An Affordability Agenda for California

Affordability

02. 05. 2026

Why are Californians feeling the squeeze of an affordability crisis? And what can be done about it?

The Agenda

The problem: Corporate monopolies and dominant firms increasingly control prices, wages, and access across the economy. These broken markets reward market power over innovation—driving higher costs and fueling the affordability crisis.
Our solution: A modern antimonopoly agenda, anchored by a prohibition on abusive conduct by large firms. Stronger enforcement restores competition, lowering prices and curbing the abuses that drive unaffordability.

The problem: As AI and advanced tech spread, control over computing power and digital markets is increasingly concentrated. This concentration reinforces broken markets that limit competition, raise costs, and allow a small number of firms to accumulate outsized economic and political power—worsening the affordability crisis.
Our solution: Public-interest tech and AI policies, including the successful launch of CalCompute and guardrails that prevent dominant firms from abusing market power.

The problem: Corporate tax loopholes allow large firms to hoard and hide profits through offshore structures and preferential tax breaks, draining revenue from the public budget. This weakens the state’s ability to support people when costs rise, turning budget constraints into an affordability crisis for families.
Our solution: Closing corporate tax loopholes so profitable corporations pay what they owe. Fair, stable revenue prevents harmful cuts and enables investments that lower household costs without pitting families against each other.

The problem: Too many households struggle to keep up with rising costs. Tax credits and other benefits can help—when people can get them. But too many obstacles block access, deepening the affordability crisis.
Our solution: Stronger tax credits and cash supports, including guaranteed income, delivered through simpler benefits systems—raising incomes and making affordability possible even when prices are high.

More than half of California renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent
Since 2019, food prices are up 27% and gas prices are up 29%
The cost of food, housing, and transportation for a low-income family in California is $32,000 a year
Child care for one child costs $22,000 a year, up to 28% of family income

10% of adult workers are in poverty; half of them work full-time
Since 2020, wages have only grown 2.9% after adjusting for inflation
Even though CalFresh reaches millions, about one in five eligible families doesn’t get it
Californians miss out on millions in valuable tax credits because it’s too hard and expensive to file taxes

Consumer costs for hospital and nursing home care rose 88% since 2009—twice the inflation rate—because health systems have gotten so big that they can raise prices without improving care
Algorithmic pricing (modern tech collusion) allowed landlords to raise California rents by up to $110/month
Electricity prices are 80% higher in California because three sanctioned monopolies dominate the system and customers have no choice to opt out

*Broken Markets* Three systemic failures make life unaffordable:
Reason	What It Costs You
Gatekeepers Corporate power and weak governance constrain supply and increase prices.	Corporate concentration costs households $5,000 a year. Restrictive zoning slows economic growth, costing workers approximately $3,700 in lost income each year.
Fragmented Markets Market constraints prevent providers from scaling goods to the level needed to meet public demand.	Administrative bloat in the private health system wastes $528 billion a year. Rural hospital closures raise remaining nearby medical facilities’ prices by 3.6%.
Manipulated Signals Prices fail to reflect true costs and benefits because sellers obscure information, forcing others to pay more.	RealPage’s AI pricing algorithms increased impacted rents by $70/month. One estimate has future households paying an extra $70/month on their electricity bills to power AI data centers.

Broken Incomes Even when markets work, essentials remain unaffordable for three reasons:
Reason	What It Costs You
Life‑cycle Mismatches Big costs arrive when earnings are low, in early career or when we are incapable of working.	A year of full-time child care for just one child ranges from $6,868 to $28,356. Without Social Security, 37% of seniors would be living in poverty.
Inequality Insufficient incomes and the high cost of being poor makes affordability worse.	Median wages have risen just 29% since 1979, while productivity rose 83%. Low-income families are forced to spend more hours navigating systems, paying a time tax.
Macroeconomic Trends Recessions have long-lasting consequences on people’s lives, and an inflation shock eats up wage gains.	New housing construction collapsed during the Great Recession, took eight years to only partially recover. Graduating into a recession decreases earnings for 10 to 15 years.