Rent Relief for Washington, DC, the Need to Address Corruption in Ukraine, and More

July 27, 2020

Nearly 60% of Washington, D.C.’s approximately 280,000 households rented their homes in 2018, and close to one in four of these households spent more than 50% of income on rent. With the COVID-19 recession causing considerable economic stress for the residents of the nation’s capital, Michael Bailey, Eric LaRose, and Jenny Schuetz argue that Washington’s local government should step in and provide short-term rental assistance.

During his tenure, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has fired a reformist prime minister and cabinet, replaced a prosecutor general who had begun weeding out bad prosecutors, and triggered the resignation of a National Bank of Ukraine head who was steering an independent course. As speculation mounts that oligarchs are reasserting control in Kyiv, Steven Pifer argues that both Ukraine and Zelenskiy cannot afford for corruption to run rampant.

“If social media platforms are mediators of health information, they need to develop better systems for adding context to health information that both reduces confusion and allows for open debate.” In an article for TechStream, Smitha Khorana and Kellie Owens discuss the politicized debate over hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 and outline the important role that Silicon Valley must play.

A note on the Brookings response to COVID-19:

The Brookings Institution campus in Washington, D.C. will be closed through at least September 7. For more information, read our full guidance here. As Brookings experts continue to assess the global impacts of COVID-19, read the latest analysis and policy recommendations at our coronavirus page or stay up to date with our coronavirus newsletter.

The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars.

Manage your newsletter preferences | Receive the Brookings Brief less often