What is contributing to California’s homelessness?
Steven Greenhut, the Western region director for R Street Institute, a Washington-based conservative think tank, told the Register that “building more housing is desperately needed for so many reasons.” Additional housing, he said, could provide significant relief on behalf of renters, who spend approximately a third of their income on housing in California.
The cost of providing a home is even more burdensome for low-income households: Roughly half of them spend more than 50% of their income on housing. When cost of living is factored in, California has the highest poverty rate in the nation.
The state bears a significant responsibility for the lack of housing, Greenhut said.
“We’ve screwed up the whole housing market through all these regulations,” Greenhut said.
