Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is blaming President Donald Trump for a recent surge in homelessness that has left thousands more people living on the streets of the so-called City of Angels.
<a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/los-angeles-homelessness-expected-rise-3-5-sources-say-ahead-lahsa-count">FOX11 reported</a> that homelessness in America&#8217;s second-largest city is expected to rise by about 3.5% when the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority releases new data Friday.
Ahead of Friday&#8217;s official release, FOX11 reported that the city estimates roughly 45,000 people are living on its streets—an 8% increase from last year—underscoring Los Angeles&#8217; ongoing struggles with homelessness and quality-of-life issues.
The looming report also undercuts Bass&#8217; campaign narrative that homelessness has significantly dropped under her rocky tenure. Her signature Inside Safe initiative has spent <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-05/under-la-mayors-300-million-homeless-program-40-have-returned-to-street">more than $300 million</a> to move roughly 5,800 people into interim housing, mostly hotels and motels, but about 40% have since returned to the streets, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/could-spencer-pratt-be-l-a-s-outsider-hero">The Daily Wire</a> reported. Just one in four participants has reached permanent housing, at a cost of more than $200,000 per permanent placement.
To explain the recent surge, Bass turned to her party’s favorite political punching bag: President Trump. 
&#8220;For two years straight, we drove down homelessness by historic margins — but as expected, last year our efforts ultimately couldn’t keep up with policies and funding cuts on the federal and state levels,&#8221; Bass said, according to FOX11. &#8220;The Trump administration has driven up the cost of gas, groceries, and rent — pushing more families to the edge — and slashed critical safety net funding.”
The embattled mayor, who is facing a stronger-than-expected challenge from her left flank, also took aim at Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom&#8217;s handling of the state budget.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WATCH: Inside sources tell me L.A.’s homeless count is expected to rise… ending two straight years of reported declines.
The official numbers won’t be released until Friday, but multiple sources familiar with LAHSA’s latest count say homelessness is trending upward in Los… <a href="https://t.co/sUYPMVcN54">pic.twitter.com/sUYPMVcN54</a>
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) <a href="https://x.com/MattSeedorff/status/2080162994324144515?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
“And, last year’s state cut of over $70 million severely impacted our work to keep people housed and get more Angelenos off the streets,” she said in a <a href="https://x.com/MattSeedorff/status/2080161071936221606?s=20">statement</a>. “The lack of adequate services continues to be a real problem and a contributing factor to people cycling in and out of homelessness, and these services are controlled by LA County.” 
The latest figures come as little surprise to many Los Angeles residents, including billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso, who unsuccessfully challenged Bass in the 2022 mayoral race. “I doubt anyone living in LA is surprised,” he <a href="https://x.com/RickCarusoLA/status/2080334679530758318?s=20">said.</a>  
Some residents questioned the city&#8217;s count, arguing the actual homeless population is far higher than reported.
“I don’t listen to the numbers, my eyes are better than numbers,” one man <a href="https://x.com/RickCarusoLA/status/2080334679530758318?s=20">told FOX11</a>, in a report showing littered streets, vandalized buildings, and open drug use. 
Leftist L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman will face off against Bass in the November mayoral election after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spencer-pratts-race-has-been-called-see-the-results">troves of late-arriving ballots</a> locked Republican Spencer Pratt out of the race.
Pratt’s viral campaign ads tapped into the reality TV star’s savvy social media background to push a message of change in a city plagued by chronic challenges. His platform captivated nationwide attention but ultimately fell flat in a deep-blue city dominated by leftists. 
His election defeat, however, has not stopped the Palisades wildfire victim from speaking out against the city’s leadership.  
“SHOCKER&#8230;the LA homeless count is going UP!” Pratt <a href="https://x.com/spencerpratt/status/2080284771846918154?s=20">said</a> Thursday. “I warned you guys: the more homeless people, the more money Nithya Raman and Karen Bass can launder through their corrupt NGOs. You will NEVER fix this problem by electing people who profit off it.”

