I’ve been thinking a lot about the housing situation in the US. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about how I, personally, should approach it. That is, what is both my intention and responsibility in addressing it. So, this might get a little long (as is my style), but hopefully it’s helpful for others.
THE PROBLEM
First off, I do think there’s a housing shortage in the US. I’m just a googler, but it appears there is a shortage of roughly 7 million single family homes and another 7 million low income rental units. I didn’t learn a lot in my economics classes, but I seem to recall something about supply and demand, so there’s an obvious problem here.
However, I also think there’s a problem regarding inelastic demand, and this is the piece that I think a lot of my market-loving friends miss. Supply and Demand generally only works when people can walk away from our product, forcing you to lower your prices. But sometimes, people CAN’T walk away, because they need the product. This is why certain things don’t respond well to market forces – healthcare, water, housing, etc. Because no matter how high people jack the prices, we WILL pay it, because we have to have it.
So, housing prices continue to rise, even as people have to work two or three jobs, families have to share homes, and so forth. Because people NEED to have somewhere to live, and they will pay through the nose for it. (that’s right, quoting Lex Luthor).
To be clear, I believe in capitalism and the free market – I think capitalism has led more people out of poverty in the last century than anything else. I believe free trade will arise either legally or through black markets, and I’d rather have them out in the open. That said, there are certain things the free market can’t correct.
With all due respect to my current seminary instructor, I do not believe “there is nothing the free market can’t solve.” Despite the obvious idolatry here, there are other more practical problems. Free markets only work if they are, oh I don’t know, free. Libertarians seem to think that if the government just gets out of the way, the market will solve everyone’s problems.
But I will argue that if the government steps out, what usually happens is “pseudo-government” controls step in. In many places, with no government around the market, organized crime takes over. Or the wealthy corner markets in either vertical or horizontal monopolies. We need some government involvement to make the market as free as possible.
SHOULD GOVERNMENT GET INVOLVED?
As a result, I have these conflicting of ideas of how to solve it.
Do we put restrictions on how many homes people can own? That would put more homes on the market and drive prices down. It might curb the flow of wealth from the have-nots to the haves, which is what I see as a major issue (historically, the greater the income inequality, the more you have chances of violence. I’d like to avoid that if possible).
Do we put price controls on rent? I’m not a huge fan of that for several reasons, but to mention just two of them: this eliminates the incentive for landlords to improve their properties, and secondly I think that even if government does that, people just end up subleasing their apartments or homes for higher prices, either legally or illegally.
We could build more government housing, but I think the Projects in major cities shows that is not always the best option. In a cautious way, I’m more open to trying this if they were single family homes, though I’m still hesitant.
Long story short, I don’t know what would really help, other than more houses on the market, but with people and corporations buying up everything in sight for rentals or Air BnBs, I’m not sure that would solve the problem without additional actions. (and this doesn’t even begin to address the labor and materials issues for building new homes)
SO THEN WHAT?
And here’s the big part – I’m not economist or city planner or realtor or anything. I’m just a guy noticing how many people are working more and more to pay for a roof over their heads. Listening to people in my office talking about buying a 3rd and 4th home to rent out, and yet when I’m out door dashing I see people in their 40s and 50s working second and third evening jobs to cover their rent. I don’t know if a lot of people just don’t see that as frequently as I come into contact with it, or if they just think it’s not a big problem. I don’t know.
What is my place in this? Do I tell my day-job people about the evening-job people struggling? Would it change anything? Do I tell my Christian friends that I think them celebrating their “passive income” victories are the very things I think the prophets in the Old Testament warned the wealthy of Israel about? When I see people talking about how much their making on their rental properties so they can “give to missions,” I see Amos 2:8 and Hosea 6:6. When I hear people like Dave Ramsay argue that “the market did X or Y,” I see Christians following the ways of the world rather than the ways of Jesus.
But is it my place to point this out? More specifically, should I KEEP sharing it, over and over? I mean, mentioning it once seems like encouraging fellow believers. Hitting the drum over and over seems like harassment or self-righteousness. What is it Jesus would want of me here? How do I advocate for the poor, and yet remember I’m not really in a position to either know or judge others?
Additionally, how much of my frustration is just my own experience? Do I just see it more because this particular thing hits me harder? To be fair, it hasn’t hit me THAT hard. I have a nice home to live in, I have a good job, and I have the opportunity to have a 2nd and 3rd job that other people don’t (we know people in Africa that would LOVE the opportunity to DoorDash). Yes, I’m working a lot right now, but it’s not like I’m working in the salt mines.
So, do I just work quietly with my hands? Live as peaceably as I can, trusting God to meet my own needs daily? Is it helpful for me, my family, or anyone else for me to be arguing about societal wealth issues? Would it matter if I did or didn’t? Would I be bringing more peace to the world if I just worked hard, gave money to the poor, and let God deal with others?
I really don’t know.
It’s a struggle for me. I feel like I should do SOMETHING, because I see the strain it’s putting on people, I see (in my opinion) Christians buying into the capitalist mindset instead of the Biblical mindset. I see (my opinion) Christians living less like the Sermon on the mount, and more like the Pharisees. So, should I keep bringing it up? Or just live the way I think God is saying, and let God deal with others? Would slavery have ended if people had just gone quietly about their work? Was it Wilberforce and reformers who changed it? Or would it have changed anyway with time? I just don’t know.
THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER
My feeling at this point is to back off, at least somewhat. My feelings on Christians generating wealth, especially through housing, is fairly well-known to anyone who interacts with me. I do believe the market will correct itself eventually, either through peaceful market forces or through violence. Either way, I am comfortable trusting God with me and my family personally, and as for others, maybe I should be focusing on helping those close to me rather than trying to change the world. Help the neighbor with their rent, work some extra hours and send it overseas to our contacts there, and so forth. Maybe that’s what I’m called to do.
Who knows. If we all did that, if Christians rented out their homes as less than market value to help a poor family, if Christians gave more to their local church to help the poor in their neighborhoods, if Christians sold their property (such as they have) and gave it to the poor, maybe the world would change anyway, regardless of what others in the market do.
Maybe it’s not about changing the world or correcting the housing market. Maybe it’s about me being content with where I am, trusting God for tomorrow, and helping those who I can. Doesn’t mean I won’t encourage other Christians to consider exactly where their wealth is coming from. But maybe it’ s not my place to berate them. Perhaps the Holy Spirit can do that job better than I can.
Maybe then, the world will say “see how they love each other.”