Among the remarks from attorney Fran Quigley below are the words: “the missing element in the U.S. housing crisis is not proven solutions. The missing element is the political will to act on them.” There are several elements in what follows from self-described socialist-minded attorney Quigley’s remarks that someone might disagree with, but that pull quote is arguably 100 percent true. It has clear implications for manufactured housing, which will be examined in Part III of this article. To tee up an understanding of Quigley and his thesis, the publication Sojourners says of the author and activist: “Fran Quigley directs the Health and Human Rights Clinic at Indiana University McKinney School of Law and is active in the Religion and Socialism working group of the Democratic Socialists of America.”

To further set the table for a solid understanding of attorney, law professor, and author Quigley, from the Indiana University website: “Professor Fran Quigley’s latest book, Religious Socialism: Faith in Action for a Better World, has been released by Orbis Books. The work examines the link between faith traditions and socialism and public good.

Many of the people in the book are Christian, which is the predominant faith in the United States, but Professor Quigley also includes other faith traditions who also advocate for socialism. “Socialism allows people of all major religions to fulfill their shared spiritual mandates to tangibly love and care for their sisters and brothers,” he writes in the book’s introduction. “In return, religion provides socialism with the antidote to the poison pill that has killed off generations of socialist political movements.” Advocates point to universal health care, progressive taxation, and comprehensive social services that assure safe housing and a minimum income common in other countries as positive outcomes of socialist influences.”

So at this point in time, Quigley embraces socialism – he doesn’t hide it.

Indiana University’s website also says of Quigley: “Professor Quigley is a 1987 graduate of IU McKinney, where he is a Clinical Professor of Law and teaches in the Health and Human Rights Clinic. Clinic students advocate for the rights of the poor, with a focus on individual and systemic barriers to accessing healthcare and the social determinants of health. He is the author of several academic journal articles on social justice and human rights, multiple mass media articles and columns, and five books including this most recent work. Prior to his work at the law school, he served as the first Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Julia Carson and as the executive director of ACLU of Indiana.  He edits the newsletter Faith in Healthcare and contributes to and helps edit the publications of the Religious Socialism working group of the Democratic Socialists of America.”

• Against that background, Part I of this report will be information from an email from Quigley to MHProNews. Note that sharing Quigley’s thoughts are NOT an endorsement of the man, his advocacy, or thoughts. Rather, it is to give readers an understanding of the man’s thought process in his own words.  It is the civil and fair-minded thing to do so that industry readers and others can grasp the strengths/weaknesses of Quigley based on an accurate reflection of his thinking.
• Part II will be excerpts from an article by Quigley in Commonweal and that article is linked herein.
• Part III is additional information with more MHProNews analysis and commentary.
• Part IV is our Daily Business News on MHProNews manufactured housing connected equities plus macro markets and time-saving insight generating left-right (CNN-Newsmax) headlines recap.

Part I – from email to MHProNews by Professor Quigley on 10.13.2023 is the following

“When It Comes to Housing, We Know What Works”

FRAN QUIGLEY | October 13, 2023

I have appreciated the opportunity to write for Commonweal several times over the years, including articles that excerpted my past books on service-sector union organizing, religious socialism, access to prescription medicines, and human rights in Haiti. (All the articles are linked here).

So I was grateful that Commonweal editors followed up the publication of my March article for them highlighting religious traditions’ shared call for social housing as a human right with a request: could I contribute a short piece that reviews what we know about successful responses to our housing crisis?

The resulting article is online now, titled “A Crisis With a Clear Solution,” and it is available to read (no paywall) here. Editors typically choose titles, but I like the title they chose here. I also like the subtitle, “When It Comes to Housing, We Know What Works.”

Because we do. As several of you pointed out in response to my recent post about the marvelous housing success in Vienna, the missing element in the U.S. housing crisis is not proven solutions. The missing element is the political will to act on them.

So I encourage you to reward the good folks at Commonweal with the clicks of checking out the article on their site. But here is the outline of the clear solutions summarized there, with links to posts and articles that go into more detail:

1. Fix our court processes so that evictions are far more rare and difficult to achieve.
2. Commit fully to the proven success of the Housing First approach.
3. Adopt rent control to stop price-gouging of tenants.
4. Commit to steps, including zoning reforms and targeted subsidies, that begin to reverse the multi-generation legacy of housing racism.
5. Remedy the imbalance created by over-subsidizing wealthy landlords and homeowners by ensuring every person eligible for federal housing subsidies receives them. The short-term path to this result is universal vouchers, the long-term response is a big expansion and improvement of public housing.

How do we get there? I invoked for Commonweal readers the same theme I have echoed in this newsletter and other venues: the inspiring, growing tenants’ movement fits history’s blueprint for how impactful social change comes about. Tenants organizing to demand their rights deserve our active support.

Spoiler alert: These same themes are the focus of my forthcoming book, tentatively titled Lessons From Eviction Court. More on that to come. As always, thank you for reading. ##

Part II – From Commonweal Magazine (MHProNews Editor’s Note: Merriam Webster says that commonweal means “the general welfare.”) by Quigley are the following pull quotes from “A [Housing] Crisis with a Clear Solution.” Ellipsis (…) represent items that are edited out, but the entire article can be seen at the link above and here.  The headline and subheading are those used by Commonweal. 

For many of us, our nation’s housing crisis is all too evident. If we live in a city, we can see proof that nearly 600,000 Americans experience homelessness every year. If we are among the 44 million households who rent, we don’t need to be told that rent prices have skyrocketed in recent years—including an almost 20 percent increase in 2021 alone.

For many of us, our nation’s housing crisis is all too evident. If we live in a city, we can see proof that nearly 600,000 Americans experience homelessness every year. If we are among the 44 million households who rent, we don’t need to be told that rent prices have skyrocketed in recent years—including an almost 20 percent increase in 2021 alone.