US-HOMELESS-CENSUS-LOSANGELES

L.A. Mayor Blames Trump For City’s Homelessness Surge

California

Democrats

Donald Trump

Gavin Newsom

Homelessness

Housing

Housing Crisis

Inflation

Karen Bass

Los Angeles

News

Nithya Raman

Politics

President Trump

Rick Caruso

Spencer Pratt

America&#8217;s homeownership crisis may be even more severe than widely understood. A new <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2026/new-homeownership-measure-puts-people-first">study</a> argues that while official government statistics show about 65% of U.S. homes are owner-occupied, only about 53% of American adults actually own the homes they live in. 
The difference stems from how homeownership is measured. The Census Bureau&#8217;s longstanding homeownership rate tracks whether a home is owner-occupied, not whether every adult living there owns it. For example, a married couple who own a home they share with an adult son counts as one owner-occupied household, even though the son does not own the property himself.
The researchers argue that measuring homeownership by individual adults provides a more accurate picture of how many Americans have actually achieved homeownership, particularly as more adults live with family members or roommates because of high housing costs.
Researchers estimate that nearly 14% of adults live in owner-occupied homes without actually owning them. That group includes adult children, aging parents, roommates, friends, and others living with homeowners. To better capture individual ownership, the researchers propose a new metric, Homeownership-to-Population, or HPOP, which measures the share of adults who own the home they live in.
The lower estimate comes as homeownership becomes increasingly out of reach for many Americans, particularly younger generations. According to recent surveys, 62% of Gen Z say they worry they will never be able to buy a home. Meanwhile, the median age of first-time homebuyers jumped from 33 in 2021 to 40 in 2025, reflecting the growing financial hurdles facing prospective buyers.  
Those hurdles continue to mount. In June, the median existing-home price reached a record <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-existing-home-sales-report-shows-2-4-decrease-in-june">$440,600</a>, up 49.2% from June 2020. 
National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the biggest obstacle remains a lack of housing supply. 
“Without a doubt, affordability is a major challenge for people who want to become homeowners, which is the reason why we need more supply,” Yun said. 
<a href="http://realtor.com">Realtor.com</a> estimates the United States faces a housing shortage of roughly 4 million homes. 
Higher borrowing costs have compounded the problem. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates from near zero to above 5.25%, while the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has more than doubled from roughly 3.11% in 2020 to about 6.55%.
Congress attempted to address the housing shortage by passing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in July, legislation designed to reduce regulatory barriers to home construction while encouraging state and local governments to reform zoning and land-use policies through grant incentives. 
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) called the legislation &#8220;transformational.&#8221;
&#8220;This transformational legislation will help address the housing affordability problem, reduce regulations so builders can build, limit institutional investing in the housing market, and bring the American Dream back into reach for millions of young and working families,&#8221; he said.
Housing economists welcomed the legislation but cautioned that meaningful relief will take time.
“This bill directly targets some of the biggest drivers of housing costs: land-use restrictions, permitting delays, financing constraints and regulatory hurdles,” <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/11/21st-century-road-to-housing-act-homebuyers-sellers.html">said</a> Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality. “Unfortunately, homebuyers should not expect immediate relief.” 
Hepp added that “housing development takes time and many of the benefits would likely materialize gradually rather than overnight.”

US-ECONOMY-HOUSING-REAL ESTATE

America’s Home Ownership Crisis May Be Even Worse Than Previously Known

Gen Z

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump stunned lawmakers on Wednesday with the announcement that he would not be coming to Capitol Hill as planned to sign the much-discussed housing bill.
The president said in a mid-morning Truth Social post that he had canceled his planned press conference and would not be signing the housing bill until lawmakers passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing bill had passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate with strong bipartisan support.
&#8220;Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,&#8221; Trump said.
He had signaled his frustration earlier on Wednesday morning with a post about Democrat Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren&#8217;s involvement with the housing bill.
<div id="attachment_1122259" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-gives-washington-a-taste-of-its-own-medicine-refuses-to-sign-housing-bill/trump-bill-signing-canceled" rel="attachment wp-att-1122259"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1122259" class="wp-image-1122259 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2282564029-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2282564029-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2282564029-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2282564029-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/GettyImages-2282564029.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>The Presidential seal from the podium is packed away after President Trump canceled the housing bill signing event in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)</div>
&#8220;The Elizabeth &#8216;Pocahontas&#8217; Warren centric housing bill, which is of minor importance compared to lower interest rates, and even FISA, pales in comparison to passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;That is what Americans, both Dumocrats, Republicans, and everyone else, care about.&#8221;
&#8220;Get the bad Republicans to approve it or, better yet, Terminate the Filibuster and approve it, AND EVERYTHING ELSE REPUBLICANS HAVE EVER DREAMED OF,&#8221; Trump argued. &#8220;The Dumocrats will do it in hour one, 100%. Republicans will feel very stupid if they don’t do it first. I’ll be watching with tears in my eyes!!!&#8221;
The president was originally scheduled to sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act at noon on Wednesday at the United States Capitol. He was then scheduled to attend the Senate Republican Steering Committee Lunch at 1:00 p.m.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he is also skipping the lunch.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Wednesday that he spoke to Trump before a Republican conference meeting on Wednesday morning about the SAVE America Act. The speaker said that he told Trump that the bill has passed the House multiple times but is stuck in the Senate due to opposition from Democrats.
“He’s laser-focused on SAVE America Act,&#8221; Johnson noted, adding, &#8220;You have to put it in a reconciliation bill.”
Trump&#8217;s announcement came while Johnson and other Republican leaders were holding a news conference highlighting the housing legislation.
“He decided, and I didn’t announce it, I wanted him to announce it,” Johnson told reporters after Trump&#8217;s post. “But we’re delaying this. As you know, he has a window of time before he has to sign a bill, and he’s going to use a little bit more of this window of time and we’re going to go through this together.”

