Extraordinary high homelessness rates in California have represented a serious social issue in California since the 19th century. The rapidly growing economy of the Golden State has attracted millions of people since then, and many of them have had to experience numerous hardships connected to purchasing a house or renting one. Various factors influence the horrifying homelessness rates, including the problems with providing treatment to people suffering from mental illnesses and substance abuse. Nevertheless, unaffordable real estate continues to be the main reason behind a plethora of social problems statewide. Therefore, I strongly believe that the state of California should seriously reconsider some of its housing policies, allocate more resources to affordable housing programs and simplify the registration process.
It is time California officials realized that high immigration rates have always been a distinctive feature of the state. Therefore, various policies are to be developed and established to enhance the construction and registration processes. According to Ohanian (2021), the median California house price reached $700,000 in 2021. Despite the fact that the wages are higher in the Golden State than in most states, the sum is still unaffordable.
The encouragement of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit development has proven to successfully address the issue. Nevertheless, according to Reid (2019), residents’ barriers to opportunity are driven not necessarily by neighborhood factors but rather by the lack of a ladder in labor and housing markets. Therefore, state officials should examine the successful cases of European countries dealing with the same problem. According to Furth and Gonzalez (2019), California officials should alleviate the regulatory burden on the housing supply in California. Thus, easier access to affordable housing will be granted to millions of people without the need to increase public spending.
Housing has always been referred to as one of the basic human needs. Therefore, it is important to provide all Californian community members with a social security net that ensures affordable housing. Establishing a framework for providing such guarantees is absolutely necessary, even if it needs substantial state funding. The problem of homelessness and unaffordable housing in California is complex and needs to be addressed by various techniques with a primary focus on fighting inequality and discrimination in various spheres of life.
References
Furth, S., & Gonzalez, O. (2019). California zoning: Housing construction and a new ranking of local land use regulation. Mercatus Research Paper. Web.
Ohanian, L. E. (2021). Common-sense policy reforms for California housing. Cato Institute, Policy Analysis, 920. Web.
Reid, C. K. (2019). Rethinking “opportunity” in the siting of affordable housing in California: Resident perspectives on the low-income housing tax credit. Housing Policy Debate, 29(4), 645–669. Web.