Encourage community development credit unions and other community-based lenders, and the development of cooperatively owned housing. Encourage the National Cooperative Bank to promote and finance affordable, cooperative housing. Identify individuals and families who still cannot afford decent housing, and implement a program to close the affordability gap within five years. This can be done with a combination of housing vouchers, tax credits, SSI subsidies and other measures. This step will require extra assistance for households in areas where rents are higher than the national average.
Housing is a fundamental human right.
The United States is a rich country in the midst of a record economic boom, that has largely benefitted the wealthy. There is no better time than now to affirm our commitment to affordable housing for everybody, and to implement plans to make this goal a reality.