California has an affordability crisis. The fix may be politically uncomfortable.
A UC Berkeley study argues California’s affordability crisis stems from anti-growth policies, costly regulations, and inefficient state programs, urging voters to reconsider long-held beliefs to restore opportunity.
California’s reputation for high living costs is rooted in decades of anti-growth policies and poorly designed regulations, according to a UC Berkeley study by policy expert Sam Trachtman. Voters in the 1960s and 1970s embraced environmental and community preservation measures that inadvertently restricted housing and infrastructure development, leading to today’s affordability crisis. The research highlights how these policies, combined with economic shifts, have driven up prices for housing, utilities, and services, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income residents.
The study identifies three key drivers of unaffordability: growth restrictions, regulations that increase costs without proportional benefits, and underperforming state programs. Trachtman notes that California’s high poverty rate—adjusted for cost of living—is among the nation’s worst, despite strong median incomes. Outmigration data from 2020 to 2024 shows affordability as the primary reason residents leave, with homebuilding failing to keep pace with demand since the 2008 financial crisis.
Trachtman critiques what he calls “regressively funded progressivism,” where well-intentioned policies impose higher costs on low-income households. He argues that progressive goals—such as environmental protection or worker support—must be implemented in ways that do not burden those least able to afford them. The study suggests that California’s progressive tax structure and large state budget could better address affordability if programs were more efficient and targeted.
The research challenges Californians to align policy outcomes with progressive values, emphasizing that effective regulation should achieve its intended goals without worsening inequality. Trachtman, a senior researcher at UC Berkeley’s Economy & Society Initiative, concludes that fostering growth is essential for affordability, urging a reevaluation of long-held political and economic assumptions to restore opportunity in the state.