Let’s start with a basic fact: Housing feels unaffordable because it is unaffordable.

From 2020 to 2021, rent in Massachusetts jumped by a whopping 21%. The average home sale price in the same two years increased by nearly 30%. And housing is now the single largest contributor to inflation.

It's little wonder that when I meet with constituents from Boston to Pittsfield to the Cape, often the first thing I hear is that the cost of housing is just too high. And when I ask employers their biggest challenge, many mention that they can’t find workers or have trouble attracting top talent because of high housing prices.

So what can we do to lower costs? I’ll lay out my thoughts below. But first, please add your name to let me know you agree that our government needs to tackle the skyrocketing cost of housing across our country. It’s important that we tackle this issue as a strong movement — and I’d be honored to have you on board.

For starters, we need to increase supply. We need to build more housing. It’s plain-old Econ 101.

Here in Massachusetts, we are lucky to have a governor who has made it her priority to address the housing crisis head-on. Last fall, Governor Maura Healey introduced the Affordable Homes Act, a set of bold policy proposals to boost the supply of housing and drive down housing costs.

But our Commonwealth can’t tackle this issue all on our own. It’s time for the federal government to step up and take a bigger role in increasing housing supply.

We can use money from my 15% minimum corporate tax on billionaire corporations. And for less than 5% of the annual defense budget, we could create a fund that year after year could be used to increase and upgrade the supply of housing nationwide. I’ll keep fighting for a bill to inject over $40 billion a year into the construction of affordable homes.

Now, there’s another piece of this we need to address: the increasing power of corporate landlords to squeeze renters.

Since the Great Recession, institutional investors have bought up hundreds of thousands of single-family homes, hoovering up a significant chunk of the existing housing supply. By 2030, these big, Wall Street firms are expected to own as much as 40% of all single-family rental homes.

Once their power is entrenched, there’s little stopping corporate landlords from squeezing families for profits. In communities across the country, institutional investors have hiked rents by double digit margins and jacked up fees, all while letting homes fall apart.

Meaningfully addressing the Wall Street investor problem will require Congress to pass legislation. And Republicans have refused to support investments on the scale of what’s needed. But here there’s hope for more urgent action. I’ve called on the Biden Administration to use its authority to deliver immediate relief to renters, both from high costs and greedy investors. In response to my call, President Biden revealed a series of federal agency actions and a Blueprint for a Tenant Bill of Rights earlier this year.

Big problems require big solutions, and solving the housing crisis will require creative solutions and persistence from all levels of government — along with a strong grassroots movement demanding action.

I’m running for re-election this year to stay in the fight for the bold reforms we need, from housing to child care to climate change and beyond.

Please add your name to let me know you agree with this plan to start to tackle this critical issue. Affordable housing is a human right, and we need to raise our voices on this issue and put our government on the side of working families.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth