More government, a lot more government, is needed in order for folks to afford housing.
That’s the lame answer Democratic Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne has come up with in her quest for the governorship — a new housing cabinet full of bureaucrats that will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to be in charge of affordability.
But wait, there’s more. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports Lynne wants to make “excess state land available” for housing projects.
We are all ears about this “excess state land” she wants to turn into housing developments.
Does she mean the public trust lands managed by the State Land Board? Or perhaps there are excess forest lands or parks we are not aware of? Are we converting state offices into housing?
Then there’s the next step all Democrats fear, would she go so far as to lobby for federal land to be used as low-income housing?
Once the cabinet is created, and the lands no one will agree upon are given or sold cheap to someone to build housing to make a profit, Lynne suggests the state create housing credits for folks to live there.
But this isn’t a new idea and is already being done. The state’s Department of Local Affairs already issues low-income housing credits.
These are the plans brought by Lynne during her four-day affordable housing tour through a half-dozen counties.
She plans to write a paper about her proposal. She should probably file it in the circular bin.