The housing crises is a myth, there is no 'crisis'

Shortly put, there is no such thing as a housing crisis.

There is a dire need for affordable, but don't be tricked into believing this is a crisis. Ricardo Tranjan of the Center for Policy Alternatives writes in his book, The Tenant Class, how the "housing Crisis" has been used to lead to a feeling of blamelessness and unpredictability regarding the cause of housing unaffordability.

The reality, however, is darker. The landlord 'class' exploits the tenants 'class' of society.

Housing and shelter have been made into nothing more than a tool of finance. The same few landlords and corporations gain property after property, preventing ownership from befalling the masses while using collective power to raise the price of simply having a roof.

The fact of the matter is, no matter how many more houses we build, the same group will scoop them up and use the income that their tenants work hard to earn to purchase even more houses while strategically keeping rent high to prevent tenants from being able to join their class of homeowners.

What can be done?

Non-market housing is a term that includes Co-ops, city housing, and other non-profit housing systems. These systems not only remove the idea of capital from housing but also prevent ownership of multiple units from falling into the hands of one.

Currently, co-ops have decades-long waitlists, and there is no choice but to live under capitalized housing. With more non-marketplace, an actual choice would appear to exist in a system of capitalized housing for those who wish to own and a choice for those who wish to exist in non-market housing.

Collective action. Tenant unions are powerful and one of the most effective to exist as a tenant peacefully in a system that exists to oppress you.

-J.A. Caza