Someone will have to explain to me how building a wall has become a national emergency. Like President Trump or not, you got to give him kudos for creativity. One could argue people put him in the office for thinking outside the box, or in this case, inside the wall.
I’m not here to debate a wall, or to pick sides in the many divisive issues of our day. But I am here to point out a REAL national emergency; housing affordability. Millions of people all over our country, from families, to millennials, to retirees, cannot afford rent. I cover these specific trends, and just how dire this emergency is, in my book “Radical Housing Solutions” Our housing problems, and their lingering effects are staggering. So much so, we’ve recently had to add a new term our vocabulary, the “working homeless”. We still don’t know the numbers yet, but yes, the “working homeless” is a thing, and it is real for thousands and thousands of Americans. Put yourself in those shoes for a second. You work a full time job, or maybe two part time jobs, and you still need to live in your car; or in a shelter. The 2006 movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith portrays the true and inspiring story of man named Chris Gardner. The movie gave us a glimpse of this kind of life. But now in 2019, it has become all too common.
Politicians can talk in circles about what is an emergency and what isn’t. I know as a nation, we have many pressing issues on our hand. If your expertise is in education; healthcare; gun violence; or the abuse of prescription drugs; please step forward. My expertise is in Real Estate, so I’m attempting to help where I can. There are three things in this world we all need; food, clothing, and shelter. So, let’s talk about “shelter”. What is it exactly? It is going to vary for everyone at different times in our lives. I’ve had many forms of shelter. From a happy childhood home, to not so nice accommodations, to pretty nice pads. Nationally, we have reached a critical stage in the availability of housing. So much so, our youngest and largest generation, the Millennials, are practically locked out of housing. Never before in our history have we have so much, and so little at the same time. Our housing gap mirrors the wealth gap in a sense. The rich have gotten richer. The “have not’s” have fallen even farther behind. Again, I’m not placing blame here, I’m just pointing out the obvious. Trouble, is if we can’t house our homeless, AND give Millennials a fighting chance at home ownership soon, we will lose our way. But, there is still time to act. Mr. President; Please consider declaring “housing availability and affordability” a national emergency. As a real estate expert yourself, surely you can see the benefits of healthy communities, and the safety and security that comes from having a roof over everyone’s head. Call me idealistic, but I do happen to believe we have a responsibility to our house everyone, including our most venerable. I’m not even suggesting the federal government write a big check to solve housing affordability. How about just an executive order waiving the wads of red tape on building more homes? Anything would help. We have got to fix housing affordability for all. Otherwise, we will need a wall. But, it would be for keeping people from getting in.
Tony Bonitati
Author of Radical Housing Solutions