Michael & I were discussing Trump’s impact on the tax code, particularly in regard to Economic Opportunity Zones. This policy has no doubt accelerated the rate of gentrification by bringing hot money into a community to buy and hold for a decade so that capital gains tax exemptions can be awarded. Have many private equity firms like Blackstone made use of this with their Rental Backed Mortgage Securities funding the purchase of large blocks of land & houses in run down communities? Have they then used their lobbying power to direct infrastructure development into those communities? KEY question – what other policies did El Trumpo sneak into the tax code to reward his cronies? There are scant few articles on this detail, how did  he reward his rent-seeking real estate colleagues? It would be interesting to hear what shards of news you picked up on this issue. Warm regards, Karl 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-era-opportunity-zones-meant-to-help-low-income-communities-exploited-by-investors