
ELECTION 2024 – California’s ballot measures could worsen homelessness
ELECTION 2024 California’s ballot measures could worsen homelessness John Seiler | October 31, 2024 On Nov. 5, voters in California cities can make the housing and homeless crises better – or worse. Alas, most likely the latter. They likely will pass the vast majority of local sales tax increases, school ...
Blog
‘An idea so bad, Seattle hasn’t done it’
“Homelessness isn’t an identity,” said a full-page ad in the Aug. 25 issue of the Spokane’s Spokesman-Review newspaper. “Tell the City Council to VOTE NO on making their hardship a protected class.” The ad, sponsored by the Washington Business Properties Association, included contact info for the Spokane City Council, which ...
California
Learn about the problems with LA's Measure ULA
Yet another example of a tax that didn’t live up to its promises
Measure ULA, approved by nearly 58% of the voters, initially imposed a 4% “mansion tax” on the sales of any homes or commercial properties valued at more than $5 million. The rate jumped to 5.5% on sales above $10 million. The thresholds increased to $5.15 million and $10.3 million on ...
Blog
Read the latest on California's homeless crisis
Is drop in Sacramento homelessness a fluke or trend?
Officials reported a 29% decrease in overall homelessness in 2024 compared to 2022. But this coincides with a change in methodology in how people were counted, as well as a discrepancy between the count and what local nonprofits are finding on the ground. And one year does not make a ...
Book
New PRI ‘Left Coast Survivor’s Guide’ Aims to Help Americans Stop ‘The California Way’ From Spreading Coast to Coast
SACRAMENTO – With California’s Kamala Harris being inspired by what Gov. Gavin Newsom calls “The California Way,” nonpartisan California free-market think tank the Pacific Research Institute today released The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide, a new book giving Americans the facts and knowhow needed to stop bad California ideas from ...
Blog
Court frees cities to deal with their homelessness crises
Court frees cities to deal with their homelessness crises By Steven Greenhut | August 16, 2024 SACRAMENTO – During a recent trip to Grants Pass, Ore., I took a photo of the city’s iconic downtown sign stating, “It’s the Climate” and then posted it on social media as I often do with ...
California
The Grants Pass Decision on Homelessness: An Inside Look
This week’s podcast is a special presentation of our recent webinar following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, moderated by Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut. Go inside the historic decision with Theane Evangelis, partner with Gibson Dunn who represented Grants Pass before the ...
California
Erica Sandberg – San Francisco’s Homeless Crisis
Gov. Newsom recently ordered homeless encampments on property under the state’s jurisdiction to be cleared due to the Grants Pass Supreme Court decision that ruled that it is not cruel and unusual punishment to forbid people from camping on public property. This podcast is an audio version of Free Cities ...
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Six ways Trump administration will change urban policy
The following policy possibilities have been derived largely from Trump’s statements. Housing. “We’re going to open up tracks of federal land for housing construction,” the real estate magnate announced on Aug. 15 at a news conference. “We desperately need housing for people who can’t afford what’s going on now.” He ...
Grants Pass and Prop 36 Will Help Policymakers Control California’s Homeless Crisis
Between 2007 and 2014, homelessness declined faster in California than the rest of the country – an 18 percent total decline in California compared to a 9 percent total decline in the rest of the country. And then something happened in 2014. While the number of homeless in California began ...
ELECTION 2024 – California’s ballot measures could worsen homelessness
ELECTION 2024 California’s ballot measures could worsen homelessness John Seiler | October 31, 2024 On Nov. 5, voters in California cities can make the housing and homeless crises better – or worse. Alas, most likely the latter. They likely will pass the vast majority of local sales tax increases, school ...
‘An idea so bad, Seattle hasn’t done it’
“Homelessness isn’t an identity,” said a full-page ad in the Aug. 25 issue of the Spokane’s Spokesman-Review newspaper. “Tell the City Council to VOTE NO on making their hardship a protected class.” The ad, sponsored by the Washington Business Properties Association, included contact info for the Spokane City Council, which ...
Learn about the problems with LA's Measure ULA
Yet another example of a tax that didn’t live up to its promises
Measure ULA, approved by nearly 58% of the voters, initially imposed a 4% “mansion tax” on the sales of any homes or commercial properties valued at more than $5 million. The rate jumped to 5.5% on sales above $10 million. The thresholds increased to $5.15 million and $10.3 million on ...
Read the latest on California's homeless crisis
Is drop in Sacramento homelessness a fluke or trend?
Officials reported a 29% decrease in overall homelessness in 2024 compared to 2022. But this coincides with a change in methodology in how people were counted, as well as a discrepancy between the count and what local nonprofits are finding on the ground. And one year does not make a ...
New PRI ‘Left Coast Survivor’s Guide’ Aims to Help Americans Stop ‘The California Way’ From Spreading Coast to Coast
SACRAMENTO – With California’s Kamala Harris being inspired by what Gov. Gavin Newsom calls “The California Way,” nonpartisan California free-market think tank the Pacific Research Institute today released The California Left Coast Survivor’s Guide, a new book giving Americans the facts and knowhow needed to stop bad California ideas from ...
Court frees cities to deal with their homelessness crises
Court frees cities to deal with their homelessness crises By Steven Greenhut | August 16, 2024 SACRAMENTO – During a recent trip to Grants Pass, Ore., I took a photo of the city’s iconic downtown sign stating, “It’s the Climate” and then posted it on social media as I often do with ...
The Grants Pass Decision on Homelessness: An Inside Look
This week’s podcast is a special presentation of our recent webinar following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, moderated by Free Cities Center director Steven Greenhut. Go inside the historic decision with Theane Evangelis, partner with Gibson Dunn who represented Grants Pass before the ...
Erica Sandberg – San Francisco’s Homeless Crisis
Gov. Newsom recently ordered homeless encampments on property under the state’s jurisdiction to be cleared due to the Grants Pass Supreme Court decision that ruled that it is not cruel and unusual punishment to forbid people from camping on public property. This podcast is an audio version of Free Cities ...