My students and I see the crisis up close in our Indiana law clinic. Each week, we represent tenants facing eviction. The courtrooms where we work are overflowing…eviction rates across the country are rising. The latest census reports show nearly eight million households are behind on their rent, which means they are on track to join our clients…

Twenty-five million people in the United States live in households paying more than half their income on rent, and that spells trouble, too. These families may be meeting all of their financial obligations now, but experience tells us that they may be one broken-down vehicle or unexpected child’s illness away from eviction court. Decades of research show that each eviction causes significant damage not just to a family’s finances, but also to their physical and mental health—particularly the health of the children in these displaced households.

When it comes to housing in the United States, it can be tempting to despair. But we shouldn’t, because we know how to end this crisis.

…Currently, these courts overwhelmingly favor the interests of landlords, who often use them as a quick, inexpensive tool to collect more money. There is nothing stopping us from raising the cost of eviction filings. Research from Princeton’s Eviction Lab shows that higher filing fees, even in low-income areas like Alabama, are associated with significantly lower eviction rates. Eviction rates are also low in cities where landlords are required to show “good cause” before putting tenants out and refusing to renew their leases.

We know from the experience of U.S. cities like Houston and Denver, as well as places like Finland, that a “Housing First” approach can effectively address homelessness. Prioritizing a safe, secure roof overhead as a human right, and then addressing other social-service needs, is the most humane way to support those struggling with chronic homelessness. And it works: reducing the number of people who are unhoused interrupts the common path from homelessness to arrest and incarceration.

We know that rent control works, too…Price regulation doesn’t just stop price gouging on behalf of greedy landlords. It protects renters from losing their homes when rent shocks occur…Rent control hardly condemns landlords to penury; usually such laws allow for regular rent increases that often exceed inflation, preserving the Supreme Court’s holding that landlords are entitled to a “fair return” on their investment…

We know that we can overcome gentrification and segregation. When racist housing covenants that segregated our communities were finally ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in 1948, many areas simply replaced them with zoning rules that limited neighborhoods to single-family homes with large lot sizes and parking restrictions. White neighborhoods found that these exclusionary zoning rules had the same effect as the racist rules they replaced: most people of color and nearly all low-income families were effectively barred from the communities. Sociologist Matthew Desmond calls exclusionary zoning “our politer, quieter means of promoting segregation,” and it is fully legal in most areas of the country.

But that can change, as proven by cities like Santa Fe, which adopted inclusionary zoning rules. Such rules blunt the forces of gentrification by ensuring that affordable housing can be built in areas where working-poor families, seniors, and others can access jobs, schools, health care, and public transportation. As with rent control, none of these pro-tenant regulations have slowed the development of new housing: New Jersey, in particular, has proved that housing construction can thrive and even boom in locations where both inclusionary zoning and rent control are the law.

For the millions of families whose incomes are too low to consistently afford market-rate housing, we know that public housing can be a reliable alternative…

For our clients and their families, housing costs are far and away the highest expense in their household. But other income supports like child tax credits, more robust food vouchers, and occasional stimulus checks can help keep these families housed. For evidence of their effectiveness, we need only look at the first years of the pandemic, when the expansion of benefits pushed U.S. poverty rates to the lowest they have been in recorded history—even in the midst of widespread joblessness and illness.

That is the good news. The bad news, as our clients can attest, is that these proven approaches are not the norm across the United States.

Our courts too often operate as collection and displacement factories for the benefit of corporate landlords. Homelessness is effectively criminalized in too many communities. Proposals to expand rent control and invest in public housing are derailed by advertising and lobbying blitzes funded by the private-equity firms making billions in profits on rental housing.

Well-funded NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) forces perpetuate generations of housing segregation by blocking the development of affordable housing in communities where it is desperately needed. Good-cause protection for renters was recently rebuffed in the New York legislature, which just four years ago had passed one of the country’s most ambitious pro-renter housing measures in decades.

…

History tells us that social change happens when movements are led by those who are most impacted. So it is exciting to see tenants pushing to the front of the line. The most prominent example is the People’s Action Homes Guarantee campaign, mobilizing tenants across the country under the “Rent Is Too Damn High” banner. They are demanding a tenants’ bill of rights that includes good-cause guarantees and federal action on rent control.

Alongside other housing activists, Homes Guarantee is employing tactics ranging from canvassing to occupying vacant buildings to pushing ballot initiatives. It has already notched some impressive victories. In the 2022 midterm elections, from Kansas City to Portland, Maine, to the entire state of Colorado, ballot measures to both mandate rent control and fund more affordable housing won, often by comfortable margins. … The National Low Income Housing Coalition conducts a “HOUSED” campaign to expand rental assistance to every eligible household and create a national housing-stabilization fund to provide emergency help. The HOUSED campaign is joined by Catholic Charities USA, the Union for Reform Judaism, and the national leadership of the Episcopal and Methodist churches.

After tenants traveled to the White House and Congress to press their demands, President Biden responded in January with a “Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights.” The Blueprint was short on tangible guarantees, but it did include a statement of federal commitment to protecting tenants and promised to evaluate expanded regulation. Organizers and tenants have returned to Washington and are going door-to-door in their communities, using Biden’s statement to continue applying pressure.

It should not be controversial to insist that housing is a human right. That right is not a reality here and now, either in the letter of the law or the daily experience of our clients and millions of others. But we know how to change that. Visionary tenants’ groups and their leaders are showing us the way. We need to make sure our elected officials listen. ##

Part III – Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary 

Healthy discussion and debate can be done live and in person. Debate and vigorous fisking or discussion can also be done in writing, as this article aims to accomplish.

Several of Quigley’s points are based on evidence, which he has thoughtfully linked. That doesn’t mean that every linked point is accurate.  The nature of paltering, intentional or perhaps coincidental, is that something true is mixed with something that isn’t true, or may be true but misleading. MHProNews has advocated for years that a grasp of the basic tactics and fallacies of logic are useful in spotting mistaken, misleading, or false reasoning. As programmers used to say: “Garbage In, Garbage Out” or as philosophers and thinkers would say, logical fallacies ought to be spotted and discounted.  First, let’s look at some useful points from Quigley.

