My View: Why Arizona Politicians Need to Step Up to Fix Housing Affordability

Article originally posted on Phoenix Business Journal on May 12, 2023

I recently visited the offices of the Arizona State Land Department on West Adams in Phoenix, just two blocks east of the Arizona Capitol. This neighborhood has become the settlement area of a major portion of Arizona’s homeless population. Lining most of the cross-streets in the area are countless tents housing individuals and families alike, serving as their primary shelter in the winter or our sweltering summer. They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and there is certainly a great deal of treasure surrounding these tents.

Any feeling human has to be distressed by the sight of these poor souls forced to live on the streets. I, for one, feel both sad and angry at the sight. As a former builder of new homes I feel a certain passion about housing. Having in my career built thousands of new homes, I have always believed that a decent place to live is a fundamental human right. As a result, I have been a lifelong advocate for the housing industry knowing firsthand just how hard it is to suffer the process of taking a raw piece of land and putting homes on that land.

The famous comedian George Carlin once did a bit on the subject of homelessness and said that the use of the term “homeless” is incorrect as a “home” is an esoteric thing. He said, what they are is “houseless.” What he said is we need more “houses” and he was right.

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