Pushing Public Private Partnerships To Build Housing Isn’t Helping

by Travis Mateer

The only way affordable housing can be built these days, apparently, is by using subsidies, and the preferred vehicle for delivering those subsidies is the ubiquitous PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP. Here’s a quote from Grant Kier, the guy pictured above staring at you like you’re on the menu for dinner. From the link (emphasis mine):

A number of properties owned by the City of Missoula could be redeveloped in a public-private partnership to help meet its goals around housing and commercial growth.

The city contracted the Missoula Economic Partnership last year to court potential developers who were capable of and interested in redeveloping the old library block downtown. While that process plays on, MEP plans to take a similar approach on other properties held by the city.

Will this approach work? No, it won’t, because subsidies are NOT indicators of a healthy economy, they are more like giant red flags warning consumers that markets are fucked and will continue to be fucked thanks to the predators of finance.

Locally, the mechanism of Tax Increment Financing is one of the subsidy guns our elected braintrust uses like a coke-sniffing gangster protecting a drug stash. If you don’t believe me, then check out this exclusive image of Ellen Buchanan preparing to deploy the next round of Tax Increment Financing:

If you’d like to know more about Tax Increment Financing, there’s a documentary you can watch about it called Engen’s Missoula, or you can check out this article from my partner in that documentary effort that made us so popular with local officials.

If you appreciate my local effort at producing uncompromising journalism then consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). I just received a donation of $50 dollars, which is very needed and appreciated as I adjust to my new house on wheels.

Thanks for reading!