• “When It Comes to Housing, We Know What Works.” Because we do.
• For many of us, our nation’s housing crisis is all too evident. If we live in a city, we can see proof that nearly 600,000 Americans experience homelessness every year. If we are among the 44 million households who rent, we don’t need to be told that rent prices have skyrocketed in recent years—including an almost 20 percent increase in 2021 alone.

Give Quigley and others like him their due. From an MHVille perspective, where is the industry’s analogous campaign? Aren’t there more than enough full-time professionals working for the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) that look at some of the same facts and claims that Quigley did, but then point to how a robust dose of inclusionary placement of HUD Code manufactured homes could steadily increase intergenerational wealth creation? MHI ought to coordinate a campaign that includes their state association affiliates. There should be a steady stream of op-eds, interviews, presentations and speaking engagements that are designed to inform the public about how modern manufactured homes are the most proven permenant housing solution for the affordable housing crisis.

Not unlike Quigley’s points are similar points raised by Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), an affiliate of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).  Quigley is partially correct, to this extent. “When It Comes to Housing, We Know What Works.” That said, note that Quigley, like OPB, entirely missed the piece of the puzzle that manufactured housing could swiftly and steadily be addressing in a cost-effective way.

OPB Probes Homelessness Causes, Possible Fixes – ‘Most Agree Blame Falls on Lack of Affordable Housing’ Pallets-Manufactured Home Takeaways, AI Insights, Analysis; plus MHVille Markets Update

Sometimes, our industry gets caught up in the notion – with a certain sense of pride – that manufactured homes are the most proven form of unsubsidized affordable housing. That’s arguably true, based on evidence that outsiders and insiders studying the industry have known for years. But there is no need for manufactured homes to be ONLY unsubsidized housing.

During the Obama-Biden Administration, MHLivingNews shared a proposal with public officials that a sufficient number of manufactured homes being produced could in a decade or so (plus/minus) end the need for most functions at HUD entirely, by actually accomplishing the stated mission of HUD. Per the HUD website: “HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD’s vision is to improve lives and strengthen communities to deliver on America’s dreams.” HUD is the primary federal regulatory of HUD Code manufactured homes. They don’t have to look beyond their own halls to find the office they claim to have recently ‘elevated,’ despite the fact that manufactured housing is demonstrably being thwarted by zoning exclusions. Don’t give lip service to manufactured homes by a head fake that moves the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs (OMHP) from one section of HUD to another. Look with a fresh set of eyes at what manufactured housing could actually do to alleviate the poverty and problems that Quigley, OPB, and others have pointed out.

MHProNews asked Quigley to respond to concerns about his thesis. Part of what was mentioned by MHProNews that:  “much of what you [Quigley] said is accurate, but you failed in that Common Dreams article to mention manufactured housing at all. Yet, you seem to be aware of some of the obviously negative issues in our industry.” Quigley previously slammed Frank Rolfe and those like him. Manufactured Home Living News (MHLivingNews) in a fact check and analysis noted that Quigley said: “Wall Street Is Holding a Gun to Mobile Home Residents’ Heads” said the following.

• “In mobile home parks around the country, millions of tenants and owners are being mercilessly exploited and regularly evicted, often by giant Wall Street firms like Blackstone.”
• “Frank Rolfe, whose two hundred fifty mobile home parks make him one of the top five owners in the industry, boasts, “We’re like a Waffle House where everyone is chained to the booths.” Rolfe and his partner also operate Mobile Home University, which crows about the benefits of holding a gun to the head of park residents: “The fact that tenants can’t afford the $5,000 it costs to move a mobile home keeps revenues stable and makes it easy to raise rents without losing any occupancy,” the law professor stated. That partner of Rolfe’s is Dave Reynolds. They reportedly get financial support from private equity firms, as facts, evidence, and related insights from the reports linked below highlighted.

Quigley knows about manufactured housing. He opted in Frustration and Hope to focus on the negative issues plaguing the industry. Quigley didn’t respond to the outreach and inquiry. The information provided herein from MHProNews at this point stands uncontested by Quigley. In the articles by Quigley above, he never used the words “manufactured home,” “manufactured housing,” “factory-built housing” “prefab” or even the dated and often errantly used terminology of “mobile home.”

According to MPA: “HUD will get $65.7 billion spending budget in 2022 omnibus bill.”  The Urban Institute said: “in 2020, state and local governments spent $59 billion on housing and community development.” While there may be some overlap, there may be over $125 billion. According to the Census Bureau, “as of March 2022, the national average cost of a single-wide manufactured home is $87,300.” According to Minnesota’s Manufactured Housing Working Group research (2020), “to construct a new single family manufactured home development including all neighborhood infrastructure costs, the typical price per unit is $150,000. In comparison, a high density apartment complex usually costs $250,000 per unit to construct.”

Using the data from Minnesota, consider the following math.  $125,000,000,000/150,000 =833,333.  In a decade, the amount of money being spent on affordable housing programs could create 8.333 million affordable manufactured homes installed on a developed lot. Cavco Industries said that 6 million affordable housing units are needed. While the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has been ‘all over the map’ on what that number is, they have often ranged from 5.5 million to some 8.3 million. Quigley cited the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) in his argument.  Per their annual report: “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, a new report released today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), finds a shortage of 7.2 million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low income (ELI) renter households, those with incomes at or below the poverty level or 30% of their area median income.”  So, based on those sources, that 8.3 million homes that current state or federal spending is already paying could over the course of a decade pay for all housing those sources say are needed.

