Category: Housing
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It’s Not Your Grandfather’s White Suburb Anymore
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in Business and Economy, Demographics, Economic development, Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, Transportation, Water-waste waterBy Peter Galuszka Virginia’s slow and steady color change from red to blue was underscored again in the Nov. 6 election with Barack Obama once again winning the Old Dominion. As Republicans lick their wounds, they may consider just how reliable GOP bastions of the state are changing and how that very neatly tracks trends…
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President Barack Obama!
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in Business and Economy, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, Transportation, Uncategorized, Water-waste waterBy Peter Galuszka President Barack Obama’s re-election and success with Virginia in Tuesday’s contest could provide a fresh opportunity to solidify more economic recovery than what have otherwise may have happened. It could be a real chance for bipartisan progress. Here’s my takeaway at 2:30 a.m.: Virginia has again shown that it is morphing into…
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Virginia Consumer Economy: Not So Hot
CredAbility, a nonprofit credit counseling service, regularly updates its Consumer Distress Index, which tracks the financial condition of the average American household. The index combines such metrics as unemployment, credit scores, net worth, spending vs. income, and performance in paying rents and mortgages. Nationally, the consumer economy is slowly improving. Reports CredAbility in its Aug.…
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Richmond’s Buses To Nowhere
By Peter Galuszka Inner city issues seem to be a trend this week on the blog so here are a few more points about the so-called “under-class” as some define lower income, under privileged people. The locus is Richmond, the state capital that despite its pretensions is actually a working class town with plenty of…
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Freedom’s New Frontier: Basement Apartments
by James A. Bacon Let’s see… On the one hand, the economy is still in the tank, wages are stagnating and the cost of housing in desirable locations (near jobs) remains out of reach for many Americans. On the other, millions of homeowners, many of them childless, would love to monetize the spare square footage…
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Ms. Dragas’ Greek Drama
By Peter Galuszka The antagonist in the drama against Teresa Sullivan is a rich real estate developer from Virginia Beach who holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Virginia, took over her construction firm from her father and is a major donor to political, mostly Democratic, causes. Helen E. Dragas, 50, president of…
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UNDERCLASS LOVER
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in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, Transportation, Uncategorized, Water-waste waterI want to be an underclass lover Lay it down like a big ole’ brother No mind who gets stuck With the leftover I get my F&%# Without too much workover Don’t care about the deficit Don’t give a damn about the debt ’cause when it comes to lov’in You ain’t seen noth’ yet Ya…
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Preface to “Smart Growth for Conservatives”
by James A. Bacon As regular readers of Bacon’s Rebellion should know by now, I am a philosophical conservative with a strong libertarian bent. I believe in smaller government, lower taxes, less regulation and stronger property rights. I regard the private sector, not the government, as the engine of economic progress. I regard social-engineering progressives…
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Do Houses Pay their Own Way?
by James A. Bacon There is a widespread sentiment among Virginia county officials that houses are money losers for local governments, especially when families have school-age children. Families do not pay enough in property taxes to cover the local share of the cost of K-12 education. Neal Barber, president of the Community Futures consulting firm,…
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Housing Needs More Freedom, Innovation, Not More Loans
This post is based upon remarks I made in a panel discussion yesterday, a blogger luncheon on Housing & Opportunity hosted by Housing Opportunities Made Equal. — JAB Housing policy is badly flawed, the artifact of the-Post World War II era of boundless geographic expansion of our metropolitan regions. Here in Virginia, we must thoroughly…
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Corey Stewart’s Racist Baggage
By Peter Galuszka Corey A. Stewart, the scourge of “illegal” immigrants and standard-holder of good old fashioned American values, is now running for lieutenant governor on the Republican ticket in 2013. News reports of his recent announcement were predictably bland – comments in the right-wing blogosphere even more so – despite the fact that Stewart…
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¡Viva la Revolución!
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in Business and Economy, Children and Families, Consumer Protection, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Demographics, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, Transportation, Uncategorized, Water-waste waterEstimado Jefe! Usted nunca debe salir de la ciudad, señor! Ahora que usted está ausente, la revolución comienza! Amados lectores de ya no ver los artículos que glorifican a los ricos y privilegiados. Vamos a ayudar a la tierra y los pobres y redistribuir los fondos de cobertura. ¡Viva la Revolución!
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A Pathetic Half-Time
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By Peter Galuszka It’s so-called halftime at the Virginia General Assembly, and with conservative Republicans holding sway and many serious problems facing the Commonwealth, here’s what we’ve come up with so far: Women exercising their constitutional right to have an abortion now will be forced to undergo and pay for an ultrasound before the procedure.…
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The Wonk Salon, October 12, 2011
State Spending Still Outpacing Inflation, Population Growth Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission Despite the recession, state spending over the past 10 years has outpaced inflation and population growth by a wide margin. General Fund spending hasn’t kept up — the growth comes from Non-General Fund spending. Medicaid Errors Costs the State $ Tens of…