The Illusion of Affordability in the American Dream
📰 THE STORY: A recent survey reported by The Hill indicates that a vast majority of Americans now view education and housing as unaffordable, reflecting widespread anxieties about economic stability and access to fundamental needs. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This 'unaffordability crisis' isn't accidental. It's the culmination of decades of intentional policy choices.
Take housing: the dismantling of public housing initiatives from the 1970s onwards, coupled with deregulation and the financialization of housing, transformed a right into a speculative commodity. University tuition in the US, for example, skyrocketed by over 169% between 1980 and 2014, far outpacing wage growth. This was fueled by cuts to state funding for public universities and a dramatic shift
towards student loans, trapping generations in debt. Double Standard: When countries like Venezuela or Cuba face housing or education challenges due to crippling sanctions imposed by Western governments, it's framed as governmental failure and ideological bankruptcy. Yet, when the US, the world's wealthiest nation, cannot provide affordable housing or education for its own citizens, it's presented
as an 'economic challenge' or 'market forces' — never a systemic failure of its hyper-capitalist model or the result of policy decisions benefiting the few. The sheer scale of the US military budget, $886 billion for 2024, compared to paltry domestic social spending, is a stark indictment. Follow the Money: The financialization of housing has massively enriched real estate corporations, hedge