Of course, that’s not how it would work in practice.  People currently dependent on local, state, or federal programs would have ongoing needs. A system is currently in place that rewards a limited number of landlords and housing providers. A formula would need to be developed, factories would have to gear up, developing would need to occur. But the point is that a system could be established that would eventually save taxpayers $125 billion annually. Most housing programs could eventually be largely phased out, save the need for HUD to regulate manufactured housing.  Over the course of a decade that would be $1.25 trillion dollars saved by providing affordable manufactured homes for those in need. Many of those could become homeowners, not just renters. Intergenerational wealth building could occur.

Where are the leaders at MHI in promoting solutions like that, with more necessary details fleshed out? Not to say that is the only way that such a vision of a future with millions of more manufactured homes could be deployed to solve the affordable housing crisis. But that is but one method, that an authentic use of manufactured housing advocacy might accomplish.

What That Outline Reveals

Quigley, it was noted above, knows about manufactured homes. He was contacted by MHProNews before his email quoted above. Yet, Quigley ignored manufactured housing completely in his ‘solutions.’ Quigley seems to be a committed leftist. He wants a Democratic Socialist future. Yet, as the OPB report and analysis revealed, the kinds of programs that Quigley is advocating have not solved the housing problem or homelessness crisis anywhere in the U.S.  Both California and the federal government are spending more money than before on housing programs. The result is that there is still more homelessness in California and nationally.

 

MHProNews introduced the industry to the Rev. Donald Tye Jr. Tye told MHProNews that for a time, he worked in social services programs. One day, it dawned on him that if the actually solved the problems that they claim to want to solve, their job(s) would be eliminated. Following that realization, Tye said he departed that work.  Tye is an advocate for affordable factory-built housing, which he said his own family benefited from.  Tye specifically advocated for an enforcement by HUD of the “enhanced preemption” provision of HUD Code manufactured homes. He also advocated for an end to derogatory terminology being used to describe manufactured homes.

Quigley is obviously an intelligent fellow. He has worked with his students to advocate for those facing eviction. The case can be made that several aspects of Quigley’s work and efforts have benefited specific individuals.

That said, Quigley’s pushing socialism and socialized housing as the solution for the affordable housing crisis is a form of historic fiction. Rent control doesn’t work as advertised, as pragmatic thinking people from the left and right have observed. It may be a useful band aid, a temporary fix, if it was treated as such.  That’s what manufactured home resident, homeowner, and volunteer advocate Robert “Bob” Van Cleef argued in favor of in the article posted below.

Quigley is appealing to an array of Christians and other religious groups, to push his vision of a socialist utopia on Americans. But Mayor Pro-Tem Ivory Mewborn, a person of prayer and faith that is an ordained minister, didn’t turn to socialism as the solution. Mewburn wanted to see a kind of public-private partnership emerge in what he called “Plant a Home” to turn vacant lots into locations for affordable manufactured homes.  But when Rev. Mewborn turned to MHI for help to make his vision begin for a black couple in North Carolina, MHI CEO Lesli Gooch gave him words of support, but reportedly no actually supportive effort.

In a recent deep dive using artificial intelligence and other sources, MHProNews exposed the apparent corruption at MHI apparently involving CEO Gooch. Gooch, MHI leaders, and outside attorneys used by MHI have thus far declined commenting on those allegations.

Quigley could turn his legal skills to pushing for an authentically proven solution that doesn’t require abolishing free enterprise (as socialism seeks to do). As the Hoover Institute stated: “The socialism of the twentieth century was primarily economic in orientation: it rejected capitalism and favored state control over the economy.” Investopedia said: “Capitalism promotes free market conditions, whereas socialism incorporates certain elements of centralized economic planning.” In an article on the Heritage Foundation website insightfully notes that: “The U.S. economic system today is neither free enterprise nor socialism. It is a hybrid of the two with a strong element of crony capitalism.”

That quoted point on Heritage by David Burton made an apt point. Burton is focused “on securities law, tax matters, financial privacy, regulatory and administrative law issues and entrepreneurship.” Heritage offered this summary of Burton’s thesis.

What is being offered by contemporary socialists are fairy tales, and we should not mistake them for the truth. These portrayals of socialism and their caricature of capitalism are inaccurate, vacuous, and utopian. Socialism takes from those who work, take risks, innovate, educate themselves, or save and gives to those who do not—or to those who have political power. A century ago, at the advent of the Russian Revolution, one could be a socialist and hope in good faith that socialism could achieve, or at least advance, its utopian aspirations. Now, socialism has a long record of dismal failure. In fact, it has been tried many dozens of times and failed each time.

1. scholar.harvard.edu 2. cambridge.org 3. newstatesman.com 4. journalofdemocracy.org 5. doi.org”

MHProNews asked Bing’s AI function the following and related question:

> “Until Western investments began to flow into Communist China, isn’t it true that China was largely impoverished?”

Learn more:

1. bbc.com 2. bbc.com 3. worldbank.org 4. borgenproject.org“

In a follow up with Bing’s AI Chat, MHProNews asked this: >> “Fascism has been described as corporatism. And corporatism has been described as a merger between state and government power, correct?”

 

Yes, that is correct. Corporatism is a political ideology that advocates for the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labor, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests ¹. It became one of the main tenets of fascism, and Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime in Italy advocated the total integration of divergent interests into the state for the common good ¹. Mussolini himself described fascism as corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power ².

I hope this helps!

Learn more:

1. en.wikipedia.org2. soapboxie.com3. britannica.com4. snopes.com“

In a follow up:  >> “Bing, you mentioned Mussolini in your reply. Wasn’t Mussolini a socialist?”

Yes, Mussolini was a socialist politician and journalist at the Avanti! newspaper before he became a fascist ¹². He was a member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) in 1912, but he was expelled from the PSI for advocating military intervention in World War I, in opposition to the party’s stance on neutrality ¹.

I hope this helps!

