California’s state and local politicians, government regulators, and anti-development activists have created the worst housing crisis in America. They are the deserving recipients of the Independent Institute’s most recent California Golden Fleece Award, given to a state or local government spending program, tax, or regulation that fleeces California taxpayers, consumers, or businesses. California is the national poster child for expensive housing and homelessness. The average home price in the state is about 250 percent above the national average, while average monthly housing rents are about 50 percent above national levels, exacerbating the state’s severe homeless problem.

Independent Institute Senior Fellow Lawrence McQuillan, PhD says burdensome environmental, labor, and zoning regulations are preventing new housing construction—which is desperately needed in California. McQuillan also proposes that voters make house-building a constitutional right in California. The establishment of an individual right to build residential housing, according to McQuillan, would afford the quickest exit from the regulatory thicket crushing the California housing market.

Eliminating rent control and “affordable housing” mandates, along with certain state building codes and fees, would encourage entrepreneurial innovation—which could help solve the housing crisis that’s driving middle-class citizens out of the Golden State. Read McQuillan’s full report How to Restore the American Dream: Removing Obstacles to Fast and Affordable Housing Development.