Progressive cities love affordable housing. At least, they love something they call ‘affordable housing.’ Therein lies a series of problems.
Politicians in these cities know lots of people can’t pay rent. And that lots of people pay half their incomes just to rent a house, blocking them from buying homes or saving for retirement. Many of these politicos genuinely want to solve the problem. They turn to ‘affordable housing’ in order to do it.
And yet, finance capital dominates the politics of cities, even progressive ones. Bankers, developers, and landlords punch well above their numbers. Investors demand a return on their money. Developers and landlords demand a never ending flow of profits. In addition, mayors and city managers demand a steady, and rising, tax base.
Progressive politicians thus need to create affordable housing while also satisfying finance capital, profit, and the sustainability of local government. How can they do it?
To start, they can think about ‘affordable housing’ in a way that meshes with financial interests. And, indeed, that’s what they do.
