America’s Affordable Communities Initiative – The Bush Administration launched this initiative to help communities across America identify and overcome regulatory barriers to affordable housing.
One of the key principles of economics that conservatives recognize is the “law of unintended consequences.” Every government action has a cost somewhere. If that cost isn’t in the form of an explicit tax, it is often hidden. What’s really unfortunate is when the cost is hidden in such a way that it ends up raising the cost of basic family housing. A regulation that adds a few thousand dollars to the cost of building a John Kerry style mansion may not even be noticed, but add the same few thousand dollars to a starter home and it may mean the difference between a family owning a home or not. And even if the family can afford the home, we need to recognize the hidden cost of the regulation for what it is – a hidden tax on housing for the poor and working class.