Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #opportunityzones
Most recents (9)
There has been a major—and almost entirely unnoticed—advance in the research on the most significant place-based incentive on the books. That’s right: it’s time to update your priors on Opportunity Zones!
Today colleagues @kenanfikri @AugustBenzow and I are out with an analysis of two very important studies on the size and effects of Opportunity Zones investment.
Bottom line: OZs are having impact on a scale not seen with previous place-based policies.
eig.org/opportunity-zo…
Bottom line: OZs are having impact on a scale not seen with previous place-based policies.
eig.org/opportunity-zo…
Why should you care about #OpportunityZones right now?
Because high-quality multi-year evidence is telling us that OZs have produced:
✅Large-scale $ and geographic reach
✅Large development effects
✅positive spillovers
✅⬆️housing supply
✅⬆️housing values
✅stable rents
Because high-quality multi-year evidence is telling us that OZs have produced:
✅Large-scale $ and geographic reach
✅Large development effects
✅positive spillovers
✅⬆️housing supply
✅⬆️housing values
✅stable rents
How did Sean Parker and EIG build a case for #OpportunityZones and, with Tim Scott’s help, get it into law. And what’s happened on the ground? My book 'Only the Rich Can Play’ pubs Oct 5. A 2-minute video preview
Here’s Al Hunt’s piece in The Hill on “Only the Rich Can Play” thehill.com/opinion/campai… 
And an adaptation from my forthcoming book (out Tuesday, Oct 5) from the @WSJ wsj.com/articles/how-a…
This week – shortly after he ordered federal police to violently remove peaceful protesters of police violence against Black people – the President cited #OpportunityZones as evidence of his support for the Black community.
This is outrageous and enraging in many, many ways (see thread from @Connor__Maxwell for a few of them).
But focusing specifically on the #OZ claim for a second:
But focusing specifically on the #OZ claim for a second:
At their core, #OpportunityZones are a capital gains tax break.
And who benefits from capital gains tax breaks? Almost exclusively high-income households, who are overwhelmingly white.
And who benefits from capital gains tax breaks? Almost exclusively high-income households, who are overwhelmingly white.
It looks like my colleagues @WhipClyburn and @RonWyden are in backdoor negotiations to systematically destroy my #OpportunityZones initiative. Y'all know me and I'm going to be completely frank here — they're only doing this because it has the support of @realDonaldTrump.
This is the second misguided attempt by Congressional Democrats in the last two weeks to wreck the #OpportunityZone initiative under the guise of ‘improvement.’ Word on the street is that The Squad is coming after the program too in the next few days/weeks...
Some facts about #OpportunityZones for y'all:
✔️ An estimated $63 billion can already be expected to be invested into them
✔️ There are 8,700 Zones with the average poverty rate of 29%
It's easy to lay out numbers, but these are people's LIVES that we're talking about.
✔️ An estimated $63 billion can already be expected to be invested into them
✔️ There are 8,700 Zones with the average poverty rate of 29%
It's easy to lay out numbers, but these are people's LIVES that we're talking about.
When people ask me “what do you write about?” Generally I typically say something like “economic revitalization for historically disinvested communities.”
But that of course still encompasses many things. Here is a thread of one of those things: shifting the flow of capital.
But that of course still encompasses many things. Here is a thread of one of those things: shifting the flow of capital.
Shifting the flow of capital also encompasses many things, but it’s definitely one of the common threads that runs through my work. It's about cities or communities gaining access to or influencing large, existing pools of capital that typically ignore their needs.
Retirement assets are one of the biggest pools of capital out there, with more than $27 trillion in public and private retirement program accounts. Here’s a story I wrote about how a tiny but growing slice of those assets are financing affordable housing nextcity.org/daily/entry/tr…
A few thoughts on the new bill from Sen. Wyden to add reporting requirements + substantive restrictions on some of the worst abuses of #opportunityzones.
propublica.org/article/billio…
propublica.org/article/billio…
We've said Congress should evaluate how OZs are working & adjust as appropriate, and it's good to see this starting to happen.
cbpp.org/blog/opportuni…
cbpp.org/blog/opportuni…
The bill would (among other things):
-limit benefits for luxury housing & other "bad" projects
-keep funds from qualifying even if much prop is outside OZs
-limit ability of investors to qualify for pre-planned projects
-disqualify well-off "outlier" OZs that could get most $$
-limit benefits for luxury housing & other "bad" projects
-keep funds from qualifying even if much prop is outside OZs
-limit ability of investors to qualify for pre-planned projects
-disqualify well-off "outlier" OZs that could get most $$
2/First reaction: it's impossible to say that Opportunity Zones have been a “Bonanza” for anyone. We are in *such* early days. Opportunity Zone funds will not have any returns for ten years, minimum (this was intentional, it’s patient capital!)
3/ The narrative that a “wave of developments” is happening is not yet true. Opportunity Zone funds across the country have raised less than 10% of their goals. It is a new market and most people are very cautious.
#OpportunityZones is the largest community development initiative in a generation. However, size isn't the program’s only strength; it is the flexibility of this policy that makes it a potential game changer for communities.
The low-income communities that comprise OZs have a wide range of needs. #OpportunityZones offer communities an adaptive tool to support their own local approach to economic development. Some examples illustrate the opportunity and impact:
In East Chicago, a 225-acre contaminated brownfield was thought to be too expensive to restore but with an #OpportunityZones designation, it’s now being converted to a logistics center and is expected to support as many as 3,000 jobs. nwitimes.com/business/local…
On this slow news day, here are some thoughts on how the new #OpportunityZones regs are a game-changer for investment in local operating businesses, as covered by @jimtankersley in today’s NYT.
nytimes.com/2019/04/17/bus…
nytimes.com/2019/04/17/bus…
The new regs cover lots of issues that will help the marketplace scale, diversify, and avoid abuse. But most importantly, they remove some of the most significant uncertainties that have held back investment in local entrepreneurs & businesses with growth potential.
Until now, Treasury’s guidance did little to facilitate local business investment, which Congressional leaders, community stakeholders, and outside advocates see as the core goal & promise of the #OpportunityZones initiative.