President Trump Signs Executive Orders In The Oval Office

Trump Gives Washington A Taste Of Its Own Medicine, Refuses To Sign Housing Bill

Capitol Hill

SAVE America Act

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is overhauling how the federal government addresses homelessness, tying billions of dollars in Housing and Urban Development funding to treatment, recovery, and measurable outcomes rather than approaches officials say have enabled addiction and failed to solve the problem.
The Housing and Urban Development Department announced a new $4.04 billion Notice of Funding Opportunity on Monday through its Continuum of Care (CoC) homelessness assistance program.
&#8220;The status quo on homelessness is not working,&#8221; HUD Secretary Scott Turner said on a call with reporters. &#8220;In a country as prosperous as ours, it is unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans are sleeping on the streets, struggling with drug addiction, suffering from mental illness, and trapped in cycles that federal policy has too often failed to address.&#8221; 
The funding notice represents what Turner called a &#8220;fundamental shift&#8221; in how HUD evaluates homeless programs and allocates federal dollars.
&#8220;Instead of enablement, we will focus on treatment and recovery,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We will fund projects based on merit and outcomes, not warehousing the homeless and government dependent. We will define success by how many Americans achieve self-sufficiency, not by dollars spent or units filled.&#8221; 
HUD officials stressed that under President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration, billions of dollars were spent on the homelessness problem, yet <a href="https://nlihc.org/resource/hud-releases-2023-annual-homeless-assessment-report?utm_source=chatgpt.com">homelessness simultaneously spiked</a>. One reason for this, the officials told reporters, is that HUD was funding programs that were enabling the use of illicit drugs and distribution of paraphernalia. 
&#8220;We should be making this easy to get treatment and hard to get high, but our policies in the prior Biden and Obama administrations have basically made it easy to get high and hard to get treatment,&#8221; a HUD official explained to The Daily Wire.
HUD&#8217;s 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report informed Congress that 745,652 people in the United States were homeless, including 266,320 people living on the street on a single night in January 2025. The figure is a 3% decrease since 2024, which the Trump administration has attributed to decreases in homelessness in sanctuary cities.
Between 2013 and 2025, homelessness increased 27%, unsheltered homelessness by 36%, chronic homelessness climbed 81%, and taxpayer-funded beds increased by 151%. Continuum of Care spending had also increased 111%, according to HUD.
Officials stressed that those trends demonstrate the need for a new approach.
Under the revised framework, HUD says it will prioritize programs that produce measurable improvements in treatment, recovery, and self-sufficiency rather than simply increasing the number of beds or housing units.
Officials also accused some federally funded homelessness providers of tolerating or facilitating drug use.
&#8220;Under the Biden administration, HUD turned a blind eye to and ignored the reality of illicit drug use and trafficking inside of DOC funded, HUD funded housing for the homeless, and the result is devastating,&#8221; one HUD official explained to The Daily Wire. 
&#8220;We&#8217;ve seen countless lives lost to overdose inside of HUD funded housing for the homeless because of this, and even worse, we&#8217;ve also seen COC funded providers distributing needles, crack pipes, foil, drug paraphernalia to use deadly drugs inside of housing.&#8221;
Officials also pointed to the federal &#8220;Crack House Law,&#8221; slang for the Controlled Substances Act, which makes it illegal to knowingly open or run a place that is being used for drug manufacturing or distribution.
&#8220;We basically had programs totally ignoring the federal law, as well as local and state laws,&#8221; explained a second HUD official, &#8220;and what you&#8217;re seeing is a lot of mayors are really leading the effort now to fight back in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Austin, Houston, Portland.&#8221;
&#8220;Somebody experiencing homelessness should not get a get out of jail card for distribution use, on the street,&#8221; the official added.

Like Many U.S. Cities, Seattle Struggles With Crime And Homelessness During Pandemic Era

