Cory Booker tackles affordable housing in new policy plan

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, unveiled a new affordable housing plan on Wednesday.

In a Medium post, Booker proposed a series of changes that he says would significantly alter the U.S.'s housing crisis for the better. The proposal that initially jumps off the page is a refundable renters tax credit that would allow working and middle-class Americans to spend no more than 30 percent of their gross income on rent — a number which half of all renters exceed, despite being the regularly recommended amount to spend on rent. Booker also reified his commitment to "Baby Bonds," in which every American is given a savings account at birth, which would exponentially increase as the child grows older, depending on their families' income bracket.

The plan calls for the removal of zoning restrictions in order to build more affordable housing units in cities, as well as more funding for rural housing, including on indigenous land.

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Buried a little more deeply within the outline is a proposal for the creation of a national Eviction Right to Counsel Fund. Booker writes that while every American is entitled to a defense in criminal proceedings, the same is not true for tenants facing eviction; only in certain areas, such as New York City and Newark, New Jersey, is this right guaranteed. All told, only 10 percent of tenants are represented in eviction cases, compared to 90 percent of landlords. Booker's fund would provide the means for states and localities to provide representation for those tenants. Read the full plan at Medium.