TACKLING THE AFFORDABILITY CRISIS Part 2
The U.S. affordability crisis is multifaceted and has been growing for 45 years, caused by low pay and high prices. There are many strategies for tackling the affordability crisis; some are presented below. However, many (most?) of the Trump administration’s policies are exacerbating the crisis. Therefore, one longer-term strategy for tackling affordability would be to participate in a No Kings rally (pro-democracy and anti-Trump) on Sat., March 28. Find an event near you here.
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The U.S. affordability crisis is multifaceted and caused by low pay and high prices. My previous post discussed short-term strategies that would increase low pay including: [1]
· Reduce wage theft.
· Raise the minimum wage.
· Enact family-friendly policies including subsidies for child care and paid family leave.
· Strengthen unions and union organizing.
· Reform tax systems.
These strategies can be undertaken at the state and local levels now but would benefit from or require changes in federal laws or enforcement to be most effective. This probably won’t happen until Democrats take control of Congress and the presidency. Therefore, they and the other strategies in my previous post are also longer-term strategies.
There are other longer-term strategies for addressing low pay. Generally, they require action by the federal government and, therefore, aren’t likely to happen soon. They include:
· Trade treaties that include standards for workers. These standards could include standards for working conditions, the ability to unionize, and minimum wage levels. Such standards would prevent unfair overseas competition for U.S. workers, which undermines pay and working conditions here in the U.S.
· Antitrust law enforcement so there is more competition for workers among employers.
There are many strategies for addressing high prices. Some are potentially short-term but given that they typically require action by the federal government, they aren’t likely to happen soon. They include:
· Rescinding tariffs.
· Enforcing antitrust laws so there’s competition based on the price and quality of goods and services, as well as on customer service. Poor customer service is not only frustrating but a tax on our time. We’ve all spent hours on the phone, much of it often waiting for a real person, trying to resolve a credit card problem, a denial of coverage for health care, or a problem with a purchase.
· Reforming our health care system so the costs of insurance, services, and drugs are at levels comparable to those in every other wealthy country, which are dramatically lower than they are here.
· Ending the vulture capitalism of private equity financing. Saks Fifth Avenue is the latest in a long list of retailers that have gone bankrupt after being pillaged by private equity financiers. The list includes Sears, Toys ‘R’ Us, Kmart, Sports Authority, RadioShack, RJR Nabisco, Barneys, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Hudson’s Bay, Payless, Joann Fabrics, Party City, Red Lobster, and on and on. The loss of retailers due to private equity vulture capitalism raises prices, costs workers their jobs, undermines communities, and reduces government tax revenue. [2]
The private equity financiers’ model is to buy a company using lots of debt; sell off its assets (often real estate) and pocket the money; charge the company exorbitant management fees, rent, interest, and other expenses; fire employees, slash pay, and cut their benefits including gutting their pensions; and file for bankruptcy while walking away with hundreds of millions of dollars. The private equity financing model is only possible because of loopholes in securities and bankruptcy laws, as well as the unlimited tax deduction allowed for interest payments on debt.
Senator Warren’s (D-MA) Stop Wall Street Looting Act would put an end to the private equity model by stopping these abusive practices and making the private equity financiers personally liable for damages and losses. [3] Private equity financiers are buying up and bankrupting or charging exorbitant prices (while often degrading quality and service) in health care, nursing homes, trailer parks, pest control, veterinary practices, youth sports facilities, fire truck manufacturing, restaurant chains, prisons and detention facilities, and anything else out of which they can squeeze a profit.
· Stopping corporate investor purchases of housing. Corporate investors (as opposed to residents or community members) own nearly 450,000 single family homes, more than 2.2 million apartments, and more mobile home communities than anyone else. In 2025, they bought nearly one out of every six homes sold. Consequently, costs for residents go up (e.g., rents and fees) while maintenance often goes down. Evictions go up. Meanwhile the investors take advantage of federally backed mortgages meant for home owners and other federal tax breaks at taxpayers’ expense. Senator Warren’s (D-MA) American Homeownership Act would end these abusive practices and invest in building homes that working families can afford. It has just been passed in the Senate with a large, bipartisan vote, 89 to 10. [4]
Every politician, at every level, local, state, and federal, who’s serious about addressing the affordability crisis should embrace these strategies.
I encourage you to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and ask them to endorse these strategies for tackling the affordability crisis. You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.
For lots of good news, see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday post here.
My next post will discuss additional strategies for tackling the affordability crisis.
[1] Meyerson, H., 12/3/25, “The $79 trillion heist,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2025/12/03/79-trillion-heist-worker-pay/)
[2] Kuttner, R., 1/20/26, “Private equity Saks another retail outlet,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2026/01/20/private-equity-saks-another-retail-outlet/)
[3] Warren, E., 10/10/24, “Warren, Lawmakers Renew Legislative Push to Stop Private Equity Looting,” (https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-lawmakers-renew-legislative-push-to-stop-private-equity-looting)
[4] Kuttner, R., 3/13/26, “Elizabeth Warren’s Amazingly Progressive Housing Bill,” (https://prospect.org/2026/03/13/elizabeth-warrens-amazingly-progressive-housing-bill/)