Writer. Thinker. Advocate. @southwestpolicy https://nitter.gq/t.co/ESUPIml3sW https://nitter.gq/t.co/WVtX1xxpnG
Joined February 2021
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Eight Maine towns voted this week to cap or freeze mobile home lot rents, most tying increases to a share of inflation, the Press Herald reports. A cap holds rent on lots that already exist. It adds none, and it makes the next park harder to finance. pressherald.com/2026/11/07/m…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
Public pensions and university endowments routinely put 20 to 30 percent of their portfolios in private markets. Most 401(k) savers get public stocks, bonds and target-date funds, because sponsors fear the lawsuit. From February, still true: southwestpolicy.com/national…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
jane kim, who declared victory in california's insurance commissioner race, said she doesn't "buy the narrative" that raising rates is the only way to keep insurers there. a price insurers can't charge is a policy they won't write. calmatters.org/politics/2026…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
From February: lenders pull all three credit reports because credit data is scattered. Research cited in Newsmax found dropping one can move a score as much as 45 points. A cheaper check that misprices the loan is "a talking point with a delayed bill." southwestpolicy.com/weakenin…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
Massachusetts's new rule on shared appreciation mortgages for owners 90+ days behind sets no cap. It requires the maximum payment in dollars and the effective rate up front. NCLC wants caps. Disclosure lets a borrower decide; a cap can mean no deal. housingwire.com/articles/mas…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
Bellingham voters are approving a ban on rent-pricing software by a wide margin, My Bellingham Now reports. It won't add one apartment. Landlords agreeing on rents was already illegal under antitrust law. What lowers rents is more homes. mybellinghamnow.com/news/297…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
From February, still true: a Federal Reserve study found card rewards redistribute wealth, "but not along income lines." The transfer runs from less savvy cardholders to savvier ones. Cutting the swipe fees that pay for rewards shrinks them for both. southwestpolicy.com/the-wash…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
the labor department's final 401(k) rule went to the white house thursday: a process-based safe harbor for choosing plan investments, alternatives included. judge fiduciaries on how they decided, not on hindsight in a complaint. 401kspecialistmag.com/dols-f…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
Card networks don't split out the sales tax or the tip when they approve a purchase. That's why Illinois's ban on swipe fees for those portions works like a ban on the whole fee. Lawmakers voted to push its start to July 1, 2027. From May: southwestpolicy.com/dc-journ…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
A 50-year mortgage on a $400,000 home at 6% cuts the monthly payment only 12%, from $2,398 to $2,105. Total interest: $863,000 vs. $463,000.
@patrickmbrenner in Nov. 2025: policymakers "should target the price of housing, not the duration of debt."
southwestpolicy.com/the-case…
Public pensions and university endowments routinely put 20 to 30 percent of their portfolios in private markets. Most 401(k) savers get public stocks, bonds and target-date funds, because sponsors fear the lawsuit. From February, still true: southwestpolicy.com/national…
jane kim, who declared victory in california's insurance commissioner race, said she doesn't "buy the narrative" that raising rates is the only way to keep insurers there. a price insurers can't charge is a policy they won't write. calmatters.org/politics/2026…
From February: lenders pull all three credit reports because credit data is scattered. Research cited in Newsmax found dropping one can move a score as much as 45 points. A cheaper check that misprices the loan is "a talking point with a delayed bill." southwestpolicy.com/weakenin…
Massachusetts's new rule on shared appreciation mortgages for owners 90+ days behind sets no cap. It requires the maximum payment in dollars and the effective rate up front. NCLC wants caps. Disclosure lets a borrower decide; a cap can mean no deal. housingwire.com/articles/mas…
Bellingham voters are approving a ban on rent-pricing software by a wide margin, My Bellingham Now reports. It won't add one apartment. Landlords agreeing on rents was already illegal under antitrust law. What lowers rents is more homes. mybellinghamnow.com/news/297…
From February, still true: a Federal Reserve study found card rewards redistribute wealth, "but not along income lines." The transfer runs from less savvy cardholders to savvier ones. Cutting the swipe fees that pay for rewards shrinks them for both. southwestpolicy.com/the-wash…
the labor department's final 401(k) rule went to the white house thursday: a process-based safe harbor for choosing plan investments, alternatives included. judge fiduciaries on how they decided, not on hindsight in a complaint. 401kspecialistmag.com/dols-f…
Card networks don't split out the sales tax or the tip when they approve a purchase. That's why Illinois's ban on swipe fees for those portions works like a ban on the whole fee. Lawmakers voted to push its start to July 1, 2027. From May: southwestpolicy.com/dc-journ…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
San Pablo's rent control measure leads with more than 59% yes in early returns. Increases capped at 3% or 60% of inflation, whichever is lower. A cap set below inflation is a promise that the real rent falls every year. Upkeep will follow it down. kqed.org/news/12108346/rent-…
Patrick M. Brenner retweeted
From August: a borrower with $34,000 in unsecured debt would repay $40,000 through nonprofit credit counseling and $28,500 through debt settlement. A House draft adds disclosure rules for settlement and exempts counseling. Fair rules. Apply them to both. americanbanker.com/opinion/i…
