AMERICA’S PERSISTENT HOUSING CRISIS By Mark Anderson, NMBA Legal and Legislative Assistant A constant subject in American economic and political media discourse is the question, “Why do many average Americans not seem to agree when economists, politicians and pundits insist that the American economy is strong and showing signs of serious growth and improvement?” There is a persistent chasm between the positive economic news that is presented in the media and the stress and anxiety that most Americans claim to feel on a daily basis. Particularly since the 2008 recession, it feels as if there is a constant tug of war between economic analysts — who often cite topline economic numbers such as GDP growth, unemployment rate and the success of the S&P 500 — and everyday American citizens — who are burdened by soaring housing costs, wages that fail to rise with inflation, enormous health care costs and overall inflation from the past few years. This tug of war exists because the two factions essentially experience and, ultimately, process two completely different realities. A decent analogy for the current predicament of the American economy would be trying to get one’s health in order while ignoring multiple serious underlying problems. It’s difficult to have working out or eating better have any positive effect if you have an overriding health condition so serious that it renders these other actions irrelevant. It’s difficult not to conclude that the American economy faces a similar existential crisis. The American economy is capable of explosive growth at the top, producing an astounding number of billionaires 16
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