Trump Admin Has A New Prescription For Homelessness

Housing and Urban Development

scott turner

New York City Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani plans to seize neglected properties from landlords and transfer them to new ownership groups. 
“For buildings that have suffered chronic neglect, we will work to transfer ownership to responsible stewards. Stewards that include community land trusts, non-profits, or even the tenants themselves,” Mamdani said. “When necessary we will take aggressive legal action to remove negligent owners and property managers.” 
&nbsp;
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1101969 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM-477x576.png" alt="" width="477" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM-477x576.png 477w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM-248x300.png 248w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM-768x927.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-1.05.08-PM.png 1204w" sizes=" (max-width: 477px) 100vw, 477px" /></div>
Mamdani did not detail how the city would legally seize or transfer ownership of privately held properties. One possible mechanism is New York City’s controversial <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/finance/property/property-in-rem-forclosure.page">Third Party Transfer (TPT)</a> program, which allowed the city to foreclose on distressed buildings whose owners owed back property taxes or water charges and had accumulated significant housing code violations before transferring them to nonprofit housing groups or tenant organizations. 
Under the program, landlords who failed to resolve violations or pay city debts could face foreclosure proceedings initiated by the city. Once the city gained control of a property, ownership could then be transferred to nonprofits, community land trusts, or tenant groups.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
NOW: Mamdani says his admin will transfer ownership from bad landlords to non-profits.
“For buildings that have suffered chronic neglect, we will work to transfer ownership to responsible stewards.
Stewards that include community land trusts, non-profits, or even the tenants… <a href="https://t.co/YHhzGWPgWh">pic.twitter.com/YHhzGWPgWh</a>
— Brecca Stoll (@breccastoll) <a href="https://twitter.com/breccastoll/status/2059289647688106237?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Critics argued the policy enabled the government to strip owners of valuable equity through aggressive code enforcement and foreclosure actions.
The TPT program was paused in 2019 after backlash from property-rights advocates and elected officials. The New York City Council is currently considering legislation that could <a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2026/03/09/third-party-transfer-reform-city-council-landlords-property/">restart</a> the program. 
Mamdani said his “rental rip-off” hearings were instrumental in shaping his housing agenda. The Daily Wire attended the first hearing in Brooklyn and spoke with tenants paying well below-market rents in stabilized apartments who urged Mamdani to freeze rents while also demanding repairs and building improvements from landlords.
Mamdani’s latest housing proposal appears aimed at balancing those competing pressures.
On Tuesday, Mamdani also appeared to backtrack on his campaign promise to impose a blanket rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments. Under his revised proposal, some exempted landlords would still be allowed to impose a one-time rent increase on vacant units even if a rent freeze is enacted. 
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/mamdani-says-these-nyc-landlords-will-be-exempt-from-his-rent-freeze-ee53180c?mod=hp_lead_pos5">reported</a> that dozens of landlords could qualify for the exemption. Rent-stabilized apartments are currently subject to a 3% cap on annual rent increases for one-year lease renewals.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Interview

Mamdani Wants To Decide Who Deserves To Keep Their Property

New York

New York City

Property Rights

Renters

Zohran Mamdani

On Monday, the New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)—which enforces housing laws on private landlords—released a video that was a photo-op for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani accompanied inspectors as they toured a private apartment building. The resulting video—a textbook photo-op—captured the mayor and inspectors pointing out minor infractions like faulty window balances and flower pots on fire escapes. While Mamdani framed the event as a victory for &#8220;accountability,&#8221; critics see it as a calculated distraction from the catastrophic state of the city’s own housing empire and a precursor to a massive, taxpayer-funded spending spree.
Mamdani’s rhetoric was unmistakable. Urging residents to flood the 311 system, he promised to &#8220;hold landlords accountable&#8221; for every broken plaster patch.
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What does an HPD inspection look like?<a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NYCMayor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ZohranKMamdani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZohranKMamdani</a> stepped in for a day and identified six violations now being issued to the landlord.
If you see unsafe conditions, call 311. We’ll inspect and hold owners accountable. <a href="https://t.co/FhaqHKBnrn">pic.twitter.com/FhaqHKBnrn</a>
&mdash; NYC Housing (@NYCHousing) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCHousing/status/2046360618068742252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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This aggressive posture toward the private sector is a cornerstone of the Mamdani administration, which has effectively declared war on private property through its &#8220;Rental Ripoff&#8221; hearing series. Led by Director of Tenant Protection Cea Weaver—who has infamously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/marxism-in-the-metropolis-nycs-new-tenant-czar-has-targeted-white-homeowners-private-property?utm_source=chatgpt.com">labeled</a> homeownership a &#8220;tool of white supremacy&#8221;—the administration appears less interested in urban planning and more focused on what some describe as &#8220;Soviet-style collectivism.&#8221;
The irony of Mamdani’s crusade against &#8220;private slumlords&#8221; is the staggering state of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). While the mayor hunts for missing window guards in private buildings, NYCHA—the city’s own public housing system—was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dozens-of-nyc-govt-employees-arrested-by-feds-most-single-day-bribery-arrests-in-doj-history?utm_source=chatgpt.com">buckling</a> under a $78 billion repair backlog as late as 2024. Residents there aren&#8217;t just dealing with flower pots on fire escapes; they face chronic infestations, lead paint, and broken elevators.
Mamdani’s attitude with NYCHA is one of &#8220;throwing money at the problem&#8221; while ignoring the rot within. In 2024, federal prosecutors <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/nyregion/nyc-public-housing-corruption.html">charged</a> 70 NYCHA employees in a massive bribery and extortion scheme—the largest single-day bribery takedown in Department of Justice history. These officials allegedly took $2 million in kickbacks for maintenance contracts.
Rather than addressing this &#8220;culture of corruption,&#8221; Mamdani has consistently framed NYCHA&#8217;s failure as a mere lack of &#8220;public investment,&#8221; ignoring that the agency collected a record-low 65% of charged rent in 2022.
Landlords, particularly those managing rent-stabilized buildings, warn that Mamdani’s policies are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of decay. With financing costs skyrocketing and rental revenue frozen by city mandates, major providers like the Pinnacle Group have already been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-weeks-of-one-sided-open-mic-complaints-mamdani-eyes-housing-power-grab">forced into bankruptcy</a>.
The message to New Yorkers is clear: the administration intends to squeeze the private market until it breaks, then step in with &#8220;collective&#8221; solutions funded by a city budget already facing a $12.6 billion gap.
While Mamdani &#8220;imagines&#8221; a better city for the cameras, the reality for many remains piles of rat-infested trash and a public housing system that remains the city&#8217;s most negligent landlord.