Learn more:

1. en.wikipedia.org2. encyclopedia.ushmm.org3. history.com4. econlib.org“

>> “There are and have been for some years corporations operating in Communist China, correct? Both domestic corporations and non-Chinese corporation, right?”

Yes, that is correct. China has been opening up to foreign investment since the late 1970s, and many foreign corporations have established operations in China ¹. In addition to foreign corporations, there are also many domestic corporations operating in China. However, it is important to note that the Chinese government has a significant role in the economy and often exerts control over corporations operating within its borders ¹.

I hope this helps!

Learn more:

1. theguardian.com2. nypost.com3. americanmilitarynews.com4. janes.com“

Much of that from Bing and their cited sources are quite true.  That said, this follow up: >> “Bing, if China has corporations and their authoritarian government also plays a role, isn’t it logical to observe that China fits the definition you provided before about fascism as the merger of corporate and government power?”

China’s economic system is often described as a form of state capitalism, where the government plays a significant role in the economy and often exerts control over corporations operating within its borders ¹. While there are similarities between corporatism and China’s economic system, it is important to note that corporatism is a political ideology that advocates for the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labor, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests ².

It is also important to note that fascism is a complex political ideology that cannot be reduced to a single characteristic. While the merger of corporate and government power is one of the defining features of fascism, it is not the only one ³.

I hope this helps!

Learn more:

1. commondreams.org2. en.wikipedia.org3. nationalreview.com4. opendemocracy.net5. washingtonpost.com“

Note that in response to this inquiry, Bing simply repeated the same response as above. >> “Pardon me, but while it is true that there is more than one defining characteristic of fascism as a merger of corporate and state power, that doesn’t negate the fact that modern Communist China could be aptly referred to as a possible example of fascism as the merger of state and corporate power, right?” Bing’s AI, as MHProNews has previously noted, as its limits and it has its programming bias.

So, the evidence-based point could be made that the rise of modern Chinese Communist power followed what Bing said “China has been opening up to foreign investment since the late 1970s, and many foreign corporations have established operations in China ¹.” Prior to that, communist ideology produced death, misery, a lack of freedom, and poverty.  As Bing framed it in its reply above: “It is estimated that more than 850 million people have been lifted out of poverty in China ². The World Bank reports that the number of people in China with incomes below $1.90 per day has fallen by close to 800 million over the past 40 years ³.”

That ‘success’ of China has not emerged due to socialism or communism. Rather, it emerged due in good measure to foreign investments. A form of crony capitalism emerged in China that lifted hundreds of millions of their people out of poverty. But China has retained its authoritarian government.

In a follow up:
>> “Since socialism and communism came to Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela, those nations have become poorer haven’t they?”

The economic systems of Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela have been described as socialist or communist, but it is important to note that each country has its own unique political and economic circumstances that have contributed to its current state ¹.

According to the World Bank, the GDP per capita of Cuba was $7,700 in 2019 ². North Korea’s GDP per capita was estimated to be $1,298 in 2019 ³. Venezuela’s GDP per capita was $3,374 in 2019 ⁴. These figures suggest that these countries have lower GDP per capita than many other countries in the world. However, it is important to note that GDP per capita is not the only measure of a country’s economic well-being. Other factors such as income inequality, access to healthcare and education, and quality of life also play a role ⁵.

It is also worth noting that the economic policies of these countries are not solely responsible for their current economic conditions. Other factors such as political instability, corruption, and international sanctions have also played a role .

I hope this helps!

Learn more:

1. investopedia.com2. theconversation.com3. aei.org4. danieljmitchell.wordpress.com5. hoover.org“

In a follow up the above:
>> “While it is true that international sanctions are a problem for North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela they trade with numbers of countries like China and Russia don’t they? So, can’t a case be made that corruption and political instability are a bigger factor than international sanctions when considering their lack of prosperity?”

 

It is true that North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela trade with countries like China and Russia ¹². However, it is important to note that international sanctions can have a significant impact on a country’s economy. Sanctions can limit a country’s ability to trade with other countries, access international financial markets, and acquire necessary goods and services ³.

In the case of North Korea, the country has been subject to a range of international sanctions since the 1950s . These sanctions have been imposed in response to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and human rights abuses . The sanctions have had a significant impact on North Korea’s economy, limiting its ability to trade with other countries and access international financial markets .

In the case of Cuba, the United States has maintained an economic embargo on the country since 1960 . The embargo has limited Cuba’s ability to trade with the United States and access international financial markets .

In the case of Venezuela, the United States has imposed a range of sanctions on the country in response to human rights abuses and political repression . These sanctions have targeted individuals and entities involved in these activities, as well as sectors of the economy such as oil and gas .

While corruption and political instability can also contribute to a country’s lack of prosperity, it is important to note that international sanctions can also play a significant role in limiting a country’s economic growth.

I hope this helps!

Learn more:

1. cfr.org2. nbcnews.com3. investopedia.com“

 

> “What is the estimated millions of Chinese, Russian, and other socialist-communist nations people that have died as a result of the policies of their own government?

 

 

According to a study by Rudolph J. Rummel, a political scientist at the University of Hawaii, governments murdered over 200 million people during the 20th century ¹. The study includes mass murders by the Nazi regime and its allies, by Communist regimes and their allies, and by other governments. The study indicates that Communist regimes were responsible for the most mass murders, with approximately 168,759,000 people murdered from 1900 to 1987 ¹.

It is important to note that these figures are estimates and that there is debate over the accuracy of these estimates. However, it is clear that many people have suffered as a result of oppressive government policies.

I hope this helps!

Learn more:

1. reason.com2. eagleobserver.com3. cato.org4. lidblog.com5. en.wikipedia.org“

MHProNews has tended to use the estimate of 100 million people dead as a result of what Rummel called deaths caused by socialist-communist government policies.  But as Bing said, millions – perhaps 168 million died or were murdered from 1900 to 1987.  For a thoughtful person like Quigley to ignore that history in his press for socialism is problematic at best, or foolish and seemingly blindly agenda driven.

