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Connecting today’s news with the research & opinion you need.

It's Not About The Environment

What to Know: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff says the Green New Deal was never about the climate.

As Washington Post magazine reports, “[Chief of Staff Saikat] Chakrabarti had an unexpected disclosure. ‘The interesting thing about the Green New Deal,’ he said, ‘is it wasn’t originally a climate thing at all.’ Ricketts greeted this startling notion with an attentive poker face. ‘Do you guys think of it as a climate thing?’ Chakrabarti continued. ‘Because we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing.’”

The TPPF Take: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s staff has confirmed what we knew all along: that the Green New Deal isn’t really about the environment.

“Its high cost and restrictive regulations could actually make the environment worse by forcing manufacturing jobs overseas to high-polluting countries who don’t share our commitment to environmental quality,” says TPPF’s Jason Isaac. “The Green New Deal boils down to one question: Do you really want the government telling you where to live, what kind of car to drive, and what job to take?”

Unlawful

What to Know: A group of businesses will try to get San Antonio’s unlawful mandatory paid sick leave ordinance blocked.

“A group of local staffing agencies and associations representing restaurants and builders is threatening legal action to block an Aug. 1 deadline for employer compliance with the City’s paid sick leave ordinance,” the Rivard Report explains. “A letter from attorney Ricardo Cedillo of Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza sent Thursday to City Attorney Andrew Segovia states that Cedillo is representing the interests of San Antonio businesses and associations in opposing the paid sick leave ordinance and that he is prepared to pursue injunctive relief in court.”

The TPPF Take: The Texas Public Policy Foundation sued the city of Austin over its mandatory paid sick leave ordinance—and won.

“Employees deserve the right to negotiate the benefits that work best for them without the imposition of a one-size-fits-all mandate from the city that may not be in anyone’s best interests,” says TPPF’s Rob Henneke.“ And because mandatory paid sick leave requires a higher level of compensation than Texas state law allows, a Texas appellate court has already held a similar ordinance unconstitutional under the Texas Constitution. San Antonio’s ordinance will eventually be defeated in court, and San Antonio should delay the effective date of its ordinance until the Texas Supreme Court has spoken.”

Oh, That Will Fix it

What to Know: Writing in the New York Times, Lizabeth Cohen says only the federal government can fix the affordable housing crisis in our nation’s cities.

“In recent months America’s affordable housing crisis, a long-simmering issue for people of low and moderate incomes, has burst onto the front page,” she writes. “Rents are rising much faster than income, while the median home price in some 200 cities is $1 million. After a decade of decline, the number of homeless Americans is ticking back up. The private market is clearly failing. Although many city and state governments are motivated to take action, they have limited tools at their disposal, and few of them equal to the task. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, at least under its current leadership, is hardly stepping up.”

The TPPF Take: No, the federal government can’t solve the housing affordability crisis.

“High housing prices have their roots in big government,” said TPPF’s James Quintero. “For many, the dream of homeownership has drifted out of reach thanks to soaring taxes, excessive regulations, and restrictive land-use policies. If Americans are ever to solve the affordability crises raging throughout the nation, then we must get government off our backs and out of the way.”