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Comment by Mountain_Skies | Hacker News Reader

How could the Federal government suspend evictions? Foreclosures, sure, but tenancy laws are typically state or local.

Make a temporary federal law that overrides local laws. The federal government can basically do anything it wants. It is only because it is so gracious that it lets states have any laws at all.

The federal government does have to at least make it seem like they are using a constitutional basis for law. Otherwise it could be nullified by a legal challenge, as it seems is happening with the ACA.

There's always a workaround. Use the 16th amendment: charge a stupidly huge tax for every eviction during the emergency period. Done.

That's a hard call to make. IIRC income and land taxes were each supposed to be temporary funding solutions for wars and such.

On the other hand Trump had the right idea eliminating bloat but he went about it in the worst way. That way we'd be less likely to end up with more permanent taxes if this drags on.

It seems to me that if the federal government requests this, states will follow. Hell, who wants to be the governor that said no if Trump suggests you suspend evictions.

I agree that the Supreme Court has basically torn up federalism, but technically rent is not interstate commerce.

there was a case where the USSC ruled that growing food on your own land for your own consumption was interstate commerce, and forced the farmer to stop. Never underestimate the ability of political justices to contort the Constitution.

The 10th Amendment specifically limits the federal government’s power.

There are a few federal tenancy laws currently. Presumably, they'd add another. Think the case would make it through SCOTUS before the emergency is over?

It doesn't need to make it through SCOTUS to be blocked. Just need one friendly federal judge.

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