Property Rights Victory
What to know: The Austin City Council voted to reduce the minimum lot size for a single-family home from allows property owners to build a home from 5,750 square feet to 1,800 square feet of land.
The TPPF take: This is smart policy for addressing the housing affordability crisis.
“Burdensome local zoning regulations mandating larger minimum lot sizes prevent property owners from properly responding to demands of the current housing market,” says TPPF’s John Bonura. “Reducing minimum lot size requirements will help improve housing affordability as a function of supply and demand.”
For more on housing affordability, click here.
Blocking DEI
What to know: Former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith expressed disappointment in his alma mater, the University of Florida, for eliminating DEI positions.
The TPPF take: Racially divisive DEI programming is poisoning students’ minds, and states like Florida and Texas are right to put a stop to it.
“DEI has destroyed serious thinking among many students and faculty on Texas campuses,” says TPPF Senior Fellow Sherry Sylvester. “Because DEI dictates that individualism is racist, they believe racial and gender identity is what defines them.”
For more on DEI, click here.
Out of Gas
What to know: The Department of Energy announced plans to begin refilling the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is down to early 1980s levels.
The TPPF take: A gallon of gas used to cost $2.38, on average, when President Biden took office. Draining the SPR was a politically motivated band-aid solution to keep prices from getting even worse.
“President Biden is in a pickle without as much SPR supply to tap to lower rising oil prices,” says Life:Powered Senior Fellow Jason Isaac. “Coupled with the Biden administration’s anti-American oil and natural gas policies and a lack of appreciation for the economic threat of dependence on China, it demonstrates the ignorance of this administration on how energy actually works.”
For more on gas prices, click here.