If there is any truth at all to the notion that homeowner associations are beneficial to the  members, then does it necessarily follow that they are good for the community at large?  Is there any evidence that all the rules and restrictions purported to protect property values  actually do protect values and if so, at what cost? 
 
On The Commons with us this week is Alexander Lee.  Alex is the founder and Executive Director of Project Laundry List and maintains a web site at www.laundrylist.org based in Concord, New Hampshire.   The organization is proposing simple steps and solutions that would contribute in a big way towards reducing our reliance and use of electricity.  One of the easiest steps would be to reduce our reliance on clothes dryers by returning to the simple clothesline.  Unfortunately, most, if not all, of the 60 million Americans live in associations that ban the use of clotheslines.  Please join us On The Commons.  We’ll talk about how HOAs tend to hinder what might be better for the people at large.