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LThe Politics of a Housing Crisis
By Roderick Wright, California State Senator (Retired)
isten to any political discussion today Over the last 40 years, Wall Street, with the complicity and apart from inflation and crime, of government has waged an effective war against the dual crisis of homelessness and private investment in real estate with the intention the lack of affordable housing will be of diverting those investment dollars into Wall Street front and center. There have been investments. “Mom and pop” rental housing investors numerous solutions thrown around, have been particularly targeted. Oddly, on the political but none that I’ve ever heard truly right, conservatives object to spending tax money on addresses the problem. Mark Twain poor people. Then, on the political left, progressives once said, “Everybody talks about the object to private industry, and often in this case, “mom
weather, but nobody does anything about it.” Housing and pop” rental property owners making a profit, even and homelessness have been handled about the when that profit would actually be better for renters. same way as the talk about weather, only with a lot of This leaves us where we are today, in a severe crisis. squandered money.
Homelessness and scarce affordable housing in California are the confluence of several issues. First and foremost, we have a housing crisis that is the result of years of regressive fiscal policies imposed by both of our primary political parties. Reductions In the private investment in housing caused by federal, state, and local policies are a principal cause of the housing crisis we face today. This is also a major contributor to the homeless dilemma.
The lack of private investment in housing has been a major cause leading to the housing crisis and thus homelessness. There are many causes for this lack of investment, but first let’s highlight some of the other causes of homelessness, including job loss and low wages. For a variety of reasons, the cost of real estate, houses and apartments have grown much faster than personal incomes. This differential is growing wider as demand for housing further overtakes housing supply.
Other factors that contribute to the homeless crisis
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RENTAL HOUSING ASSOCIATION - SCHRA.ORG 41