‘Affordable’ Housing Unaffordable For Poorest Americans [Op-Ed]

Source: Douglas Rissing / Getty

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the U.S. economy isn’t doing so hot for anyone outside the 1%. While the rich have only gotten richer under the second Trump administration, stagnant wages, fluctuating inflation, and an anemic job market have made it hard to just keep up with the necessities. Things have gotten so bad that the poorest Americans can’t even afford to live in the low-income housing that was designed for them. 

AP reports that housing designated as affordable is sitting vacant across the U.S. because the people it was meant for can’t afford it. AP spoke to Mathew Davis, who lives in a homeless shelter in Austin, Texas. Davis makes only a few hundred dollars a month selling plasma and can’t even afford a $450-a-month small home with no running water and a shared bathroom. “I don’t make enough money really to afford anything,” Davis, 49, said of the few hundred dollars he earns a month. “I just keep trying to swim uphill.” 

In most states, affordable housing is aimed at people making at least 50% of an area’s median income. As rent for affordable housing approaches market rates, many of these homes stay vacant because the people they were designed for can’t afford them. This has inevitably forced countless low-income people into being unhoused. 

From AP:

There are only about 4 million affordable rental units available for the country’s 11 million extremely low-income renter households, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s most recent annual report.

These are people with annual incomes either below the federal poverty guidelines — just under $16,000 for a single-person household — or 30% of the median income in their area, whichever is higher. They comprise about a quarter of U.S. renter households, and include many people working low-wage jobs, seniors and those with disabilities living on fixed incomes.

About three-quarters of extremely low-income renter households pay over half their income on rent and utilities, the report said, leaving little leftover for other necessities.

What’s sad is that I’m sure many people facing these dire straits never thought they would be in this position. It’s become remarkably easy to fall behind in the U.S. these days. A job search taking over six months is incredibly common. 

After getting laid off in 2022, it took me an entire year to find a part-time job, and another year to find this job, which finally let me make a livable wage between the two gigs. After a decade of living on my own, I had to move back home because I was priced out of rent. So I know firsthand what a struggle it can be. 

It’s not like things have improved much over the last year, as a quarter of Americans are functionally unemployed. When I go on LinkedIn, I feel like I’m seeing more posts about people struggling to maintain hope in the job market. It’s not surprising that more and more people are simply giving up on looking for a job. It’s hard to make enough money to just get by, let alone truly thrive. 

This issue feels like yet another piece of a much larger problem: the federal government doesn’t understand or simply doesn’t care how much of a struggle it’s become to make ends meet. We saw this play out last year when Congress allowed pandemic-era subsidies for ACA insurance to expire. 

The plans that the Republican-controlled Congress is pitching don’t provide meaningful relief and will only exacerbate the issue. We’ve also seen a similar scenario with changes to SNAP benefits. Congress and President Donald Trump added significant restrictions to SNAP benefits as part of last year’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” As a result, millions of people have been kicked off SNAP benefits and are once again facing food insecurity. 

From housing and healthcare to food assistance, it’s becoming clear that the people with the power to address these issues don’t fully understand how bad the American economy has become for a growing number of Americans. 

SEE ALSO:

Senate Passes Most Robust Affordable Housing Bill In Decades

Senate Passes Affordable Housing Reform Bill With Bipartisan Support