What we’re reading (10/24)
“Rishi Sunak Calls For Stability And Unity As He Wins Contest To Be PM” (BBC News). “He won the Tory leadership contest after rival Penny Mordaunt failed to secure enough backing from MPs. In his first speech, Mr Sunak said bringing his party and the UK together would be his ‘utmost priority’. Mr Sunak will become the UK's first British Asian prime minister and the youngest for more than 200 years. Mr Sunak - a 42-year-old practising Hindu - is expected to take office on Tuesday after being formally appointed by the King.”
“The Housing Market Decline Is Not A ‘Bubble 2.0’ Due To A Key Difference From The Last Crash, Says Glenmede” (Insider). “The difference between now and the previous housing crisis, the firm noted, is that current conditions are being shaped in large part by underinvestment as opposed to irresponsible lending. The National Association of Realtors has sounded off on this as well, stating last year that decades of underbuilding in the US has helped drive a massive affordability crisis in housing. “
“Builders Say They’re Ready For This Housing Slowdown. ‘I’ve Learned My Lesson.’” (Wall Street Journal). “Mr. McCormick said his new company has less debt and fewer lenders than his former company did heading into the 2007-09 recession, and has grown more slowly and bought less land. ‘I’ve learned my lesson,’ he said. Still, he said, ‘I’ve never seen it change this fast,” referring to the rapid decline in sales.’”
“The Way Los Angeles Is Trying To Solve Homelessness Is ‘Absolutely Insane’” (New York Times). “Six years later, neither the mandate nor the money has proved to be nearly enough. In 2016, Los Angeles had about 28,000 homeless residents, of whom around 21,000 were unsheltered (that is, living on the street). The current count is closer to 42,000 homeless residents, with 28,000 unsheltered. Prop HHH has built units, but slowly, and at eye-popping cost. The city says that 3,357 units have been built, and the most recent audit found the average cost was $596,846 for units under construction — more than the median sale price for a home in Denver. Some units under construction have cost more than $700,000 to build.”
“When Karl Marx Made The Case For Capitalism” (Reason). “In November 1864, Karl Marx wrote a letter congratulating President Abraham Lincoln on his reelection to the White House. ‘From the commencement of the titanic American strife the workingmen of England felt instinctively that the star-spangled banner carried the destiny of their class,’ Marx declared. He was therefore thrilled by the news that Lincoln would continue ‘to lead his country through the matchless struggle for the rescue of an enchained race and the reconstruction of a social world.’”
