Opinion | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Tina Smith: Our Solution to the Housing Crisis - The New York Times

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is a Democratic U.S. representative from New York and Ms. Smith is a Democratic U.S. senator from Minnesota. Stop almost anyone on the street today and you’ll hear we’re in a housing crisis. In most American counties, minimum-wage workers can’t afford to rent even a modest one-bedroom apartment. Working families are bidding against the world’s biggest financial firms for homes. On top of it all, people living in public housing complexes across the country are increasingly exposed to inhumane conditions after years of federal neglect and underinvestment. It’s becoming nearly impossible for working-class people to buy and keep a roof over their heads. Congress must respond with a plan that matches the scale of this crisis. For generations, the federal government’s approach to housing policy has been primarily focused on encouraging single-family homeownership and private investment in rental housing. The mortgage-interest deduction provides roughly $30 billion in tax wr

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is a Democratic U.S. representative from New York and Ms. Smith is a Democratic U.S. senator from Minnesota. Stop almost anyone on the street today and you’ll hear we’re in a housing crisis. In most American counties, minimum-wage workers can’t afford to rent even a modest one-bedroom apartment. Working families are bidding against the world’s biggest financial firms for homes. On top of it all, people living in public housing complexes across the country are increasingly exposed to inhumane conditions after years of federal neglect and underinvestment. It’s becoming nearly i