WADE RATHKE is the founder of ACORN, Chief Organizer at ACORN International, and Author of "Nuts & Bolts", "Citizen Wealth", "Global Grassroots", and "The Battle for the 9th Ward".
New Orleans Downtowns mean something in cities. Mayors can rise or fall on how they handle downtown development, especially if developers are the ones filling up their campaign coffers. Fortunes have been made – or lost – by the owners of giant central business district towers, and their decisions on whether or not …
New Orleans In Scotland, ACORN’s tenant union chants “The rent is bananas.” Affordable housing is a global issue. Some cities concoct schemes to maintain affordable housing and block second homes and Airbnbs, but most don’t. Few actually break ground for affordable apartment complexes or create equitable zoning rules to allow them. Minnesotans voted …
New Orleans Listening to ACORN members on their weekly conference calls during the pandemic, one of the hardest balancing acts centered on the rent freeze. Don’t get me wrong, the rental freeze was a good thing. People couldn’t work. There was more month than money. Tenants were already under pressure across the country …