NYC Mayor Mamdani Delivers Address On His First 100 Days In Office

Mamdani’s Soviet-Style Photo-Op Targets Landlords While NYC’s Public Housing Empire Crumbles

General

Leftism

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has completed his tenant reach-out series, allowing him to start the process of crafting policy based on the testimonies his administration collected over the last six weeks.
Each week in a different borough of New York City, Mamdani invited renters to air their grievances about their landlords — one of Mamdani’s flagship initiatives. Within ninety days of the hearings, the Mayor’s Office of Tenant Protection, along with other agencies, will bring a joint report to Mamdani’s desk showcasing common themes they learned from tenants.
Mamdani’s team told renters that they wanted to hear about repairs, problems with rats, problems with heat, deceptive fees from landlords, and “ICE-related harassment in buildings.”
“Your testimony will directly inform policy changes to strengthen city policies to protect tenants,” an ad for the dubbed &#8220;Rental Ripoff&#8221; series stated.
The Daily Wire spoke to one of the tenants offering her testimony.
“I’ve been living in my apartment for over ten years. We didn’t have heat in the apartment most of the time for years. We had walls that were collapsing, a ceiling that’s collapsing, a horrific bug and rat infestation problem,” a female tenant, Abigail, said.
When asked why she remained in the apartment, she told The Daily Wire it was because it was rent stabilized. She pays $300 a month for her share of a three-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. She said the total rent for the apartment was $900 monthly, while the average rent for a three-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn is <a href="https://www.apartments.com/rent-market-trends/brooklyn-ny/">$4,892</a> a month.
Abigail explained that she was a comic strip artist, so it was hard to find an affordable place to live. She hopes Mamdani keeps her rent frozen at $300 and that he mandates that her landlord fix all that is wrong with her apartment.
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;"><iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/3OFKTYBhDWb01yvrfBvd5gLiWVDUpwtEW?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=e5a87763-d3f0-4616-b86a-fe2e1a5d6773&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=Rental%20Ripoff%20Interview&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2F986617c8-b7f1-466c-8c9e-fd685b8d502a.jpg&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
The Rental Ripoff hearings were led by Mamdani’s Director of Tenant Protection Cea Weaver — who infamously claimed that “Homeownership is a tool of white supremacy.” In her presentation, titled “New Yorkers vs. Bad Landlords,” Weaver told renters that the mayor’s office would use the feedback collected at the hearings to inform housing policy going forward.
New York real estate broker Adam Frisch warned The Daily Wire that the hearings are too one-sided. “They should pull from a combination of tenants, landlords, financiers, developers, and economists. Everybody looks at the situation with their own biases, and it’s the role of the mayor to sit down with tenants and landlords and say I know you’re both unhappy. Let’s see what we can do.”
Landlords blame rent stabilization for the poor conditions of certain apartments. Without the ability to raise rent, they say, they are unable to generate sufficient revenue to maintain their buildings.
Pinnacle Group, a major New York landlord, filed for bankruptcy in 2025, claiming that the “sharp increase in financing costs outpaced rental revenue, which could not be correspondingly increased due to rent stabilization.”