Added Observations and Summing Up

Quigley could be used as a case study in how seemingly correct information can overlook facts and solutions that don’t fit their preferred narrative.  Nevertheless, Quigley has become widely known even among circles that would traditionally reject his thinking. Namely, Christians and other faith groups that are historically open to free enterprise.

Quigley is correct in noting that the solutions to affordable housing are known.  HUD’s own researchers, previously cited by MHLivingNews and MHProNews, have pointed out the role that governmental policies have played in causing the affordable housing shortage.  When Quigley points to public policies that have either failed or ‘succeeded,’ he himself pointed to: “Well-funded NIMBY (Not in My Backyard) forces perpetuate generations of housing segregation by blocking the development of affordable housing in communities where it is desperately needed.”  Some of those policies emerged during timeframes when politicians that shared some of Quigley’s views held sway.  Those “well-funded” NIMBY forces include conventional housing, per James A. “Jim” Schmitz research.  That noted, dive into Pamela Blumenthal and Regina Gray’s research remarks and related analysis linked below.

 

 

Corruption is an issue that Bing mentioned several times. Corruption is a real issue. It is foolish to ignore how it applies to manufactured housing.

 

Manufactured housing IS a proven solution to the affordable housing crisis.  There obviously needs to be an ‘all of the above’ kind of approach to solving the need for more affordable housing. In the U.S. and China, there are billionaires who are manipulating the system in their own favor.  That’s a form of cronyism or corruption.  A recent look at that through the lens of the Job Creators Networks Alfredo Ortiz is found linked below. 

 

Corruption is what Bing and others have cited as a problem in the American system is the merger of corporate and state power.

 

 

Is there apparent corruption in the manufactured home industry? Yes.

 

Class Action Case #1:23-cv-14565 Sailer et al v. Datacomp, Equity LifeStyle, Sun, RHP, Yes! Communities et al, MSJ Files 3rd Manufactured Home Communities Case, Others Set for Trial; plus MHMarkets

 

Can that corruption potentially be rooted out by a proper use of the legal and political systems? Perhaps, yes.

 

Litigation, Liability, Jobs, Trends, and Expected: NAHB, NAR, MHARR, MHI – ‘Homebuilder Sentiment Declining Rapidly After 1H23 Bounce’ ‘Historically Low Inventory;’ plus Sunday Weekly Headlines Review

 

But it won’t happen without effort. If MHI won’t do their jobs properly, who will step into the breach? The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) has periodically called for a new post-production trade group to be formed to supplant MHI that MHARR could work with. See that and more in the report linked below.

 

 

But Quigley has tapped into another theme that too many manufactured housing pros are arguably asleep at the switch on. That is the possibility that the faith community could be actively and consistently tapped as an ally for the rights of “we the people” to be able to buy manufactured homes and place them in neighborhoods that we are currently zoned out of all too often.  As MHProNews has previously noted, the faith community was a key in ending slavery in the U.S. The faith community was a key to women getting the vote. The faith community was a key to the minority civil rights and voting rights.  To leave the faith community out is a mistake. A well-placed source indicated to MHProNews that ROC USA tapped into the faith community at one point in developing their program. If they did, why not the rest of us?

There are potentially tens of millions of supporters from the faith community.  Ignoring them is an error that can and should be corrected. More on that in the days ahead. ##

 

Part IV – is our Daily Business News on MHProNews stock market recap which features our business-daily at-a-glance update of over 2 dozen manufactured housing industry stocks.

This segment of the Daily Business News on MHProNews is the recap of yesterday evening’s market report, so that investors can see at glance the type of topics may have influenced other investors. Thus, our format includes our signature left (CNN Business) and right (Newsmax) ‘market moving’ headlines.

The macro market move graphics below provide context and comparisons for those invested in or tracking manufactured housing connected equities. Meaning, you can see ‘at a glance’ how manufactured housing connected firms do compared to other segments of the broader equities market.

In minutes a day readers can get a good sense of significant or major events while keeping up with the trends that are impacting manufactured housing connected investing.

Reminder: several of the graphics on MHProNews can be opened into a larger size. For instance: click the image and follow the prompts in your browser or device to OPEN In a New Window. Then, in several browsers/devices you can click the image and increase the size. Use the ‘x out’ (close window) escape or back key to return.

 

Headlines from left-of-center CNN Business – from the evening of 10.12.2023

• Names and faces of Harvard students linked to an anti-Israel statement were plastered on mobile billboards and online sites
• The new Twitter X logo at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, California, US, on Saturday, July 29, 2023. Elon Musk has changed Twitter Inc.’s logo, replacing its signature blue bird with a stylized X as part of the billionaire’s vision of transforming the 17-year-old service into an everything app.
• EU launches probe into disinformation campaigns as X says ‘hundreds’ of Hamas-affiliated accounts removed
• The TikTok logo on a smartphone arranged in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Thursday, March 9, 2023.
• Federal judge rips into Montana’s statewide TikTok ban
• Adam Aron, chief executive officer of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., participates in a panel discussion during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Monday, Oct. 18, 2021.
• AMC CEO says he was the victim of an extortion plot
• An aerial view of homes in a housing development on September 08, 2023 in Santa Clarita, California.
• Mortgage rates continue to climb, hitting 7.57%
• Star witness in Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial takes stand for third day
• Harvard University stands in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 6, 2023.
• Harvard student groups issued an anti-Israel statement. CEOs want them blacklisted
• Marc Rowan, chief executive officer of Apollo Global Management Inc., during a Bloomberg Television interview at the Bank of America Global Investor Summit in Paris, France, on Thursday, March 9, 2023.
• Billionaire CEO demands UPenn leaders quit and donations halt over alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus
• A Chase bank branch in New York, US, on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.
• Why this earnings season could help stabilize the shaky market rally
• A woman uses the Microsoft Outlook application.
• Microsoft Outlook will soon write emails for you
• US consumer price inflation rose more than expected in September
• If you’re stuck in traffic this $100,000 Mercedes will drive for you
• Former Barclays CEO Jes Staley banned from UK banking for failing to disclose Epstein ties
• A winning ticket sold in California nabs a Powerball jackpot of more than $1.7 billion
• EU officials warn TikTok over Israel-Hamas disinformation
• Here’s what got more expensive — and cheaper — at the grocery store
• Negotiations suspended between Hollywood studios and actors’ union
• UAW expands strike, hitting Ford’s largest factory
• Russia brings back capital controls to shore up the ruble
• Why Tesla isn’t unionized
• India arrests Chinese smartphone executive in fraud probe
• Crime isn’t the full story: What else is affecting retailers in urban areas, in 4 charts
• How genAI is revolutionizing the field of economics

