Position Papers
Sean Brady
2/20/2015
PUP 425
When Even Dreams are Too Expensive: Rental Housing Affordability
Housing, as a commodity, is uniquely woven within the very fabric of who we are. The space between its walls plays host to our most formative moments: our first smiles, our first steps, and our first words. As children, it serves as the baseline by which we measure our expanding knowledge of the larger universe. We instinctively measure the familiarity of its warmth, comfort and safety against the often bitter truths of the world beyond the front door.
As a safe harbor, our home feels immutable and it shelters us not just from the vagaries of weather but from the slings and arrows of our burgeoning social lives. For the lucky amongst us, this sense of immutability is only dissipated by the maturity earned through the slow passage of time but for many others home has never evoked such notions of permanence. Instead, home has always teetered beneath their feet, waiting to be splintered by life’s newest calamity. Potential layoffs, broken transmissions and emergency room visits loom just beyond sight but upon their arrival they bring rent seeking landlords, three-day pay-or-quit notices and eventual eviction .
For many Americans, the reality of housing instability has supplanted the long standing trope of home ownership and the white picket fence. Wage stagnation, the rise of low paying jobs and the loss of affordable housing stock have combined to create a market of increasingly unaffordable rentals. Currently, 27% of renters pay more than fifty percent of their incomes on rent (Schwartz, 32). These renters, collectively described as extremely housing burdened, struggle to make ends meet and have virtually no ability to create any meaningful savings. The extremely housing burdened, and their families, are amongst the most vulnerable segments of American society and even the smallest change in circumstances threatens to plunge them into homelessness.
In order to further clarify the depth of this crisis, let me begin by providing some numbers. “The most widely used measure of affordability focuses on housing cost burdens—the percentage of income spent on housing” (Schwartz, 33). In general, any renter spending more than 30% of their income is considered housing burdened. According to Andre Shashaty, an urban housing writer and president of the Partnership of Sustainable Communities:
There were 42,447,000 renter households in America in 2013, according to new data from the American Community Survey. Of that number, about 14 million paid more than 40 percent of their income for rent. That is one-third of all renter households, and that kind of a cost burden means there's less money for other things, like nutritious food and education, and little chance to save for the future. (Piperato)
While this ratio (percentage of income spent on housing) is a very convenient measure with which to identify the potentially housing burdened, it is limited in its ability to capture the entire scope of the issue. A more accurate, but also more cumbersome, measure examines both housing costs and non-housing expenses and relates these to overall income. “This means that a household has a housing affordability problem if it cannot meet its nonhousing needs…after paying for housing” (Stone, The Affordable Housing Reader 101). This measure is often referred to as shelter-poverty. Shelter-poverty is especially useful in highlighting the differing burdens experienced by households with similar incomes and similar housing costs .
Using this measure, we see that “Nearly one-half of all renter households are shelter-poor” (Stone, Housing Affordability 50) and “Nearly two-thirds of the rise in shelter-poverty since 1970 has been among…households who are renters” (Stone, Housing Affordability 52). “The primary reason for renters’ much higher rate of shelter poverty is that they are poorer on average than homeowners…[and] renters do not have the benefit of relatively stable housing costs” (Stone, Housing Affordability 50 ).
This lack of stability in housing costs, within the rental market, is either directly attributable to or further exacerbated by the loss of low cost housing stock. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies, “over 12.8% of the nation’s supply of low cost housing, or 650,000 units, have been permanently lost since 2001” (qtd. in Out of Reach 2014). Further, “The supply of subsidized rental housing is also steadily shrinking, with a loss of 10,000 public housing units each year” (Out of Reach 2014).
In light of the enormity of this issue, it is clear that any, honest, attempt to remediate the rental housing crisis will require both a significant financial commitment and a veritable sea change in our approach . It is obvious that all of our past public policies have done little to blunt the rising costs of rental housing. Similarly, the ‘free market’, although deified by many, is systemically incapable of addressing any issue which is not improved by the maximization of individual profit.
Instead, affordable housing (in the rental market) must be elevated beyond a mere public concern and made a public entitlement. Virtually, all new and existing rental housing must be incorporated into a national system of housing subsidies. In order to address the nearly 50% of renters who are shelter-poor, this national system of subsidized housing must eventually reach levels similar to those seen in Scandinavian countries, like Sweden, in which 50% of all rental housing is subsidized (Moskowitz). This commitment, to a comprehensive national system of subsidized housing, must be matched by a federal commitment to the creation of several million new rental units over the next 10 years . This is an ambitious plan but it can be done. To give this perspective, “Last month, Hong Kong announced it would add 480,000 apartment units to the already densely packed city over the next decade. Incredibly, officials said, about 60 percent of them will be subsidized by the government” (Moskowitz).
