Unfair and Unaffordable Housing: Chronicle of a Defeat Foretold

Abstract

The huge case-law on the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 well explains why the Biden-Harris administration placed equity front and center of the federal housing policy. Despite the enormous and unprecedented financial effort during Covid-19 pandemic, and notwithstanding important results achieved for example in avoiding mass evictions, the Biden-Harris administration has missed its declared goal of making housing globally fair and affordable, as witnessed by the inequality index according to the Gini coefficient (the index measures the statistical dispersion intended to represent income, wealth and consumption inequality). The essay focuses on the different approaches of candidates Trump and Harris to housing and welfare policies, regulation in the housing markets, public spending and inflation, and federalism in housing regulation and zoning. Everything suggests the probable defeat of Mrs. Kamala Harris.

Keywords: Fair Housing and housing affordability; Federal policies and local regulations; Equity; Disparate impact; Municipal zoning; Stimulus package and inflation.