 

Note: to expand this image to a larger or full size, see the instructions
below the graphic below or click the image and follow the prompts.

 

Headlines from right-of-center Newsmax 10.12.2023

• US, Qatar Agree to Withhold $6 Billion From Iran
• The U.S. reportedly already has a “quiet understanding” with Qatar to hold the $6 billion in sanctioned Iranian oil money. [Full Story]
• Israel at War
• Senate Committee Requests DOD Iron Dome Batteries for Israel
• US, Qatar Agree to Keep Iran From $6 Billion
• Jon Voight: Israel, We Love You – This Evil Will Be Destroyed | video
• Ben Carson: US Should Be Worried After Hamas Attack | video
• Visual Evidence Exists for at Least 64 Hamas Hostages | video
• ADL Head Hits Corporations for Silence on Israel
• Syria Says Israeli Missiles Hit Damascus, Aleppo Airports
• AP: US Begins Massive Military Buildup in Mideast
• CEOs: Blacklist Harvard Students Who Signed Anti-Israel Letter
• McCaul: Egypt Warned Israel of Possible Hamas Attack
• CBS Claims Iran ‘Surprised’ by Attacks
• Israel Confirms 97 Being Held Hostage by Hamas
• Israeli Death Toll Reaches 1,300 in Hamas Attack: Report
• How Did Israeli Intelligence Services Miss Hamas Attack? |Platinum Article
• More Israel at War
• The Race for Speaker
• Scalise Blocked, Race to Open Soon
• Van Orden: Get on Board With Scalise to Help Israel | video
• Burchett: Scalise Short on Votes for Speaker | video
• Dan Meuser: Scalise Not Stepping Down Yet | video
• Meuser: Jordan to Back Scalise for Speaker | video
• 7 Republicans Blocking Speaker Scalise
• Burchett, Van Duyne: I Think We’ll Rally Around Scalise | video
• Cline: Another GOP Meet on Speaker Likely | video
• Mace to Vote for Jordan, Oppose Scalise
• Scalise Tries to Round Up Support to Become Speaker
• Scalise: Priority is Bipartisan Israel Resolution
• Malliotakis: Bring Home US Citizens From Israel
• Jackson: Biden Been Funding Hamas ‘for Years’ | video
• IDF Maj. Weiss: Antisemitic Reports ‘Distressing’ | video
• Dan Senor: Hamas, Palestinians ‘Pawns of Iran’ | video
• DeSantis: Pro-Hamas Rallies, Sickness in Society | video
• Ian Bremmer: Israel-West Solidarity ‘Unprecedented’ | video
• Lara Trump: Donald Trump Was Most Pro-Israel President | video
• Holt, Gaub: D.C. ‘Better Have the Backs’ of Military | video
• Massacre Survivors: Hamas ‘Broke All Hearts in Israel’ | video
• More Newsmax TV
• Newsfront
• Cruz-Led Bipartisan Group Wants Border Bridge Permits
• Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is leading a bipartisan, bicameral group in Congress urging President Joe Biden to approve permits for four U.S.-Mexico bridge projects to expand economic opportunities in the region…… [Full Story]
• Biden Emailed Family on Business 29,000 Times
• America First Legal has revealed from its Freedom of Information Act [Full Story]
• New Indictment Charges Sen. Menendez as Agent of Egypt
• Federal prosecutors in New York City have rewritten their indictment [Full Story]
• US Inflation Remains Stagnant at 3.7%
• Measures of U.S. inflation in September showed that the pace of price [Full Story]
• Trump Still Pushing to Delay Classified Docs Trial
• Former President Donald Trump issued a new call to delay his Florida [Full Story]
• Related
• Trump Tells DeSantis to Come Back to Florida |video
• Bank: ‘Sanity Checks’ on Trump Property Values
• DeSantis Prepares to Drop Millions on Iowa Ad Buy
• Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is preparing to drop $2 million on an [Full Story]
• Disney Hikes Theme Park Tickets 10% Amid Slump
• Walt Disney Co. raised ticket prices as much as 10% for its [Full Story]
• Novo Nordisk: Online Ozempic, Wegovy Fakes Rising
• Novo Nordisk warned on Thursday of a surge in counterfeit versions of [Full Story]
• Zelenskyy: ‘Holding Ground’ in Eastern Town of Avdiivka
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday Ukrainian troops were [Full Story]
• Related
• Report: US Wants Frozen Russian Funds to Aid Ukraine
• Axios: Zelenskyy Requests Israel Visit to Show Solidarity
• US Announces $200M Ukraine Arms Deal
• McConnell, Cotton Bill Freezes Iran’s $6B Immediately
• Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, [Full Story]
• AP: US Begins Massive Military Buildup in Mideast
• Within hours of the horrific attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving [Full Story]
• Anti-Israel Rhetoric Surges on Campuses After Hamas Attack
• Antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents on college campuses have surged [Full Story] | Platinum Article
• Iran President, Saudi Crown Prince Speak for First Time Since Ties Restored
• Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin [Full Story]
• Related
• Erdogan, UAE Leader Discuss Israel-Palestine Tensions
• Arnold Schwarzenegger: Democrats Are About ‘Ruining Cities’
• Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken aim at Democrats, telling Rob Lowe [Full Story]
• How Did Israeli Intelligence Services Miss Hamas Attack?
• One of the most perplexing questions that has emerged in the [Full Story] | Platinum Article
• Scalise Blocked, Race to Open Soon
• House Majority Leader Steve Scalise will not secure the 217 votes [Full Story]
• Hollywood Actors End Studio Talks, Citing ‘Bullying’
• Negotiations between Hollywood studios and the SAG-AFTRA actors’ [Full Story]
• Putin Makes First Trip Since International Arrest Warrant
• Vladimir Putin traveled to Kyrgyzstan Thursday on his first foreign [Full Story]
• Over 7 Million in US Have Gotten Updated COVID Shots
• More than 7 million Americans had rolled up their sleeves for the [Full Story]
• Blinken Assures Netanyahu: US Not Going Anywhere
• S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday reassured Israeli [Full Story]
• Surprise UAW Strike at Ford Raises Stakes for Detroit 3
• The United Auto Workers (UAW) snap strike late Wednesday at Ford’s [Full Story]
• AP-NORC Poll: Americans Support Strikers Over Detroit
• A majority of Americans support higher pay for auto workers who are [Full Story]
• Judge Texts During Trial; Faces Removal
• Oklahoma is taking the first steps to remove Traci Soderstrom, a [Full Story]
• Wall Street Advances as Bond Yields Fall
• \Wall Street’s major indexes closed higher after Wednesday’s choppy [Full Story]
• Michigan Poll: Trump Leads Biden by 7 in Key State
• Former President Donald Trump is holding a lead well outside the [Full Story]
• Scalise: Priority Is Bipartisan Israel Resolution
• House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., on Wednesday told [Full Story]
• CNN Nevada Poll: Trump Leads by 52
• Former President Donald Trump is 52 points ahead of his closest rival [Full Story]
• Turkey’s Erdogan: Israel Hamas Response a ‘Massacre’
• Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Israel’s [Full Story]
• Zelenskyy to NATO: Need More in ‘Battle Against Terror’
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the NATO military [Full Story]
• Trump: Biden Must ‘Take Back’ $6B From Iran
• After Hamas’ terror attack on Israel, former President Donald Trump [Full Story]
• NASA Will Unveil Newly Returned Asteroid Sample
• NASA was set Wednesday to provide a first peek for the public at what [Full Story]
• Disney Jacks Up Prices 10% Amid Slump
• Walt Disney Co. raised ticket prices as much as 10% for its Disneyland resort in California and Walt Disney World in Florida, weeks after the entertainment giant unveiled a $60 billion spending plan for its parks business over the next decade…. [Full Story]
• 4 IRA Mistakes That Could Destroy Your Savings
• Housing Remains a Puzzle in Fed’s Inflation Fight
• Ackman Doubles Down on Blacklisting Harvard Students
• IRS: Gap Between Taxes Owed & Paid to Keep Growing
• More Finance
• Health
• Eye Scan That Uses AI Could Spot Early Alzheimer’s
• Scientists in Toronto have harnessed the power of AI to unlock the secrets of Alzheimer’s disease. It may soon be possible, through a simple eye exam, to detect this mind-robbing illness 20 years before symptoms develop. Alzheimer’s disease affects more than seven million…… [Full Story]
• Research Yields New Atlas of Human Brain Cells
• Fatty Liver Disease Surging Among Children
• Lilly Drug Effective Against Crohn’s Disease in Trial
• Psychedelic Drugs May Help Control OCD

