Properly Exposing Failures and Corruption in Affordable Housing and in Manufactured Home Industry-Start of Rooting Out Corrupt or Failed Practices; plus Sunday Weekly MHVille Headlines Recap
There are insiders, those who are near the insiders, and irregular rings that flow outward toward everyone else. The job of media as watchdog has been re-defined by some as a description of media as a source for accountability for governmental, organizational, or corporate power. Those in and near the insiders have little or no incentive to expose what has gone wrong. Indeed, the evidence-based case can be made that they view their job as giving cover for the insiders. Other terms for that are their job is to deflect or offer cover-ups.
There is an evidence-based case that has been made (see several of the headlines in review) that the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) has demonstrably failed the industry in the 21st century. Whatever good it may have been doing in the 20th century is a topic worth of discussion. But one need not look beyond the following statement on the MHI website on this Sunday morning and the image that follows to realize that accountability and purported corruption needs to be exposed and rooted out.
The Manufactured Housing Institute is the only national trade organization representing all segments of the factory-built housing industry. We are your trusted partner, advocate and industry leader.
How can MHI leaders say with a straight face that they are “Expanding Attainable Homeownership” or can help you “grow your business” when literally thousands of retailers and communities are now gone in the 21st century that used to exist in the late 20th century? Hundreds of factories have also closed. Who says? Among other sources, Kevin Clayton, a higher profile member at MHI to Congress in certified ‘truth in testimony’ prepared remarks on behalf of MHI.
Is it any wonder that MHI leaders have apparently kept this publication from gaining access to industry trade events in recent years? They welcome their ‘amen corner’ with open arms. But this publication and our related platforms are not allowed to attend, why? Because they apparently fear being asked questions in front of others that may poke a hole in one of their many hot air ballons.
MHProNews, sometimes in conjunction with the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR), and sometimes independent of them, has used press releases for several years to draw added attention to our (and/or their) published articles. That has had certain value. But also useful for drawing attention to these issues related to MHI and their ‘insiders’ have been periodic op-eds via mainstream media. Examples in 2024 include the following.
When will lawmakers and bureaucrats of either major party use existing laws and the free market to solve housing problems? — L. A. “Tony” Kovach https://t.co/NUGQmsQAW5
This writer for MHProNews has also presented at multiple FHFA Listening sessions. Perhaps one of the best 8-minute reads or presentations on why manufactured housing is underperforming during an affordable housing crisis is the statement made during a listening session, that hot-linked text is linked here.
While the jury is still out, beyond our own trade publications of MHProNews and MHLivingNews, perhaps the most effective means yet of amplifying these reports is our series on the Patch. While on some of those are on manufactured housing, that is intentional. Readers there are ‘getting hooked’ on insights and articles that include manufactured homes, a subject that frankly many would not otherwise be interested in.
We have had a general election. The President-elect, Donald J. Trump (R) and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance (OH-R) have both been in office before. They have a better sense of how the games are played in Washington D.C. They won more votes than Kamala Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz (MN-D). Trump-Vance (R) got any more electoral college votes than Harris-Walz (D). While the control of both houses of Congress is narrow, Republicans will apparently hold Congress when the new session begins. Restated, real changes may be coming.
In our articles here and on the Patch, we are providing evidence and fact-back analysis that MHI leaders are apparently unable to effectively dispute. How is that known? Because numerous opportunities over a period of years have been offered to those leaders, and they can’t, won’t, and don’t want to respond – likely because their responses will make them look even less effective, and apparently more inept/corrupt. MHI leaders, their own attorneys, and their designated spokesperson won’t address those issues. That isn’t necessarily evidence by itself. But in conjunction with scores of well documented reports mean that our evidence and arguments stand unchallenged. Then, there are outside reports. And that’s not to underscore what MHARR has done for decades to not only try to move the industry’s true growth agenda ahead, but also shed a light on the inside and outside roadblocks for growth that often involve MHI and their corporate insiders. Then there are the remarks by MHI’s own members, past and present.
In our headlines that follow for the week in review there are several that document and illustrate these points and others.
Team Trump and many in the “MAGA” movement know that government has often failed to deliver on its many promises. They also often know that it is corporate and related nonprofit interests that are working with government in apparently corrupt ways that benefit the few while harming the interests of the many. The 45th and future president knows what corruption and weaponized government looks like because he has encountered it firsthand.
Those are not guarantees that positive change is coming. But they are reasons to be encouraged. MHProNews‘ leaders believe that the kind of reports that follow could well become evidence that leaders will find useful as they seek to reform government.
Don’t miss today’s postscript.
