Not all urban areas are rich, but the housing crisis is limited to a few that are rich. If New York’s and San Francisco’s housing policies are causing rent to become unaffordable for many of their residents, those metro areas have the responsibility and the resources to fix the problem. That has nothing to do with the vast majority of the country where housing remains affordable.

The idea that job growth is limited to a few high cost metro areas is a myth. Job growth in the south is very strong. From 2005-2013, California and New York underperformed in terms of job growth compared to Montana, Idaho, Texas, Utah, Oklahoma, North Carolina, etc. http://www.policymattersohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/...

You can tell the housing crisis is a local issue because it’s not evenly distributed. America actually has some of the most affordable housing (comparing average house price to average income) out of large metro areas in the developed world: https://www.newgeography.com/content/005858-housing-affordab....

The “socialism” angle is odd. It’s the most progressive and heavily regulated cities that are burdening their young people with unaffordable housing. The unemployment rate in Indianapolis is 3.2% (less than half the rate of Paris) and you can buy a house for just 3 times the median income. The unemployment rate in LA is 4.5% and a house costs 9 times the median income. From a housing perspective, it seems like we need more Mike Pence and less Gavin Newsom, not the other way around.