NYC Mayor Mamdani Holds News Conference

After Weeks Of One-Sided Open Mic Complaints, Mamdani Eyes Housing Power Grab

Economy

The pathway to the upper middle class remains open, with millions of American families moving up the income ladder even as public perception grows more pessimistic, according to a new report.
Researchers at the <a href="https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/the-middle-class-is-shrinking-because-of-a-booming-upper-middle-class/">American Enterprise Institute</a> (AEI) found that while the “core” middle class has shrunk slightly over the past several decades, it has not been hollowed out. Rather, more Americans are ascending into the upper middle class than at any point in modern history.
Using an absolute definition of class based on purchasing power rather than relative comparisons, the study found that the share of families in the upper middle class tripled, rising from about 10% in 1979 to roughly 31% in 2024. Over that same period, the share of Americans who are poor or near-poor dropped dramatically, from more than half of families to roughly one-third.
The findings challenge the common narrative of a collapsing middle class. The study argues that many claims about a “hollowed-out” middle class rely on relative definitions that automatically shrink the middle as incomes rise. By contrast, when measuring what families can actually afford, the data show broad gains across the income distribution.
“Decrying a shrinking or hollowed-out middle class is just a gloomy way of saying the upper-middle class has boomed,” the researchers concluded. 
Median family income, adjusted for inflation and household size, has risen more than 50% since the late 1970s. At the same time, wage growth, particularly over the long term, has outpaced price increases, helping push more families into higher income brackets.
Today, the upper middle class, defined in the study as families of three earning roughly $133,000 to $400,000 annually, accounts for nearly a third of U.S. households. Even more striking: for the first time on record, more American families are above the middle-class threshold than below it.
Despite rising incomes, many Americans who now fall into the upper middle class do not feel wealthy. Families earning well into six figures increasingly describe themselves as “average,” squeezed by rising housing costs, education expenses, and a broader cost-of-living crunch.
Randy Shilling, a Texas resident whose household earns around $220,000 a year, said, “I view myself as an average Joe,” despite having $3 million saved for retirement, he told the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/more-americans-are-breaking-into-the-upper-middle-class-bf8b7cb2?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqdVUm7NIyO23tjCzL8qjyiAHgUPq20KjnPypm6GrW5FA8nvttuOllJm1yykbIU%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69d3c52a&amp;gaa_sig=HuRXPX2t2k42t3TlSl55IkpevN_snKX49h7jQKvOKf0PENh9Jmr66WJFlTUtPC_pulorUlby9SIcStaTu45g7Q%3D%3D">Wall Street Journal</a>. Laura Shields, 46, told the Journal that she only began feeling financially comfortable in the last 10 years. She and her husband bring in approximately $240,000 per year, but have a son nearing college age. They fear that loans are the only answer, wiping out their progress. 
Those concerns are not unfounded. The median <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS">home price</a> in the United States now exceeds $400,000, while <a href="https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college">college tuition</a> continues to climb, often nearing $40,000 per year. 
That disconnect helps explain why, even amid measurable economic progress, pessimism persists. <a href="https://talkerresearch.com/9-in-10-americans-say-there-is-a-cost-of-living-crisis-survey/?ref=finco-services.ghost.io">Surveys</a> show that a large majority of Americans still feel burdened by a high cost-of-living. 
Still, AEI’s researchers argue that the broader trend is clear: economic growth, expanded opportunities, and a stronger safety net have combined to lift more Americans into higher-income tiers over time.
Importantly, income gains were not limited to the top. The research found that earnings increased across nearly the entire income distribution, with even lower-income households significantly better off than their counterparts decades ago.
None of this means inequality hasn’t grown; it has, particularly at the very top, the study finds little evidence that gains for higher earners came at the expense of others. Instead, the data suggests a more complex picture: an America where the middle class is evolving, not evaporating, and where upward mobility remains a defining feature of the economy.

Ariel Skelley / The Image Bank / Getty Images

The ‘Middle Class Is Dying’ Claim Doesn’t Hold Up Against One Key Reality

Middle Class

Poll

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Friday aimed at slashing regulations that have slowed home-building and complicated the lending process as the president zeroes in on his house affordability agenda.
One <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/removing-regulatory-barriers-to-affordable-home-construction/">order</a> seeks to take federal regulatory burdens off of homebuilders, streamline federal permitting for housing developments, and develop regulatory best practices for state and local governments to follow. The other <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/03/promoting-access-to-mortgage-credit/">order</a> would &#8220;improve the availability and affordability of mortgage credit&#8221; and ease regulations that have especially affected local lenders, such as community banks, according to the White House.
&#8220;It is the policy of my Administration to reduce regulatory barriers to building homes and to steward taxpayer dollars in a manner that promotes housing affordability,&#8221; one of the orders states.
Trump&#8217;s move to address housing affordability comes as the White House focuses on tackling economic issues ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Housing costs remain on the forefront of many Americans&#8217; minds after prices jumped in the years after the COVID pandemic, when construction significantly slowed.
&#8220;The American dream of homeownership depends on a dynamic housing market in which a varied inventory of new homes is built and renovated each year,&#8221; Trump&#8217;s executive order added. &#8220;Layers of unnecessary regulatory barriers, slow permitting processes, and onerous mandates at all levels of government have delayed construction, restricted development, and driven up the costs of new housing. These constraints have made housing less affordable for many Americans.&#8221;
On Thursday, the Senate easily <a href="https://apnews.com/article/affordable-housing-congress-bipartisan-8c15c9600bf0bd40e2420785aa5af20c">passed</a> legislation that would ease regulations and prevent corporations from buying single-family homes. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who sponsored the bill alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), called the bill &#8220;consequential legislation that makes it easier to become a homeowner.&#8221; The Senate bill would also streamline environmental reviews and inspections, which would likely speed up the homebuilding process.
The bill, which passed 89-10 in the Senate, now heads to the House, where it faces an unknown future. Leaders in the House, which passed similar legislation earlier this year, have expressed opposition to some parts of the Senate bill. Even if the House passes the housing bill, it&#8217;s unclear how soon President Trump would sign it. Trump said last week that he would not sign any piece of legislation until the Senate passed the SAVE America Act.
On mortgage rates, the Trump administration believes slashing regulations will allow more lenders to compete in the game and thereby drive down borrowing costs.
The White House said that its action on mortgage aims to &#8220;reduce the regulatory burden on community banks and otherwise facilitate community bank engagement in mortgage activity; foster innovation, growth, and consumer choice in the mortgage market; modernize origination and closing standards to reduce lending costs; remove regulatory distortions to the structure of the mortgage market and to ensure capital and liquidity frameworks subject similar credit and liquidity risks to similar regulation across the system; promote competition among mortgage lenders of all charter types to drive down mortgage rates; and strengthen housing-finance liquidity.&#8221;
Trump also continues to pressure Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to further lower the interest rate, which has dropped to the 3.50%-3.75% range. The Federal Reserve is set to meet next week to decide whether to move the interest rate or keep it steady.
&#8220;Where is the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome &#8216;Too Late&#8217; Powell, today? He should be dropping Interest Rates, IMMEDIATELY, not waiting for the next meeting,&#8221; Trump said on Thursday.

