Why California Is in Dire Straits

You may have heard of the recent resurrection of the dire wolf. This scientific miracle came about through extracted DNA from the blood of the gray wolf and rewritten into the genetic code to match the sequence from dire wolf fossils.

In California, we need another resurrection of an endangered species  — the California middle-class homeowner. Ironically, both the miracle and the tragedy are entirely man-made, and both phenomena possess the potential to unleash unintended consequences that could redefine our understanding of how we live on this planet. 

California’s housing crisis is not a naturally occurring condition. Nor is it an unavoidable result of market forces, population growth, or even the climate crisis. Rather, it is a deliberate policy choice propped up by decades of anachronistic zoning and construction policies that have allowed wealthy homeowners, entrenched local governments, and bureaucratic red tape to keep desperately needed housing from being built.

According to the California Association of Realtors 2024 Traditional Housing Affordability Index, only 15% of the state’s homebuyers could afford to purchase a median-priced existing single-family home. In Los Angeles, where the median list price is $1.2M, the numbers are even worse with only 13% of households able to purchase the median single-family home with a household income of close to $250K necessary just to qualify. The human cost of the layers of policy failures that have an omnipresent chokehold on housing development have regretfully come to define the image of the state itself. As of January 2024, there were over 187,000 homeless individuals in the state with over 5.2 million, or 18% of California adults reporting that their housing situation was unstable. Further, an EdSource analysis reveals that in Los Angeles County, nearly half (46%) of LAUSD employees, including teachers, are housing insecure, soaring rents making housing unaffordable for many residents. 

The extinction of the California homeowner is easy to understand with its ossified forms of local governments often resisting reforms and maintaining outdated zoning laws that hinder the construction of multifamily housing. These all contribute to an artificial scarcity of available homes. When all that is left of this once golden state are the ultra-rich and those who depend almost entirely on government assistance, a close look at the calcified remnants of a once vibrant middle class will reveal the following clues about how and why it became extinct:

• Impact of Zoning Laws: Restrictive zoning laws have historically prevented lower-income residents from accessing wealthier neighborhoods, exacerbating economic disparities and driving up housing costs. This has led to a decline in population in major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, as residents leave in search of affordable living conditions. 

• Racial and Social Justice Issues: The housing crisis is intertwined with social justice, as exclusionary zoning practices often target low-income and nonwhite communities under the pretext of preserving neighborhood character. This systemic issue continues to hinder equitable access to housing. 

• Need for Reform: Despite state-level initiatives to promote housing development, local governments frequently ignore or resist compliance, worsening the crisis. Effective solutions require political will to dismantle exclusionary practices and streamline housing approvals. 

• Broader Economic Consequences: The housing shortage stifles economic growth, as businesses struggle to attract talent due to high living costs. With tech companies relocating to states with more affordable housing, California risks losing its competitive edge.  

With tech companies relocating to states with more affordable housing, California risks losing its competitive edge. 

• Unaffordable public higher education: The University of California system was initially designed to be tuition-free for California residents. However, over time, tuition and fees have increased significantly, making the UC system one of the most expensive public university systems in the nation further pricing out middle-class families from achieving a staple of middle-class upward mobility. For in-state residents, the total cost of attending UCLA for four years is approximately $170K. With the average median income in Los Angeles at approximately $87K, higher education is no longer affordable to a middle-class household living in Los Angeles County.

• Corruption and the Housing Industrial Complex: LA city officials face challenges in tracking homelessness spending, primarily due to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s (LAHSA) inadequate data collection and accountability measures. An audit of $2.4 billion in city funding revealed that poor documentation made it difficult to track expenditures, and the agency did not verify whether invoiced services were actually provided. The audit highlights insufficient financial accountability and a lack of uniform data standards, which increased the risk of misallocation of resources and hindered assessment of the effectiveness of homelessness assistance services.

While it may be hard to anticipate the consequences of reintroducing extinct species back into the ecosystem, we are indeed experiencing the consequences of failed housing policy across the once great state of California with the extinction of the middle-class homeowner unfold before us in real time. One might even argue that between the resurgence of the dire wolf and the deliberate perpetuation of our dire housing crisis, it is the latter that is far more predatory.

Lisa Ansell is the Associate Director of the USC Casden Institute and Lecturer of Hebrew Language at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Los Angeles.