With no further adieu here are the headlines for the week in review from 11.17 to 11.24. 2o24
Since the report linked below was published, there is indirect good news in this respect. “US President Joe Biden’s call for talks on nuclear arms control without preconditions is nothing but a deception, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said,” per TASS. Lavrov is also said to have stated that Biden’s allowing previously prohibited Ukrainian strikes inside Russia using U.S. supplied weapons was intended by Biden to disrupt Trump’s promised quick resolution to the nearly 3-year-old war. As a useful analogy, imagine if Cuba launched rockets into Florida. How long would the U.S. show restraint? The military-industrial-spy complex has apparently been calling the shots for Biden and Harris. Team Trump gets it, and millions of Americans do too. That is useful for MHVille pros. Why? Because by analogy, HUD, FHFA, DOE, and others in federal government have arguably been taking steps that benefit a few in manufactured housing while harming consumers and smaller businesses. It is entirely possible that the U.S., England and thus all of NATO could already be in a ‘hot war’ with Russia if Trump were not the President-elect.
Elon Musk is floating the idea that he will buy left-leaning MSNBC. Whatever he does on that or related media investments, Musk is already invested in prefab style factory-built housing. There is not much to keep Musk, other growth-minded billionaires, and more ethical multi-billion-dollar investment funds from learning about and jumping into affordable manufactured housing.
MSNBC is going up for sale.
Should I buy it?
I would like to fire Rachel Maddow (for fun) and then turn it into a channel that reports the top stories from X each day.
While MHI plays ‘hide and seek’ with most industry pros on what their actual views are vs. what their scantily stated views are, in an apparent bid to limit interest and thus competition in our industry, that concept may not be much longer for the American investment landscape.
It was a joke but an apparently serious one. See the report linked here. The truth is hiding in plain sight.
“Warren [Buffett] likes to say that there’s two kinds of competition that he doesn’t like, foreign and domestic.” So said Kevin Clayton.
It is entirely possible that things won’t change much under Trump-Vance. But it is also possible that sizable changes will occur in the months ahead. While MHI and their allied state-level nonprofits are telling each other their latest posturing remarks, there is a history that has been documented and recorded here on MHProNews. This platform may well be more valuable now than 5 years ago, for its evidentiary value alone. Given that Cavco has said that the lack of affordable housing is costing the U.S.A. 2 trillion dollars a year in lost GDP, should a major antitrust case be brought against MHI’s insiders, will some enterprising group of attorneys assert that Berkshire and other big investors in MHVille that have ‘throttled’ the industry for years has harmed America to the tune of $2 trillion annually?
There is an evidence-based case to be made that Cavco has ironically helped provide the ammo for antitrust pros to go after their firm and several others associated with the Manufactured Housing Institute. Their reasons to invest are also apparent proof of their own failures to successfully tap into the very opportunities that they illustrated with these factually supported claims. The base image above is from the Cavco Industries (CVCO) November 2023 Investor Relations ‘pitch deck’ or IR presentation. MHProNews periodically uses a satirical logo based on the MHI logo that proclaims: “Proud Member of Machiavellian Housing Institute” (i.e.: Manufactured Housing Institute or MHI) with its modified MHI tag line: “The National Association Serving Consolidators of the Manufactured Housing Industry.” Cavco Industries is indeed a “proud” MHI member. Call out boxes and arrows are added by MHProNews as part of this fact check and analysis. See detailed report and context here: https://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/q3-2024-cavco-industries-inc-earnings-call-illustrates-benjamin-franklin-gates-quote-if-theres-something-wrong-those-who-have-the-ability-to-take-action-have-the-responsibility-to-take-action/
Some of the best evidence against the MHI insider is could well come from current and past MHI members.
Several special reports are in the works. One has been pending (regrettably) for a month, due in part to the election and other pressing issues. Stay tuned for what’s ahead, because no other industry trade publication and related media are pressing the facts-evidence-analysis that is found on MHProNews, MHLivingNews and now on the Patch. Toss the essential insights from Washington, D.C. from MHARR into the mix and the most dynamic pro-growth insights in MHVille are found linked above. Everything else tends to be yawn, giving each other posturing awards, and the latest acquisition that is ironically evidence that MHI and their insiders are throttling the industry instead of helping it organically grow. Who says? Some of their own members. Stay tuned for more in the days ahead. ##
Our son has grown quite a bit since this 12.2019 photo. All on Capitol Hill were welcoming and interested in our manufactured housing industry related concerns. But Congressman Al Green’s office was tremendous in their hospitality. Our son’s hand is on a package that included the Constitution of the United States, bottled water, and other goodies.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and 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. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
