The Crisis In Affordable Housing

"There is a housing crisis in the United States, but it's not the one you're reading about. The crisis, or persistent problem if you prefer, lies with those at the bottom third of the income scale. For the poor in major cities, the rent burden has increased to over 50 percent of income. Prices have increased steeply, and wages have not kept pace. Moreover, the mechanisms that kept a floor, so to speak, under housing-subsidies, rent control and union-driven wages-are either in decline or, in many places, have ceased to exist."

"The result is chronic homelessness. But the swarms of battered, bereft indigents that roam the streets are only the visible part of the homeless."

"We need to make politicians and candidates-for local, state and federal offices-speak to the housing problem and commit to effective ameliorative programs. And that in turn requires grassroots pressure."

"We need to emphasize housing's links to problems in the areas of health, education, income support, food, crime, employment, immigration, economic and community development. In doing so, we will create coalitions of social justice activists whose power will grow exponentially."