Trump Takes Step To Make It Easier For Americans To Buy A Home

Executive

federal regulation

White House

NEW YORK — Residents lined up outside a Brooklyn high school Thursday to air their grievances about the city’s landlords, inaugurating one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s flagship initiatives.
The event was the first of five planned “Rental Ripoff Hearings,” which aim to “uncover policy recommendations that will more effectively and systematically protect tenants in their homes.” Led by Mamdani’s Director of Tenant Protection Cea Weaver — who infamously claimed that “Homeownership is a tool of white supremacy” — said the proceeding would focus on recording violations, requesting repairs, and exposing abusive landlords.
In her presentation, titled “New Yorkers vs. Bad Landlords,” Weaver told the room that the mayor’s office would use the feedback collected at the rental rip off hearings to inform housing policy going forward.
One resident in attendance described the poor conditions of her apartment to The Daily Wire. 
“The ceiling caved in,” she said of the three-bedroom apartment she shared with roommates. “There’s rodents and rats and we haven’t had heat the last two winters.”
Asked why she remained in the apartment, she explained that it is rent-stabilized and that she is a comic artist who cannot afford another apartment. She said her share of the monthly rent is $300, while the total rent for the unit is $900. The average rent for a three-bedroom apartment in New York is <a href="https://www.apartments.com/rent-market-trends/brooklyn-ny/">$4,841</a> a month.
But not everyone was happy with the hearing. Leftist critics <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nycha-residents-frustrated-about-rental-ripoff-hearings/">objected</a> that the hearings were limited to private housing, excluding residents in New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) properties — about one in 16 New Yorkers.
In the middle of Thursday’s session, a masked woman wearing knee-high green socks stormed the stage to <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/02/26/us-news/nycha-tenants-sound-off-inhumane-conditions-ahead-of-mamdanis-first-rental-ripoff-hearing/">criticize</a> this exclusion.
“NYCHA should be allowed in the motherf*cking building,” she yelled. “Poor people need a f*cking voice.”
Weaver and other members of the Mamdani administration let the woman interrupt the hearing for nearly two minutes before addressing the masked individual. Weaver informed the woman that NYCHA could speak to representatives just like the other New Yorkers. They then helped the woman exit the stage. As she exited, she almost took the wooden podium with her.
Private landlords, too, are unsurprisingly unhappy with the hearings.
“They should pull from a combination of tenants, landlords, financiers, developers, and economists,” New York real estate broker Adam Frisch told The Daily Wire, saying the hearings were too one-sided. “Everybody looks at the situation with their own biases, and it&#8217;s the role of the mayor to sit down with tenants and landlords and say I know you’re both unhappy. Let&#8217;s see what we can do.”
Landlords blame rent stabilization for the poor conditions of certain apartments. Without the ability to raise rent, they say, they are unable to generate sufficient revenue to maintain their buildings.
Pinnacle Group, a major New York landlord, filed for bankruptcy in 2025, claiming that the “sharp increase in financing costs outpaced rental revenue, which could not be correspondingly increased due to rent stabilization.”
Mamdani, who promised while campaigning to host a Rental Ripoff Hearing in each of the city’s five boroughs, was not present at Thursday’s event. He had spent the day in Washington, D.C., meeting in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump. The pair <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-and-mamdanis-secret-d-c-meeting-centers-on-a-defining-nyc-fight">discussed</a> strategies to increase housing in New York City.

We Went To Zohran Mamdani’s First ‘Rental Ripoff Hearing.’ Everyone Was Mad.