Note: to expand this image to a larger or full size, see the instructions
below the graphic below or click the image and follow the prompts.

 

• • • NOTE 1: Chart above of manufactured housing connected equities includes the Canadian stock, ECN, which purchased Triad Financial Services, a manufactured home industry finance lender.
    • NOTE 2: Drew changed its name and trading symbol at the end of 2016 to Lippert (LCII).
    • NOTE 3: Deer Valley was largely taken private, say company insiders in a message to MHProNews on 12.15.2020, but there are still some outstanding shares of the stock from the days when it was a publicly traded firm.  Thus, there is still periodic activity on DVLY.
    • Note 4: some recent or related reports to the REITs, stocks, and other equities named above follow in the reports linked below.

2023 …Berkshire Hathaway is the parent company to Clayton Homes, 21^st Mortgage, Vanderbilt Mortgage and other factory-built housing industry suppliers.
· LCI Industries, Patrick, UFPI, and LP each are suppliers to the manufactured housing industry, among others.
· AMG, CG, and TAVFX have investments in manufactured housing related businesses. For insights from third-parties and clients about our publisher, click here.

 

2022 was a tough year for many stocks. Unfortunately, that pattern held true for manufactured home industry (MHVille) connected stocks too. See the facts, linked above.

====================================

Disclosure. MHProNews holds no positions in the stocks in this report.

· For expert manufactured housing business development or other professional services, click here.
· To sign up in seconds for our industry leading emailed headline news updates, click here.

• Note 1: MHVille means manufactured housing industry, MHVille also means artificially smaller manufactured housing (MH) industry,
• Note 2: Manufactured housing, building, factories, retail, dealers, manufactured home, communities, passive mobile home park investing, suppliers, brokers, finance, financial services, macro-markets, manufactured housing stocks, Manufactured Home Communities Real Estate Investment Trusts, MHC REITs.

That’s a wrap on this installment of “News Through the Lens of Manufactured Homes and Factory-Built Housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, stock, investing, data, metrics, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)

By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship along with numerous awards in history. There have been several awards, honors and numerous public recognitions for his achievements in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. Kovach is a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com, which is ranked as the runaway most read trade media in modern manufactured housing history. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s editorial views and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.