Join us in empowering entrepreneurs to build the housing Americans need.

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[link removed] day we see it. And every day, it gets worse. However, as dire as homelessness seems, all is not lost. You can play an integral part in changing the tide in 2020.

This past year, the blight of homelessness spread to areas never before seen. San Francisco, for example, has experienced an astonishing 30 percent increase in its homelessness population—making national headlines.

Especially in the midst of plenty, it grieves me to see so many spending the holidays without a roof over their head, and mired in despair.

Homelessness is a multifaceted issue, to be sure, but the amount of housing regulations is a significant culprit, especially for families.

In California, for example, regulations alone comprise a third of the cost to build. Once defined by its pioneering spirit, the Golden State’s immense entrepreneurial potential in construction is being bogged down by invasive bureaucracy. This is the case in most other parts of the country as well.

Remember: in urban areas such as San Francisco, there once was an array of very low-cost, private housing options for the poor—nearly all eliminated by “urban renewal,” or outlawed by regulations.

Costly regulation is leaving many little choice but to live in public spaces—a scene that is all too familiar.
Even more ominously, homeownership is increasingly out of reach for young people and even the middle classes.

Studies have shown that homeownership significantly supports the well-being of one's children, increased graduation rates being one example. Homes also represent the largest store of equity for most Americans. Therefore, the devastating decrease in homeownership across income levels bodes ill for the future of our society.

Regulations are undermining the very fabric of the American dream of homeownership.

Fortunately, the Independent Institute has solutions to reinvigorate the power of private entrepreneurship.

If only set free, entrepreneurs can dramatically alleviate our current housing shortage.

I should know. My father, Willard Garvey ([link removed]) , built large numbers of extremely low-cost “starter” homes for GIs returning from World War II, as well as for low-income families in Mexico, Peru, India, and Thailand—at affordable, market rates opening homeownership to vast numbers who had never dreamed it possible.

In 2020, Independent will be pursuing several projects to present free-market solutions to housing and homelessness. You have the opportunity to be on the ground floor of something big.

[link removed] work starts with the release of our latest California Golden Fleece® Award ([link removed]) .

As you may know, the Fleece Awards are our state government transparency project, which both spotlights wasteful government taxes, regulations, fraud, and spending projects and, importantly, offers solutions rooted in private entrepreneurship and enterprise.

Our upcoming Fleece, set for release in January, exposes the devastating cost of regulations and provides both bold and actionable steps to free entrepreneurs from these undue and arbitrary burdens. Once free, entrepreneurs can address the issues of homelessness and the housing shortage.

Having been consistently featured across mainstream media, including USA Today, Los Angeles Daily News, San Francisco Chronicle, and San Jose Mercury News, the Fleece Awards are reaching a mainstream audience with free-market policy and private, community-based solutions.

Building upon this success, we expect our new Fleece Award to be among our most impactful yet.

We, however, need your help to ensure that our findings and solutions reach the broadest possible audience. Therefore, I ask: what can you give to empower us to share our findings through op-ed placements, media interviews, and events?
Empower Entrepreneurs: Donate Today! ([link removed])
Our supporters have already shown incredible generosity during this giving season. But with continued support, you make sure that the innovative solutions within our Fleece Award, and related projects, reach key lawmakers, opinion-leaders, and a wide-swath of our citizenry.

Together, we can bring about the necessary change to empower entrepreneurs and alleviate homelessness and the housing shortage in 2020.

If you would like to learn more about our projects related to housing and homelessness, or how you might get further involved in this work, please, send me a note. I would love to connect with you.
With best wishes for a joyous holiday season and New Year,
Mary L.G. Theroux
Senior Vice President
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Independent Institute
www.independent.org ([link removed])
The Power of Independent Thinking
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