As Housing bills designed to chisel away at local decision making continue to and through their 2nd chamber of the legislature, my thoughts have returned to the skilled salesman’s mantra. Know your customer. Housing bill madness is a product presented as a solution to an imaginary crisis that’s been sold to its supporters, who range from merely duped legislators unconditionally voting the way leadership tells them, all the way to full-blown zealots. The salesmen are the builders, developers, politicians, freeloaders, and everyone who stands to be enriched, reelected, or benefited in other ways. Their henchmen are the lobbyists and propaganda pushers, but let’s get to “know the customers” that have already been sold to.
I recognize three groups to which the sale was made through a customized campaign.
Group One is the Dems. This group wants a free or subsidized place to live, either for themselves or for someone else. Politicians and their supporters in this group embrace redistributionism no matter who the theft victim happens to be. Legislators in blue districts know they will keep getting reelected on their serial lies and promises, results be damned. The mentally ill voters keep repeating the same behavior. This group cannot be reasoned with because they will always want something for nothing unless you can convince them that the “somebody else paying for it” happens to be them.
Group Two consists of the Uniparty Rs, their puppet masters, and the people who stand to be enriched. Its members can be one or more of its three subsets. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than changing their minds.
Group Three is a combination of some anarchists, Free Staters, libertarians (with or without the capital L), and anyone who thinks they’re promoting liberty by abolishing zoning. This group is the most intoxicated by the Kool-Aid because they firmly believe they are on the liberty side of the issue and that their critics are anti-liberty. Anarchy might be the end game for some of them, but many of Group Three’s members are good people who are otherwise agreeable outside of this issue. This group is as good as brainwashed because they refuse to examine the whole forest after getting bent on staring at just one tree. It’s also worth noting that many in this group are also part of Group Two.
If your rep happens to be a housing bill madness zealot, it’s a good idea to have polite in-person conversations, inquiring about any personal interest in any of the bills. There’s nothing out of line with respectfully asking your rep or senator if s/he owns any land that s/he wants to sell or develop, and what opportunities will be created by the success of one or more of the bills. Another question worth asking is about ties to builders and developers that might not have a tangible money trail. Think of Ferris Bueller’s classmate, Simone, telling their homeroom teacher how sick Ferris was and how she knew about it.
There was an incident at the state house in the summer of 2023 that might present some perspective. One member of the legislature vented to me about a member “on the other side of the wall” having an age-inappropriate tantrum over a very contentious bill. The complainant and the complainee are both Rs and still in office today. I took the time to hear both of them out, but what I found troubling was that the complainant accused the complainee of being on the take. I was in disbelief, and I still support the “innocent until proven guilty” mindset, but it’s always a good idea to pay attention to details, who said what, and what is NOT being said. The complainant’s case appeared to rest on the complainee having a meltdown over “the big payday” being thwarted by an amendment. It was Nurse Terese who convinced me to give the complainant a fair hearing(meaning answer the phone call), so I did, and we talked for a long time.
While the jury in my mind is still out on that matter, it brings me to this current housing bill madness issue. I suggest that everyone pay close attention to the members of the legislature who make the loudest noise and resort to aggressive or defensive behavior that ranges from a simple icy cold shoulder to vicious attacks from the keyboard. Why is the vicious assailant in such rare form? Could it be that this person’s “big payday” is being threatened? It’s something to think about, but I will admit to having my own personal fantasies of acting out my anger against people that have railed against HB 649 at the mic, so I get it that anger is very real and a sticker on my car is small potatoes compared to potential real estate deals worth a fortune.
If you assume the role of a salesperson with the REJECTION OF Housing Kool-Aid being the product, know your customer. Your customer could be a legislator or a fellow voter. Learn more about why the person you’re having a (hopefully polite)conversation with supports the tenets of this housing bill cult. Once you can avoid wasting time on selling ice cubes to Eskimos, you can have more meaningful and (again, hopefully) productive discussions.
Authors’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, or advertisers.
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