WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new report released Thursday by Dēmos and People’s Action Institute argues that the nation’s affordability crisis is not simply the product of inflation or economic cycles, but rather the result of decades of policy decisions that concentrated wealth and power among corporations and the ultra-wealthy while weakening public investment and democratic accountability.
The report, Solving the Affordability Crisis: A Plan for a People-Powered, Racially Just Economy, examines rising costs in housing, utilities, food, health care and child care and contends that policymakers can reverse those trends through stronger public investment, labor protections, corporate regulation and democratic reforms.
According to the report, families across the United States are facing rising costs for essential goods and services while wages have failed to keep pace. Researchers argue that those conditions stem from deliberate political and economic decisions rather than unavoidable market forces.
“The affordability crisis didn’t happen by accident,” said Daniella Zessoules, senior policy analyst at Dēmos. “For decades, policymakers have allowed the systems people rely on — from housing and health care to food and energy — to become organized around profit rather than access and affordability.”
Zessoules added, “The result is an economy where people are struggling to afford the basics at the same time that wealth and power is becoming increasingly concentrated at the top. But because these conditions are the result of policy choices, they can also be changed through different choices.”
The report links affordability challenges to broader concerns about democracy and political power. It argues that growing economic inequality has left many Americans feeling excluded from decision-making while creating opportunities for corporate interests to shape policy outcomes.
“The economic reality American families are facing today is the result of decades of budget, tax, and policy decisions that have concentrated money and political power in the hands of the few,” said Eliana Golding, associate director for budget and tax policy at Dēmos.
Golding said, “History has shown that a more inclusive, racially just economy is possible through organizing and social movements that address economic demands and give people decision making power back in our democracy.”
Researchers contend that affordability problems are particularly severe for Black and brown families because of historic and ongoing barriers to wealth building. The report states that generations of discriminatory policies have left many communities with fewer assets and financial reserves to withstand rising costs.
The report argues that the affordability crisis reflects a broader transformation of the American economy. According to its authors, policymakers have weakened labor protections, failed to ensure that wages keep pace with living costs and underinvested in public goods such as housing, transportation, education and child care.
Researchers point to extreme wealth concentration as evidence of the problem. The report states that 905 U.S. billionaires collectively hold approximately $7.8 trillion in wealth, nearly double the amount held by the bottom half of American households. It further notes that 70 percent of Americans believe the economy is “rigged” against them.
The report identifies housing as one of the clearest examples of affordability challenges driven by policy choices. It notes that half of renter households in the United States are considered cost burdened, meaning they spend more than one-third of their income on housing. Among Black households, that figure rises to more than 56 percent.
Researchers argue that the housing shortage, especially for low-income households, is a major contributor to rising costs. Nationally, they report that 11 million households with extremely low incomes compete for just 7.2 million affordable housing units.
The report criticizes heavy reliance on private markets to provide housing, arguing that profit-driven financing structures inherently push rents and housing prices upward. It states that meaningful affordability will require greater public investment in affordable and social housing, expanded housing assistance and stronger rent regulations.
Energy and utility costs represent another major concern highlighted in the report. Researchers note that electricity and gas are essential services, yet millions of households struggle to keep up with bills. Federal data cited in the report show utility companies disconnected household electricity 13.4 million times and gas service 1.7 million times in 2024.
The report warns that utility costs are likely to continue increasing because of climate change, growing energy demand and reductions in federal support for sustainable energy infrastructure.
Researchers attribute much of the problem to investor-owned utility companies that operate as regulated monopolies while generating profits for shareholders. According to the report, families are effectively paying not only for energy but also for corporate returns, with an average of 13 percent of monthly bills going toward profits.
The report also highlights racial disparities in energy costs. A 2025 study cited by the authors found that households in majority-Black census tracts spend approximately 5 percent of their income on utility bills compared to about 3 percent for households with similar incomes living in majority-white neighborhoods.
Food affordability emerges as another central concern. The report states that 13.7 percent of U.S. households experienced food insecurity in 2024, including 18.4 percent of households with children. For Black non-Hispanic households with children, the rate reached 31 percent.
Researchers argue that corporate consolidation has allowed a small number of food manufacturers and grocery chains to exert significant influence over prices. They point to dominant companies such as PepsiCo, Tyson Foods, Walmart, Kroger and Safeway as examples of firms controlling growing shares of the market.
The report maintains that decades of weakened antitrust enforcement enabled this concentration of market power. It argues that reduced competition has left consumers with fewer choices and higher prices while making it increasingly difficult for smaller retailers to survive.
Beyond specific sectors, the report frames affordability as a democratic issue. Its authors contend that when people struggle to meet basic needs while watching wealth accumulate among a small group of elites, trust in public institutions erodes and political instability grows.
“There is a fundamental problem when the billionaire class has nearly twice as much wealth as the bottom half of the country,” said Sulma Arias, executive director of People’s Action Institute.
Arias added, “Extreme inequality bolsters authoritarianism, but it can also spark collective action. No one should have to work three or more jobs to survive, or die because they cannot afford medicine, a place to live, or air conditioning.”
She concluded, “The fight for affordability and democracy go hand-in-hand, and it is a fight we can win.”
The report was released ahead of the first People’s Affordability & Democracy Summit, scheduled for June 12-15, where organizers, advocates and policy experts from around the country are expected to discuss strategies for addressing affordability concerns and strengthening democratic participation.
Throughout the report, the authors maintain that affordability challenges are not inevitable. Instead, they argue that the same policy choices that produced today’s economic conditions can be replaced with policies focused on public investment, worker power, corporate accountability and democratic participation.
“Working people built the economy,” the report states, “and they should benefit from its abundance.”
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I sometimes wonder if we (meaning any society) actually “need” poor people. In other words, what would happen if generation-after-generation of “poor” people stopped having kids?
As I’ve become older (and look around), I realize that a lot of people didn’t even exist when I was younger. (And yes, I use my own birth as a “benchmark” in reference to this.) And yet, the same problems continue, generation-after-generation.
In any case, would they be replaced by “newly-minted” poor people (coming from rich parents), or would only wealthy people exist in that case?
Also, perhaps AI will increasingly replace “everyone” (but especially poor people)?
We tried that – it was called Eugenics. It didn’t work out well.
I was just thinking of that. But this form of Eugenics would only be based on wealth (not genetic traits).
Of course, some people might believe that wealth is due to genetic traits.
In any case, I might be for Kahn myself – if his bad side could be rooted out of him. Of course, Kirk ultimately proved that he was superior regardless.
Evolution on steroids, as it were.
I figure that in my own case, only a portion of my genetics should be used going forward (and a bunch of the rest of them hopefully headed for extinction).
Beth Bourne is incorrect – we’re ALL born in the wrong body. :-)
So while I’m waiting for you to post my initial response, your comment doesn’t actually address my questions.
Eugenics was partly based on racial traits.
I was asking what would happen if only wealthy people had kids, and whether or not that would be the end of poverty within a generation or two. I also asked if society actually “needs” poor people to perform some functions, especially in light of AI.
Of course, we’ll never know.
But one thing I do know is that the result is predictable, if nothing ever changes. Same problems that have existed from the time before I was born.
I suspect that Elon Musk’s brood of kids aren’t shooting anyone else.