Briefs

Senator and Democratic presidential nominee  Elizabeth Warren released the third installment of her housing plan on Monday, November 18, focused on reinvigorating public housing, bolstering safeguards and stability for renters, and holding nefarious landlords accountable. 

Renters are long overdue for attention from politicians and policymakers, especially since they comprise one-third of the American population and, for nearly half of them, the cost of rent is burdensome. Warren was one of the first presidential candidates to put forward bold policies to improve the economic lives of renters but had recently seen her policies somewhat eclipsed in ambition by Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the Squad. Her new update makes up some of that lost ground.

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On Wednesday, Congresswoman and progressive vanguard Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released her “A Place to Prosper Act,” a bold plan to restructure the U.S. housing system.

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Oregon wrapped up its legislative session last month with a flurry of activity, making up for the lost time stolen by Republican state senators in their weeklong walkout over carbon pricing legislation. In their final days of legislating with a restored quorum, Democrats passed a torrent of progressive bills – ranging from guaranteed paid family leave to drivers license access for undocumented people. 

In that wave of accomplishments, Oregon blazed a new path forward on progressive housing policy that should be replicated by states and localities across the country – a multipronged approach protecting tenants, funding affordable housing, tackling the housing shortage, and ending exclusionary zoning. As progressives continue to seek a unifying approach to the housing crisis, Oregon shows a way: Reject the lure of silver bullets and embrace the kitchen sink.

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The national fight for rent control scored a major victory in New York last week. Finally acknowledging the depths of the affordable housing crisis across the state, both houses passed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 that represents nearly everything in the Universal Rent Control platform that the state-wide tenant campaign Housing Justice for All has fought for over the last two years. The final version is a dramatic swing in political fortunes in favor of tenants and against the worst speculators within the real estate industry. This was confirmed when Governor Cuomo quickly and quietly signed the bill into law over the loud protestations of the powerful developers who have funded his campaigns for years.

Across the media landscape, big corporate landlords and developers are crying out that this law will single-handedly kill the state’s real estate industry and make the housing crisis worse. That is just absurd alarmism. On the other hand, for many tenants, this bill won’t impact them either way - yet. Let’s dig into the details to see what this bill actually does and doesn’t do and how this sets up the bigger battles to come.

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Housing is the largest single expense for the average American, costing one third to one half of pay for millions of Americans. Twenty-one million American families – over a sixth of the United States – are considered cost-burdened and at elevated risk of homelessness. Millions are taking on extra jobs or cutting back on healthcare or food to stay housed. At least 553,000 homeless Americans are living on the street.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, “85% of Americans believe ensuring everyone has a safe, decent, affordable place to live should be a ‘top national priority.’”

Americans need more affordable homes, and progressive politicians need a plan to give it to them.

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Yesterday, Elizabeth Warren reintroduced her expansive housing bill, including several notable additions since we released our analysis. We are not above humblebragging that it incorporates some of our suggestions. Though it still doesn’t include everything we think is necessary for a transformative progressive housing agenda, her willingness to take feedback and improve her proposal is a testament to how seriously Warren is taking housing.  So far, no other candidate can claim that. Here’s what’s new.

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The next President of the United States will give a shit about housing.

The average American spends far more on housing than any other expense, the vast majority sees housing affordability as a serious problem, and most people report having made a serious personal sacrifice to afford rent or a home payment.

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For the first time in generations, housing will play a key role in the race for president. As of January 2019, three of the five high-profile Democrats officially running for president have made housing central to their agendas. As more candidates announce, it seems inevitable that more affordable housing proposals will follow. The campaign for the Democratic nomination is going to be long, and given the potency of housing with Democratic base voters, we can expect an arms race for bold solutions on the issue. For a bit of extra inspiration, they should look to Gavin Newsom’s gutsy stare-down of exclusionary zoning in California.

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