Home ownership is a part of the American dream. However, over the past few decades, those who already own homes have made it significantly harder for those who don’t to recognize that dream. Through NIMBY (not in my backyard) and zoning laws, the ability of new housing to be built in certain areas has been impeded to the point where the vast majority of Americans can’t afford to live in the largest cities. You have to look no further than San Francisco or my hometown of New York City to see how true this is.

We need to make it easier for people to afford housing - either renting or buying - in more localities. In order to do this, we need to recognize that homeowners in an area generally have more power with local legislators and start taking the needs of renters and those who would be interested in moving into areas into account.