Opinion: America's Housing Crisis Requires Bold Government Intervention
Decades of restrictive zoning, NIMBYism, and underinvestment have created a housing affordability crisis that threatens the American Dream. Only bold government action—at all levels—can restore the possibility of homeownership for working families.
Housing affordability crisis
The Crisis
The median home now costs 7 times the median income—historically, this ratio was 3. Young families are locked out of homeownership, while rents consume ever-larger shares of household budgets.
Root Causes
Restrictive zoning prevents housing construction where it's needed most. NIMBYism blocks affordable housing in wealthy neighborhoods. Federal housing investment has been neglected for decades.
Solutions
Federal incentives for zoning reform, massive public housing investment, and tenant protections can restore housing affordability. The political will to challenge homeowner interests is the missing ingredient.
America's housing crisis needs bold government action on zoning, investment, and tenant protections.
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