RHINO is the Rental Housing Information Network in Ohio

Today in Ohio history

May 29, 1851Sojourner Truth delivers her famous Ain't I a Woman? speech at the Woman’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. Born into slavery in the state of New York, Soujouner Truth became a well known anti-slavery speaker. Her speech was delivered extemporanously at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio, in 1851, and did not originally have a title.

This week's rental housing news

RHINO's Six Steps Project is an effort to focus grassroots attention on looking beyond incremental change. 

2025? YES, that's how deep the housing policy stagnation has become as political forces have dashed hopes for real change in the wake of the 2008 and 2020 housing crises. 

Facing a divided Congress in the 2023-2024 session, transformative change is unlikely in the short term. However laying the foundations for transformative changes following the 2024 elections, can make a difference.

What just happened? Because Congress was unprepared for the Pandemic Recession of 2020, well-meaning solutions like eviction moratoriums, emergency rental assistance, child tax credits and american rescue plan among others) stopped the bleeding, but failed to change the system of bandaid tinkering with US Housing policy (ie. the five legged stool).

In fact, stimulus payments likely contributed to the housing affordability crisis that put stable housing out of reach for ordinary families. as the Pandemic recession morphed into the Pandemic Inflation. All hands were on deck, but rowing in opposite directions.

Three housing related recessions in just 12 years underscores the fact that the root of this recurring cycle is a broken housing policy strategy. Todd Rungren observes "The mysterious mad man with his hand on the lever/Don't seem to never ever want to let you off"

Episodes 1 and 2 are available for review. The series will continue shortly. Read more about the Six Steps project.