Landlord

President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will have their second in-person meeting Thursday afternoon in Washington, D.C.
Both the president and the mayor kept the Oval Office encounter under wraps until Thursday afternoon—though The New York Times reports that people familiar with the matter said the two would discuss strategies to increase housing supply in New York City, an issue that has become a defining challenge for Mamdani’s administration.
It remains unclear whether a formal agenda has been finalized.
Mamdani and several of his top advisers reportedly traveled to Washington on Thursday morning. Unlike his previous visit to the White House in November, this trip was not publicly announced in advance.
The mayor posted a selfie from his flight to Washington in November, drawing attention to the high-profile meeting. Media outlets were aware of the November meeting days in advance, but as with Thursday’s meeting, few details about the agenda were released beforehand. When Mamdani landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in November, he was swarmed by the press before departing for the White House.
Their first meeting surprised political observers from both parties. Despite significant policy differences, Trump and Mamdani appeared cordial, even allowing portions of the session to be open to the press. The two exchanged light-hearted remarks, with a memorable moment occurring when Mamdani was asked by a reporter if he still thought President Trump was a fascist. Trump responded: “Just say yes; it’s easier than explaining.”
On Tuesday, Trump brought up Mamdani during his State of the Union address, noting he was a “nice guy,” while adding that he disagrees with what he called the mayor’s “bad policy.”
The timing of Thursday’s closed-door meeting underscores the growing urgency of housing affordability in New York. Last week, Mamdani proposed raising property taxes by 9.5% to balance the city’s budget. The mayor has made tenant protections and expanded housing construction central pillars of his administration.
Later Thursday evening, the mayor is scheduled to kick off his &#8220;Rental Rip-off&#8221; series, a public forum designed to give renters across the city an opportunity to share concerns about rising rents, landlord practices, and housing conditions. City officials say testimony gathered during the series will help shape future legislative proposals.

Zohran Mamdani, Donald Trump

Trump And Mamdani’s ‘Secret’ D.C. Meeting Centers On A Defining NYC Fight

Washington D.C.

As a member of Gen Z, I am often told my generation is a lost cause for conservatism — too cynical, too progressive, or just too far gone.
That assumption couldn’t be more wrong. Gen Z isn’t rejecting America; we’re demanding that it work again. And if conservatives are serious about reclaiming the soul of the nation, the path forward runs directly through the issues my generation lives with every day.
Gen Z came of age at the crossroads of stability and uncertainty. 
During President Trump’s first term, we witnessed a strong economy, interest rates that opened the door to homeownership, an end to forever wars, and a return to policies that prioritized the family.
Under President Biden, however, millions of young Americans graduated college and took entry-level jobs that barely covered their student loan payments, even as the cost of everything rose faster than their paychecks. They were told to follow the rules — go to college, take on loans, delay adulthood. Then, when those rules failed them, they were blamed.
What frustrates my peers isn’t tradition or responsibility; it’s a system that feels rigged against them. 
That’s precisely where conservatism, properly articulated, can meet the moment.
<h3>Homeownership</h3>
For Gen Z, homeownership feels less like a milestone and more like a fantasy. Sky-high rents that prevent us from putting money into savings, zoning restrictions that choke supply, and inflation driven by reckless federal spending have priced young people out of opportunity. 
Conservatives should call this what it is: a policy failure. Government rules make it harder to build homes, while bad monetary policy drains savings and pushes the dream of stability further out of reach for young families.
If we believe in ownership, stability, and opportunity, then we should lead on reforms that make it easier — not harder — for young Americans to buy homes and build wealth.
<h3>Student Debt</h3>
Then there’s student debt. Gen Z didn’t invent the student loan crisis; we inherited it.
Many borrowers were reckless, and they should repay what they owe. But recklessness was enabled by a federal loan system that treated teenagers as capable of signing six-figure contracts while shielding universities from the consequences of failure.
Subsidies have fueled tuition inflation and reduced institutional accountability, leaving students to bear the full cost of bad decisions — both theirs and the systems.
Conservatives should reject blanket loan “forgiveness” that shifts the burden to taxpayers, but we must also offer real solutions: ending the federal government’s role as a blank-check lender so private institutions once again have incentives to lend responsibly, expanding alternatives like apprenticeships and credentialing, and breaking the cartel between the federal government and higher education. Responsibility cuts both ways—and universities should finally be forced to bear some.
<h3>Building A Family </h3>
Most surprising to pundits — but obvious to anyone paying attention — is Gen Z’s renewed interest in traditional family values. After watching the loneliness, instability, and social breakdown of the last two decades, many in my generation are rediscovering what older generations once took for granted: marriage matters, family matters, and children are not obstacles to fulfillment but central to it. This isn’t nostalgia; it’s realism. Gen Z wants meaning, not just mobility. We want strong relationships, safe neighborhoods, and a culture that doesn’t sneer at commitment.
Conservatives should lean into this—not with lectures, but with policies that make it possible to start and raise a family. That means an economy where a young family has the chance to create a home and build a foundation for the future, a tax code that doesn’t treat marriage like a liability, and leaders who value faith, responsibility, and strong bonds across generations. When conservatives defend the family, we aren’t clinging to the past — we’re offering a future Gen Z actually wants.
The fight for America’s soul isn’t about writing off an entire generation. It’s about proving that our ideas can meet real needs in real lives. Gen Z is open, skeptical, and looking for answers. If conservatives are honest about the economic realities we’re dealing with and defend the institutions that make life meaningful, my generation won’t just listen — we’ll lead.
* * *
Jake Matthews is a communications manager for technology, economics, and energy at The Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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