Mission Statement

In a regulatory environment that is comprehensive, ever-changing, and strongly pro-tenant, St. John & Associates provides knowledgeable, principled consultation and representation to property owners and managers in Berkeley and, in the mobile home context, throughout California. At the same time, as an economist, Michael St. John, Ph.D. works to clarify the underlying economic issues and, through advocacy and expert witness testimony, to influence public policy in ways that reduce the imbalance inherent in most rent control ordinances.

The concept "fair return on investment" has been a guiding principle and significant focus throughout Michael's career. As a consultant, Michael attempts to achieve a fair return for property owners in the face of complex regulations that often seem designed to achieve the opposite. As an economist and expert witness, Michael brings light to this topic and fairness to the field of housing regulation by clarifying the circumstances under which a fair return is possible. As a citizen, Michael has involved himself repeatedly over the years in public policy debates, attempting to level the playing field and make the fair return principle a practical reality.

The field of housing regulation is hotly contested. Strong rights - property rights on one side, tenant rights and rights to affordable housing on the other - are asserted on the housing battlefield. At times the conflicts seem to portend class or culture wars. At St. John & Associates, we believe in property rights AND tenant rights. We believe that housing battles are excessively expensive and fundamentally counter-productive. We believe that there are better ways to balance the needs and rights of owners and residents, and do what we can to bring better means to the conflicts we encounter.

The current administration's approach to international affairs is to promote the national interest of the United States (as the administration perceives it) while ignoring the national interests of other nations. This is a bankrupt foreign policy. Similarly, rent control as it is usually written and administered is a bankrupt local housing policy, because rent control so consistently favors the interests of tenants over the legitimate interests of investors and property owners. What will bring peace to the housing wars and to the wars in the Middle East and elsewhere are policies and programs that address, simultaneously, the legitimate interests of all groups, all participants, all nations.

It is the mission of St. John & Associates to do what we can in the local and global environments in which we find ourselves to promote peace, justice, and equal treatment wherever we can, in whatever we do, within the limits of our influence and to the best of our ability and understanding.

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