Implementing these programs will be an almost a Sisyphean task. First, the money required to fund both the system of subsidized housing and the creation of new rental housing stock would be astronomical. Second, the public resistance to any federal program which limits property rights and encourages the creation of a new federally mandated entitlement would be met with derision and labeled , rightfully so, as a blatantly socialist endeavor. Finally, the wealthy property owners and real estate developers are very politically connected and are likely to do everything in their power to prevent any legislation/policies which would impact their personal fortunes .
As mentioned before, the difficulty in implementing these programs cannot be understated but when considering both the scope and the depth of the rental housing crisis it is clear that lip-service and half-measures cannot begin to address these issues. In order to fund this proposal we need to fundamentally change our national priorities. Cuts in defense spending must be coupled with an increase in tax revenue . This tax revenue would need to be generated by ending corporate loopholes and offshore accounting practices. Further, the wealthiest of Americans, who have enjoyed a reduced tax burden since Reagan, must be taxed at levels approaching those seen in the 1950’s. This increased tax burden would not be limited to income but also include estate taxes and an increase in the capital gains tax.
The public’s resistance to these obviously socialist programs are likely to be considerable. Educational efforts to highlight the severity of the rental housing crisis might prove beneficial but, in light of the ineffectiveness of educational efforts to convert climate change deniers and anti-vaxers, I am admittedly pessimistic. I think support for this program will, eventually, grow organically as these housing burdens become even more pervasive.
Finally, the resistance exhibited by wealthy landowners and real estate developers will, almost assuredly, be daunting. To counteract this resistance will require a grassroots campaign in favor of the effort and a systematic uncoupling of money (corporate or otherwise) from the political process. The definition of lobbying must also be replaced by the term bribery and all lobbyists (and their benefactors) should be sentenced to the nearest prison accordingly.
Our current rental housing crisis is growing increasingly injurious to the American public. Both public policy (as currently applied) and the forces of the free market have proven to be incapable of addressing the issue. In order to effectively remedy the crisis, drastic efforts are required. Many of the impediments to meeting this challenge, as previously mentioned, seem nearly insurmountable but ultimately we are left with no other choice. The cost of rental housing is spinning out of control and the very stability of our nation is under threat. We either address the issue with all the means available to us or we ignore it and hope that it goes away .
Works Cited
Stone, Michael E. "What Is Affordable Housing? The Case for the Residual Income Approach." The Affordable Housing Reader. Ed. J. Rosie. Tighe and Elizabeth J. Mueller. London: Routledge, 2013. 95-110. Print.
Schwartz, Alex F. Housing Policy in the United States. New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.
Piperato, Susan. "Rent-Burdened Nation: Housing Expert Discusses Affordable Housing Crisis." National Real Estate Investor (2015): n. pag. 6 Jan. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Stone, Michael E. "Housing Affordability: One-Third of a Nation Shelter Poor." A Right to Housing: Foundation for a New Social Agenda. By Rachel G. Bratt, Michael E. Stone, and Chester W. Hartman. Philadelphia, PA: Temple UP, 2006. N. pag. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
"Out of Reach 2014: National Low Income Housing Coalition." National Low Income Housing Coalition. National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Moskowitz, Peter. "New York City’s Affordable Housing Plan Is Ambitious, Progressive, and Totally Inadequate." Moneybox. Slate, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
This is one of the best papers I have ever read for this assignment. It demonstrates a strong grasp of the causes of the low-income rental crisis and effective argues for going toward a more socialist system of housing provision to overcome it. A handful of barriers to implementation are suggested and adeptly dealt with. You have a poetic but down to earth writing style that is highly engaging. You absolutely must pursue a career that uses writing as a skill—you have a unique talent!
Grading
Includes at least six citations: 10/10 points
Addresses the context for the crisis: 20/20 points
Proposes one remedial strategy: 20/20 points
Identifies one barrier to implementation: 20/20 points
Suggests how to overcome the barrier: 20/20 points
Grammatical correctness and clarity: 100/10 points
Total 100/100 points (A+)
