The Daily Wire reports:
President Trump, disgusted with the inability of California's Democrats to address the skyrocketing number of homeless people in California’s major cities, has ordered White House officials to address the issue, according to The Washington Post.
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Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, told the Post, "Like many Americans, the president has taken notice of the homelessness crisis, particularly in cities and states where the liberal policies are combining to dramatically increase poverty and public health risks. President Trump has directed his team to go further and develop a range of policy options for consideration to deal with this tragedy."
Steven Greenhut, the Western region director for R Street Institute, told the Catholic Register in 2018 that he blamed the lack of adequate housing in California on the state, asserting, "We've screwed up the whole housing market through all these regulations." The Catholic Register noted, "Local fees on building can add an additional 6% to 18% to the cost of a home. Energy-efficiency regulations add to the cost of a home as well: A recently enacted California rule mandating solar panels on nearly all new home construction will add about $10,000 to the total cost. In Los Angeles, energy-efficiency requirements increase building costs by 10%."
Spur.org summarized the problems inhibiting housing construction in California, writing, "During a lengthy approval process (sometimes years), costs can rise to the point that projects are no longer tenable. Local fees, permitting, codes and regulations add 6 to 18 percent to construction costs. Uncoordinated city fees and requirements can add up to substantial sums that have unintended impacts on affordable housing." All of this adds up, the article states, such that in many cases, by the time builders are ready to break ground "the developer no longer can make a profit" and instead abandons the project.
