Austin and Affordability
What to know: Home prices are coming down in Austin. Does that mean the city is becoming more affordable? Probably not.
The TPPF take: A dip in home prices is only a drop in the bucket of housing affordability.
“Part of the reason for high housing prices is the fact that local zoning ordinances and regulations add to the cost,” says TPPF’s John Bonura. “Simply put, the zoning ordinances make it harder to build homes that the average Texan can afford. Large lots with large houses cost large sums of money. The bottom line is that local government regulations are pricing entire generations out of the housing market.”
For more on housing and affordability, click here.
Jeeps in the Wild
What to know: It’s time for the annual Easter Jeep Safari, an event for off-roading aficionados in Moab, Utah.
The TPPF take: New Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rules could end Americans’ off-road adventures. TPPF attorneys are taking the BLM to court over 317 miles of proposed trail closures, including two Jeep Safari routes.
“For decades, these trails — which are mostly old uranium mining roads — have been enjoyed by everyone from Jeep owners to dirt bike riders to base jumpers looking for a place to land,” says TPPF’s Matt Miller. “The plan is already being implemented. Two Easter Jeep Safari routes—Hey Joe Canyon and Mashed Potato— are closed this year. These and other closures threaten the freedom enjoyed by tens of millions of Americans who hike, camp, Jeep, mountain bike, ATV, fish, swim, canoe, kayak, trail run, overland, base jump, raft, and backpack the millions of acres of free space that make ‘the West’ the West.”
For more on the BLM and western lands, click here.
Electorate Cars?
What to know: According to one political observer, the 2024 U.S. presidential election will be decided by the issue of electric vehicles.
The TPPF take: Automakers can’t sell what consumers don’t want, and federal regulations are forcing them to produce more EVs than consumers will buy.
“The Biden administration’s stringent fuel economy standards and regulatory manipulations are driving American automakers toward bankruptcy and adding thousands of dollars to the cost of every gasoline vehicle,” says TPPF’s Brent Bennett. “Rolling back these subsidies and burdensome regulations would save consumers money and stop the auto industry from falling off a financial cliff.”