Housing

A simple question, a complicated answer. Ahead of a possible 2018 ballot initiative that could dramatically expand rent control, Matt and Liam explain who benefits and who loses under economists' least favorite housing policy.

A few months back, we created an explainer to answer two questions: How bad is California's housing crisis, and how did it get so bad? We tried to cover as much ground as possible—from affordable housing funding to Proposition 13 to why no one else in your apartment building cleans out the lint filter after using the communal dryer. But we knew we couldn’t get to everything. So we asked readers “What did we miss? What questions do you still have about California’s certifiably insane housing market that we didn’t answer?”

You can also subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Google Play and Overcast. Matt and Liam award the Avocado of the Week to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (5:00). Then a discussion of the House GOP’s tax plan and how it would impact California, including Liam’s hot takes on the mortgage interest deduction (6:30) and Matt’s take-it-to-the-bank prediction on the […]

You can also subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Google Play and Overcast. Gimme Shelter’s tour of California’s housing woes takes them to Sonoma County this week, where the devastating North Bay fires have thrown a harsh spotlight on the region’s housing shortage. First, Liam and Matt discuss an initiative possibly headed for the November 2018 ballot that would […]

This week, we're airing a Zocalo Public Square/AARP forum entitled "Are Housing Prices Killing the California Dream?"

You can also subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Google Play and Overcast. Starting this week, Matt and Liam explore how state housing policy affects different regions of California. This episode is devoted to the Bay Area, the epicenter of the state’s housing woes. Featuring an avocado of the week where a city official tells Liam how […]

You can also subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Overcast. What makes or breaks good housing policy? The wonky details. This week, Matt and Liam break down the ins and outs of all 15 bills in the state housing package: where the new affordable housing revenue will be spent (6:00), whether the so-called “streamlining” bills will […]

California cities are hoping to tailor new state housing laws to their own needs.

California leads once again in something no state wants to boast about: the highest poverty rate in the country.

We have a housing package! It’s such big news, we’re breaking it into two mega-pods: This week dedicated to the politics behind the package, and next week to its crucial policy details. Matt and Liam discuss the late-night drama at the Capitol (6:50), Asm. Marc Levine as YIMBY heel (9:30), the broad political forces that […]